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)
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!
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)
I used to get some inspiration for family visits from my boys’ outings with their garderies, and I remembered that one summer my younger son had headed up to Le Reposoir (between Cluses and Le Grand-Bornand) to do a parcours d’orientation with his local garderie, and that he had loved this excursion . . . I also knew that Cluses Arve & Montagnes had developed … Continue reading PARCOURS d’ORIENTATION: L’Œuf de Plume La Gypaète (Le Reposoir)
MBFF has had some lovely family walks up at the ❄️ Site Nordique La Livraz in Megève. Not only is this one of 🎿 Megève’s cross-country skiing areas (there are a handful!), it is also a superb spot for ❄️ a family walk in wintertime, especially with young children or older relatives! You can pull little ones along in a 🛷 a luge and the terrain … Continue reading SITE NORDIQUE de la LIVRAZ – cross-country skiing & winter walks (MEGÈVE)
If you live at altitude 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, it can be a challenge to find a suitable path for buggy walks in nature over the ❄️ winter months: snow, ice, muddy ground underfoot . . . Luckily, if you head down to the Arve Valley, then you’ll descend about 500m in altitude . . . and here you will find our 💦 two … Continue reading WINTER BUGGY STROLLS: Lac de Passy & Lacs des Ilettes
I can’t quite remember how we first heard about 🎄 Noël au Château de Coppet – a delightful Christmas market, located between 🇨🇭 Geneva and Nyon, on 💦 Lac Léman in Switzerland. But I’m so glad that we did, as we had a lovely experience there a few years ago! What makes this 🎄 Christmas market so special? 🏰 its location within the grounds of a castle … Continue reading Marché de Noël au Château de Coppet (SWITZERLAND)
On our recent trip to Lyon, MBFF was treated to some tickets to experience the 🐟 Aquarium de Lyon. Did you think that aquariums were the reserve of 🌊 sea or ocean located cities? Think again – though Lyon is far from the sea or ocean, do remember that this beautiful city is located at the 💦 strategic confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, and this … Continue reading L’Aquarium de Lyon (LYON)
Vallorcine – 🐻 la Vallée des Ours (latin name: Vallis Ursina) – located just 16km north of Chamonix – is an authentic mountain village with a unique history. Its relative isolation for centuries, its proximity to🇨🇭 Switzerland, and its Walser history distinguish it from the parallel history of the Chamonix Valley. I love Vallorcine and its stunning location. In fact, as soon as I head up to the ⛰ Col … Continue reading An AUTUMN WEEKEND en famille in VALLORCINE (Résidence & Spa Vallorcine)
🇫🇷 Français – J’ai tout d’abord entendu parler de la ferme pédagogique 🐮 La Ferme Les Montagnards, située dans le petit village d’Ormaret à Combloux, grace à la crèche et à la garderie de mes fils – les deux y sont allées en excursion et sont rentrés avec des histoires sur leur “journée à la ferme”. . . J’ai ensuite découvert la ferme moi-même avec mon fils … Continue reading BIENVENUE à La Ferme Les Montagnards (Ormaret, COMBLOUX)
🎭 Les Petits Asticots – the fabulous annual children’s festival 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc & in the Chamonix Valley, which takes place during the 🍁 Toussaint school holidays – will be yet again offering families seven inspirational days of theatre, music, dance, circus and workshops from 21st ⇒ 27th October 2023 ! This year is the 21st edition of the festival! The MBFF family have bsolutely … Continue reading « Les Petits Asticots » children’s festival – 21st ⇒ 27th October 2023 ( Pays du Mont-Blanc & Chamonix Valley )
Currently SHUT ! A couple of 🍁 autumns ago now, MBFF had a super adventure: we were invited to test out 🚃 VerticAlp Emosson ! We had the most gloriously ☀️ sunny day to experience this phenomenal feat of engineering, which also has a rich history. I would say that 🍂 autumn – before closure for the season at the end of October – is the … Continue reading VERTICALP EMOSSON – a vertiginous day out en famille! (SWITZERLAND)
🍁 A U T U M N is a lovely season to visit 🌳 parks and gardens: on the trees, a rich palette of gold, rust, brown, red, orange and yellow . . . underfoot, 🍂 a blanket of leaves crunching and sent fluttering when the children find a mound to run through . . . a crisp, and often ☀️ sunny day to accompany your exploits: playing and running, … Continue reading AUTUMN PARKS & GARDENS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
[ from January 2024 : SHUT for renovation ! ] The 🐧 Muséum Genève, Geneva’s natural history museum, was our go-to museum for ☔️ rainy days when our boys were small! We have – over the years – pushed 💤 sleeping babies around the exhibits there, watched our toddlers crawl, run and topple over there, and we have spent plenty of time running after them … Continue reading MUSÉUM GENÈVE – Natural History Museum (Geneva)
As residents of Sallanches, we have watched the 🎭 children’s festival « Les Enfants d’Abord » get bigger and better each year! ( the festival has now been running for a quarter of a century, with a couple of years of absence due to Covid! ). Over 4 days, every afternoon and evening ( 15h30 until 18h30 ) the pedestrian streets of Sallanches, as well as the … Continue reading Festival « Les Enfants d’Abord » (SALLANCES) – August 2024
We first visited 🐶 Barryland – Musée et Chiens du Saint-Bernard with a dog-loving and inquisitive 3 year old and a snoozing (mostly!) newborn baby in a pram . . . this visit coincided with the arrival of Saint-Bernard puppies! A year later we visited again and this visit coincided with another litter of 🐶 cute puppies, but also with the most wonderful 🐣 Easter egg hunt … Continue reading BARRYLAND – Musée et Chiens du Saint-Bernard (Martigny)
Have you ever been to 💦 Flumet’s Plan d’Eau? If not, then MBFF highly recommends a visit! The little swimming lake is located within the 🌈 Base de Loisirs de l’Arrondine . . . which means that, as well as the lake, you’ll find a playground, skatepark and a terrain multi-sports on-site. Swimming lake The 💦 lake is just lovely! It is surrounded by plenty of grass to … Continue reading Plan d’Eau de Flumet (VAL d’ARLY)
💦 Lac des Chavants in Les Houches is a lovely destination for families throughout the year. [ ⚠ note – please note that 💦 Lac des Chavants is NOT a swimming lake! ] These days, the lake is referred to as a Base de Loisirs, as there are so many activities available. You can: 🌲 there are walking paths through the woods (suitable for buggies and … Continue reading Lac des Chavants (LES HOUCHES)
Officially known as the Base de Loisir des Ilettes, the 💦 Lacs des Ilettes actually consist of three lakes and this is a popular place year-round for locals to come for a stroll en famille, 🚵♀️ for a bike ride, 🐶 a dog-walk (permitted around the 3rd lake), 🎣 fishing, 🏃♂️ or a jog and workout. In ☀️ summertime, the middle lake is a popular choice for swimmers and … Continue reading Lacs des Ilettes (SALLANCHES)
The 🌲 Paradis des Praz is a natural playground, a hidden jewel cocooned in 🌲 the woods, well-known to families living in the region, but perhaps not to those visiting. As well as being a popular spot in the ☀️ summertime, over the winter school holidays the buvette is also often open – so you can have a magical walk through the ❄️ snowy forest and then warm … Continue reading Paradis des Praz (Les Praz-de-Chamonix)
I first went to the 🌈 Grand Parc d’Andilly (back then known as the 🌈 Parc des Épouvantails) a few years ago, when I accompanied my elder son’s school class on his sortie de fin de l’année scolaire. I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard much about it until that point and when I heard that it was a fun park ” inhabited by resident scarecrows … Continue reading Le Grand Parc d’Andilly (ANDILLY)
When you are living in the 🏔 ❄️ snowy mountains in WINTERTIME with a newborn or young baby, your quotidien can feel tough . . . getting out for a buggy walk can be more challenging than usual, with ❄️ icy pavements or snow impeding certain routes you would normally take. Of course, using a baby-carrier or baby-carrying wrap is one brilliant alternative (as baby keeps warm … Continue reading BUGGY WALKS – La Braconne, the Pré Curral & the Bialle river path (Sallanches)
You have perhaps heard that saying ☔️ “ there’s no such thing as bad weather; just badly dressed people “ ? Well, I heard this several times on a couple of work trips to 🇮🇸 Iceland . . . and that may well be, but even the strongest of resolves can be broken by 🌧 DAYS and DAYS of rainy weather in the mountains (especially when you … Continue reading RAINY DAYS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
Mont Blanc Family Fun 