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
The ⛷ Domaine Skiable Les Houches – Saint-Gervais is a great spot to ski in the Chamonix Valley! With plenty of gentle pistes to ski en famille, superb Beginner areas and authentic retaurants on the pistes, it’s a winner! Nestled in the heart of the Mont-Blanc massif, ⛷ Les Houches – Saint-Gervais offers spectacular panoramic 360° views of 🏔 Mont-Blanc, Mont Joly, les Aravis, Les Fiz, and les Aiguilles Rouges . … Continue reading Les Houches – Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc SKIING
A few years ago no, MBFF asked 🌈 Baby-Cham (a babysitting service in the Chamonix Valley) to head out on one of the new 🗺 Chamonix Valley orienteering circuits and to report back on the experience. Its team braved ☀️ the summer heat and did a superb job testing out the 🌲 Bois du Bouchet (Chamonix) and the 💦 Lac des Chavants (Les Houches) parcours. [ ⇒ read about Baby-Cham’s … Continue reading PARCOURS d’ORIENTATION au Lac des Chavants (Les Houches)
A couple of years ago, 🌈 Baby-Cham (the owner of the company and her little helpers) went to test out a couple of the (then) new 🧭 parcours d’orientation (orienteering routes) in the 🏔 Chamonix Valley. You may have seen some of the maps in your local tourist offices or on large panels on-site? The Chamonix Valley has developed 6 orienteering routes for you to enjoy, … Continue reading BABY-CHAM goes orienteering in the Chamonix Valley!
🏔 Au Pays du Mont-Blanc and in the 🏔 Chamonix Valley, we have lots of great 💦 swimming pools, and over the ☀️ summer months you’ll find that they organise plenty of animations for families and children. In addition, over the ☀️ summer months you’ll find some 💦 outdoor pools open to the public, and there are 💦 ephemeral water slides, water games, wibit parks and … Continue reading SUMMER SPLASH! – waterslides, wibit games, paddling pools and parcs aquatiques au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
The 🌈 Domaine des Planards, Chamonix’s very own little amusement park with 🏔 views of Mont Blanc, makes for a great family day out! As well as the 🛷 Chamonix Luge-Alpine Coaster, which is open year-round, there is a 🌈 FREE playground, great slides, motorbikes and cars to ride, diggers to operate, trampolines, and 💦 water-themed rides. In addition, during the ❄️ winter season, ⛷ Domaine des Planards … Continue reading DOMAINE des PLANARDS in summertime (Chamonix)
I shall be honest, I had never even heard of 🚵♀️ a pumptrack before we discovered the 🚵♀️ pumptrack in Combloux! So, what is 🚵♀️ a pumptrack? It is a circuit, with ups and downs and turns, on which the 🚵♂️ cyclist / 🛹 skater / 🛴 scooter can keep moving simply through “pumping” (no need for pedal action, once moving). Not just for cyclists (BMX, VTT), it … Continue reading PUMPTRACKS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
The ⛷ Domaine Skiable des Planards, a two minute walk from the centre of town and with its own 🅿️ FREE parking, is one of Chamonix’s two Beginner ski areas (the other being at the Savoy slopes, connected to ⛷ Domaine Skiable de Brévent). In addition, it is the site of the year-round 🛷 Chamonix-Luge Alpine Coaster, set within the 🌈 Parc des Attractions de Chamonix (re-opens in April). … Continue reading DOMAINE des PLANARDS ski area (Chamonix)
⛷ La Poya is a small family-run ski area in the hamlet of Le Buet (not far from the 🚞 train station), near to Vallorcine. It comprises: two drag lifts; a rope tow for Beginners and a pulley lift for small children; 2km of pistes, including green, blue, red and even a black piste; You can opt for a 🗺 half-day ski pass, at a very reasonable price, … Continue reading LA POYA ski area (Le Buet, Vallorcine)
⛷ La Vormaine, ” the biggest of the small ski slopes “, is a splendid beginner & nursery ski area, nestled in the village of 🏔 Le Tour (1432m), next to 🚡 the Charamillon bubble lift. Ski pass options at La Vormaine La Vormaine is a good value ski area, as it allows families to opt for 2h30, 4 hours (often enough with toddlers to entertain!), a … Continue reading LA VORMAINE beginner & nursery skiing (Le Tour)
The ❄️ FIRST SNOWFALL au Pays du Mont-Blanc . . . when the ❄ first snowflakes arrive, the excitement and delight run high for the whole family: walks knee-deep (or shoulder-deep for the little ones!) in the white fluffy stuff, ❄ snowball fights, ⛄️ making a snowman (or perhaps a snowcat or other snow animal) . . . and 🛷 SLEDGING FUN! [ note: due to the limited snow at … Continue reading PISTES de LUGE au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and nearby)
The 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc has THREE ⛸ indoor ice-skating rinks that are 🗓 open all year round, and so are good places to head to escape the heat or rain during the summer months, as well as to visit in the wintertime! In addition, during the ❄️ winter holiday season, there are several ⛸ seasonal outdoor ice-skating rinks (usually set up right in the centre of towns 🏔 au Pays du … Continue reading ICE-SKATING au Pays du Mont-Blanc
After a visit to 🇯🇵 Japan during the magical time of 🍁 « autumn leaves », I never thought that autumn would inspire me in the same way again . . . But then I returned home to the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc, and was charmed all over again by 🍁 the palette of red, ochre, orange and gold covering 🌳 the trees, crunching under my feet … Continue reading BUGGY WALKS & FAMILY STROLLS: lakes in autumn au Pays du Mont-Blanc
⛰ FAMILY HIKING with small children is not always a simple task! Well, perhaps it is for some families . . . perhaps your children were born hikers! But for many of us, getting our children to 🏔 LOVE hiking in the mountains is not a given. Both of my sons had periods around the age of 18 months when they decided that the backpack was no … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES – MBFF’s tips for hiking with small children
🏔 Au Pays du Mont-Blanc, we are lucky to have 🌈 a softplay option in the industrial zone of Sallanches for those ☔️ RAINY DAYS all year round . . . and in the ☀️ summer months, plenty of bouncy castles spring up in lovely locations too . . . And further afield in the 🇫🇷 Arve Valley and beyond, there are some 🌈 larger softplay and 🤸 indoor play … Continue reading SOFTPLAY & INDOOR PLAY au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
A visit to 💦 Les Gorges de la Diosaz natural site makes for a wonderful visit en famille, come 🌧 rain or ☀️ shine (we have visited during both weather scenarios here at MBFF!). You are in the shade for most of the walk, so this is a great option during ☀️ a summer heatwave, as well as on 🌧 a slightly drizzly day! It is quite the experience to walk along the … Continue reading Les Gorges de la Diosaz (SERVOZ)
You’ll find in this article a list of 🌈 baby & toddler playgroups au Pays du Mont-Blanc that you can just pop along to for FREE! Colour code for listings Pays du Mont-Blanc Chamonix Valley (Chamonix, Argentière, Les Houches, Servoz) and Vallorcine Passy & environs Sallanches, Combloux, Cordon & Domancy St Gervais, Le Fayet & environs Megève, Praz-sur-Arly & environs Les Contamines-Montjoie & environs 🇫🇷 Further France CHAMONIX VALLEY … Continue reading BABY & TODDLER PLAYGROUPS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
🏔 Au Pays du Mont-Blanc, there is one large cinema complex in Sallanches – the 🎥 Ciné Mont-Blanc – and then a scattering of smaller screens, which have lots of personality! During the summer months, many of the communes screen 🎬 FREE outdoor films, so be sure to look at Tourist Office agendas for this lovely initiative. Colour code for listings Pays du Mont-Blanc Chamonix Valley (Chamonix, … Continue reading CINEMAS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
The 🦌 Parc Animalier de Merlet is perched at 1563m, about 600m above the village of 🏔 Les Houches. It is home to around 80 animals that roam freely within the boundaries of the park: 🦌 chamois, bouquetins (ibex), deer, mouflons, marmottes . . . and even the odd 🦙 llama [ ⇒ see here for more information about the animals that live here ] A little history . . … Continue reading PARC ANIMALIER de MERLET (Les Houches)
We are lucky to have 💦 two large thermal baths on offer 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc : 💦 QC Termes in Chamonix; 💦 Les Thermes de Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc in the Parc Thermal; In addition, several hotels in the Chamonix Valley (and au Pays du Mont-Blanc) offer 💦 access to their spa centre and pool to non-hotel guest, for an entrance fee or with the … Continue reading THERMAL BATHS, SPAS & MASSAGES in the Chamonix Valley (and beyond)
The 🏔 Musée Montagnard is housed in one of the oldest 18th century houses in the centre of Les Houches Permanent collection The museum has been arranged to show three typical rooms of such a house: the pèle (bedroom & living room), the outa (kitchen) and the sarte (pantry). The museum houses a rich collection of traditional furniture and objects, largely provided by M. Albert Laprade, the eminent architect-urbanist, who was … Continue reading Le Musée Montagnard (LES HOUCHES)
🏔 Chamonix, while boasting many terrific hiking routes and skiing opportunities, can also lay claim to some 🌲 beautiful parks, gardens and woodland. This could be of particular interest if you have small children or babies in buggies! Parc Couttet (centre of Chamonix) A relative newcomer to Chamonix, inaugurated in the summer of 2015, the 🌳 Parc Couttet is a little gem of a park, right in the centre … Continue reading CHAMONIX parks, woods & gardens
Chamonix’s sports centre, the 🧗♂️ Centre Sportif Richard Bozon, is located just off the main road heading out to Argentière and its facilities include: 💦 swimming pools (a 25m indoor pool, a baby pool and outdoor swimming pool); sauna and hammam; ⛸ ice-skating rink; 🧗♀️ climbing wall; 🎾 tennis courts; 🏃♀️ running track and basketball nets (becoming a winter ice-skating rink!); [ good to know: with a carte d’hôte (available from your hotel, lodging … Continue reading Centre Sportif Richard Bozon (CHAMONIX)
As well as housing many works pertaining to the 🏔 Chamonix Valley, Haute-Savoie, the Alps, skiing and mountaineering, the 📚 Médiathèque de Chamonix makes for a ☔️ great RAINY afternoon visit for families ! There is a large children’s section (with comfortable chairs), and a fantastic 🎲 ludothèque (toy library), with games and toys that you can play with on-site and also games to borrow (you need to be registered for this … Continue reading Chamonix MÉDIATHÈQUE
A trip by 🚠 cable-car up to the 🏔 Aiguille du Midi is a highlight for most tourists on a trip to Chamonix, whether they are planning ⛷ to ski the Vallée Blanche with a guide, or simply want to head up to the dizzying height of 3842m (2 cable cars and a lift), for magnificent views of the 🏔 majestic Mont-Blanc and surrounding peaks! The experience keeps getting better … Continue reading Aiguille du Midi (CHAMONIX)
Mont Blanc Family Fun 