It’s that time of year when the ⛸ seasonal ice-skating rinks begin to appear in town centres throughout the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond) . . . a lovely way to spend some time en famille . . . Sometimes, next to the ice-skating rink, you might find yourself rewarded with 🥃 a vin chaud stand or a small 🎄 Christmas market! Some of these ⛸ seasonal ice-skating … Continue reading SEASONAL ICE-SKATING au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
The 🌲 Bois du Bouchet is a young forest, witness to the retreat of ❄️ ancient glaciers, and with vestiges of the granite-workers from Italy of the 19th and 20th century . . . And this 🌳🌲 woodland it is also a window from which to gaze upon the majestic 🏔 Mont-Blanc and the other peaks of Chamonix. The 🌲 Bois du Bouchet is located … Continue reading BOIS du BOUCHET – strolls, bike rides, a parcours d’orientation, snowy options & MORE !
Living in the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc, we always have some 🌳 woodland or green space nearby, so here are some ideas for 🌳 nature-inspired activities for your next outing! 1. Build a CABANE We don’t all live near 🌳 woodland with copious branches available to make a solid cabane, but if you do . . . this activity will keep your brood amused for a … Continue reading 10 ideas for NATURE GAMES & CREATIVITY en famille
During the 🏡 second confinement last year, we all (apart from those lucky mountain leaders and other sporting folk!) had to find 🏡 walks within a 1km radius from home . . . I was lucky to find one 🏔 local hike that adhered to the distance and time authorised (if I ran part of it, which iwas a major challenge for someone not keen on … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: Les Golettes, La Vigne & La Fley (SALLANCHES)
This is a lovely bucolic family hike, a boucle leaving from ⛪️ the baroque church of Combloux, and heading to ⛪️ the little chapel in the hamlet of Ormaret. It’s an easy stroll, with 🌿 wide open spaces for running, little bridges to cross, 🐄 farm animals to see (and the possibility of visiting a farm along the way), and ⛪️ a small chapel to … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: Boucle de la Chapelle d’Ormaret (Combloux ⇒ Ormaret)
This is the follow-up article for 10 ideas for 🍁 autumn stroll with young children 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc (see here). Autumn is certainly arriving, and I love this season of 🍁 burnt seasonal colours adorning the trees and covering the ground accompanied by early ❄️ snow powdered on the nearby 🏔 summits! And so, here are some ideas to head out and enjoy those 🍁 dazzling colours … Continue reading 10 MORE ideas for AUTUMN FAMILY HIKES & STROLLS with small children (beyond le Pays du Mont-Blanc)
🍁 Autumn, before ❄️ the snow arrives (and even when ❄️ the snow arrives!), is a lovely time for a family stroll or hike here 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc . . . the temperatures are (usually) fresher than the ☀️ summertime, and 🍁 the burnt seasonal colours adorning the trees and scattered on the ground are just beautiful. Next to a lake, you’ll perhaps see 🍂 autumn … Continue reading 10 ideas for AUTUMN FAMILY HIKES & STROLLS with small children au Pays du Mont-Blanc
I have now been on this hike a few times en famille, and with friends. I can assure you that each time, friends are wowed by the 🌉 Himalayan suspension bridge, 🏔 the fabulous views of 🗻 Mont-Blanc, and the ethereal 💦 Lac Vert. The altitude gain (dénivelé) on this hike is fairly minimal, making it a great short hike for families with young children or older … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: La Passerelle Himalayenne ⇒ Lac Vert (Passy)
MBFF tried out another of Cluse Arve & Montagne’s jeux last autumn! This time we chose another jeu d’aventure: ⏱ Le Mystère de la Montre, in ⛰ Mont-Saxonnex! After having had so much fun doing the previous two jeux, ⚔️ Le Chevalier Maudit (in Châtillon-sur-Cluses; read about our experience here) and 🥚 L’Œuf de Plume la Gypaète (in Le Reposoir; read about our experience here), … Continue reading « Le Mystère de la Montre » : a treasure hunt in Mont-Saxonnex!
We are so lucky here 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc to have such high quality 🎭 theatre on our doorstep ! I sometimes have to pinch myself as I’m watching acrobats flip across the stage, or listening to a well-known musician, when I realise I am a 5mins walk from home, and NOT in a big city like 🇫🇷 Lyon or 🇨🇭 Geneva ! And … Continue reading THEATRES & SPECTACLES au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
In February this year, we headed to ⛰ Le Reposoir to do one of the Cluses Arves & Montagnes 🗺 jeux d’orientation (we’ve also done the jeux L’Œuf de Plume la Gypaète – see here for MBFF article), and we really enjoyed it! As well as the fun of the orienteering game, we really delighted in getting to know a new mountain village and the … Continue reading « Le Chevalier Maudit »: medieval knightly fun and Geocaching® en famille! (Châtillon-sur-Cluses)
I don’t know about you, but I like to stay off 🏔 the busy mountain paths in ☀️ the summertime, social-distancing regulations in place or not! Last summer, my boys were at their 🎨 Art & Nature workshop with local artist Cat Kartal in Argentière, and so I took the opportunity to have a day out by myself, hiking and then reading my book in nature. I decided … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: la Gorge du Glacier (Argentière)
You may well have spotted these two bridges – the 🌁 Ponts de la Caille – from the motorway (A41 Annecy-Genève) on a trip to 💦 Lac d’Annecy from the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc? Have you ever come off the motorway to explore? MBFF certainly has – my curious nature would never leave such incredible looking bridges unexplored! The 🌁 Ponts de la Caille are two … Continue reading Site des Ponts de la Caille (CRUSEILLES)
MBFF has now hiked the short themed walk ⚒ « Sur les traces des Graniteurs » in Combloux a couple of times . . . Every autumn, a group of volunteers goes to tidy up the paths for you! So what exactly is the themed walk ⚒ « Sur les traces des Graniteurs » ? It is a short hike with explanatory panels, which explains … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: « Sur les traces des Graniteurs » (COMBLOUX)
A few summers ago, I put together this article, detailing some 🥗 Chamonix Valley restaurants & cafés with terraces, that are particularly suitable for families with little ones. By this I mean that they either have 🌈 a play area for children, a grassy area for games, have suitable children’s menus and are NOT located next to main roads (unless there is a secured area). … Continue reading 20+ SUMMER TERRACES for families in the Chamonix Valley!
It took MBFF a very long time to discover the wonderful 🐸 mare aux têtards & 🌈 playground in the 🌲 moraine woods of Argentière! But we are so glad that we finally made our way there! I had been wanting to hunt out this elusive playground (not so elusive if you live in Argentière!) for many, many years, but never quite managed it. And one day … Continue reading An AIRE de JEUX, a MARE aux TÊTARDS and a PARCOURS ORIENTATION (Argentière)
With all of our wonderful 🧗♂️ rock climbing and Via-Ferrata routes 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, it is only natural that so many 🌳 accrobranches ® should also appear over recent years! We’ve tried out a few of them, and they are very popular with our 🐵 monkey climbing boys . . . 🌳 some tree climbing terminology: 🌳 accrobranches ® – it is a rope course … Continue reading ACCROBRANCHES ®, GRIMPE d’ARBRE & TYROLIENNES au Pays du Mont-Blanc
The short hike up to the 💦 Cascade de Bérard, located just above the village of Le Buet (near Vallorcine), is the perfect family outing on a hot ☀️ summer’s day or after 🌧strong rain – you’ll either be refreshed or you’ll see 💦 the waterfall in its rawest, most powerful form! If you head off on this hike in late spring or in early summer, … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: La Cascade de Bérard (LE BUET)
There are so many wonderful 🏔 hikes au Pays du Mont-Blanc and in the Chamonix Valley and several of them are the perfect length for families with very young (or reluctant) walkers! I have always found (actually, I still do!) that hiking to ☕️ a mountain buvette, with the reward of 🍨 an ice cream or 🍓 a slice or fruit tart, is a great … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: La Cabane du Cerro (CHAMONIX)
There are 🚵♀️ some wonderful VTT routes 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc – some are easily accessible, some you’ll need to take 🚡 a télécabine to access . . . and now we have electric bikes to make certain routes more accessible, and 🚵♀️ fat bikes to head out on the snow, mud or sand! Pop into your local tourist office to pick up 🗺 a … Continue reading BIKE PARKS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
A couple of years ago in late May, MBFF went for 🍏 a picnic with friends up at 🎣 Lac de Javen in Megève – it was a mild May that year! 🎣 Lac de Javen is a popular picnic spot for families in the summertime, as it is just a short hike to get there and there are plenty of activities on offer: ☕️ buvette … Continue reading Where to observe TADPOLES & FROGS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
A 🍏 picnic en famille gets everyone outdoors, and is often accompanied by a short walk or activity with 🏔 superb views! In this article, I shall share with you 🍏 MBFF’s favourite (tried and tested!) picnic spots, specifically for families with babies and small children. That means that they are all easily accessible and with no dangerous precipices nearby! Being easy to access also means that most … Continue reading MBFF’s 20 favourite PICNIC SPOTS (with small children) au Pays du Mont-Blanc!
During confinement, we all had to find 🏡 walks within a 1km radius from home . . . though perhaps I was not able to go quite as far as I desired, this did encourage me to try out some of the 🏔 very local hikes, and one that we did en famille (though with much whining and shoulder support at times!) was this one: 🌳 … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: Bois de Fessy & les Blocs de La Pesse (Sallanches)
Each new spring season, ❄️ the snow melts and the 🌷 first spring flowers peep up shyly from the lawns; this re-awakening of nature is the perfect invitation for a buggy stroll . . . Early in 🌷 the spring season there may still be too much ❄️ snow along the river paths at higher altitude in 🏔 the Pays du Mont-Blanc, but there is a lovely stretch … Continue reading BUGGY STROLLS: Parcours de l’Eau Artistique (Arve River, PASSY)
The hike to 🌼 l’Alpage de Charousse (alpage means high mountain meadow) in Les Houches is one of my favourite short hikes in the Chamonix Valley, and one that MBFF has really enjoyed en famille with two small hikers. Description of hike The main highlight of this walk is arriving at the postcard perfect meadow – 🌼 the Alpage de Charousse (1200m)- when the blue, pink … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: l’Alpage de Charousse (Les Houches)
Mont Blanc Family Fun 