August has arrived au Pays du Mont Blanc . . . and after a July filled with family/children’s events, festivals and exciting workshops & guided tours, here is the listings for the summer month ahead! I’ve included lots of ideas for us adults over the month (evening film screenings, talks, guided walks); as we’ll all be needing some R & R and brain stimulation after all the activity-filled … Continue reading August Agenda au Pays du Mont Blanc
Every Wednesday afternoon during the French school holidays, the Centre de la Nature Montagnarde in Sallanches organises worshops for children aged 6 to 12 years called Les P’tits Experts de la Nature. Children are given a certificate booklet when they do their first workshop and they collect a stamp for each completed workshop. During their 2-hour workshop, they become little “experts” in different fields of nature! My son … Continue reading Les P’tits Experts de la Nature (Sallanches)
Here is the updated list of children’s/family activities this August au Pays du Mont Blanc . . . please feel free to let MBFF know of any workshops/events missing from the list! Longer workshops & stages Cat Kartal «Art & Nature» (Chamonix) Cat Kartal is an artist who lives in the Pays du Mont Blanc and, as well as running an art studio and producing her … Continue reading Children’s activities this August au Pays du Mont Blanc
Every now and again a new place to visit comes along that really makes me SMILE . . . The Chalet des Créateurs in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains is one such venture. The Chalet des Créateurs is many things at once: a gallery showcasing local creative talent (45+ créateurs, and always changing); a boutique with unique hand-made, local goods/gifts; a place for children and adults to try out workshops! A … Continue reading Le Chalet des Créateurs (Saint-Gervais-les-Bains)
A contingent of the MBFF team (the youngest member and myself) headed off last week on a voyage of art exploration and discovery . . . to the newly painted multi-storey car park in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains: 2KM3. We went with a draisienne (push bike). There was art, and there were some steep descents (and ascents on the return journey) for the little one! What a marvellous … Continue reading 2KM3 – when a car park becomes ARTWORK! (Saint-Gervais)
The current temporary exhibition at the MEG is «L’effet boomerang. Les arts aborigènes d’Australie», and it will run until 7th January 2018. See here for more information about the exhibition. For more information about the MEG, see a previous post from MBFF. For children and families – for more information about activities, music, dance, storytelling and creative workshops on offer for children and families, see the MEG’s programme. This little … Continue reading The MEG’s new exhibition: «L’effet boomerang. Les arts aborigènes d’Australie» (Geneva)
The MBFF team are big fans of Italy for holidays! As a destination from the Arve Valley, it is easy to get there through the Mont Blanc Tunnel and we can also book hotels and apartments last minute! Italians LOVE children (and not just well-behaving children; ALL children!), the food is very family-friendly (and delicious!), and there is endless nature and culture to explore. We … Continue reading Forte di Bard (Italy)
La Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny is one of my all time favourite museums! There are some fantastic temporary exhibitions organised here (every 6 months the main exhibition is changed, and past exhibtions have included: Klee, Goya, Rodin, Giacometti, Moore, Modigliani, Claudel, Chagall, Braque, Dégas, Manet, Dufy, Miró, Gauguin, Bonnard, Van Gogh, Picasso, Morisot . . . ), the building itself is an architectural gem (to … Continue reading La Fondation Pierre Gianadda (Martigny)
The Musée Montagnard is housed in one of the oldest 18th century houses in the centre of Les Houches and 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 keen to protect the heritage … Continue reading Le Musée Montagnard (Les Houches)
We first visited Barryland – Musée et Chiens du Saint-Bernard with a dog-loving and inquisitive 3 year old and a sleeping (mostly!) newborn baby in a pram . . . this visit coincided with the arrival of St-Bernard puppies! Last year we visited again and this visit coincided with another litter of cute puppies, but also with the most wonderful Easter Egg Hunt in the grounds next … Continue reading Barryland – Musée et Chiens du Saint-Bernard (Martigny)
Set in the historic 14th century Chateau des Rubins, just behind the Eglise St Jacques, the Centre de la Nature Montagnarde is a museum dedicated to the Alps. Set across 5 floors, an interactive journey will take you from glaciology and geology, to some close encounters with the resident taxidermy (a wolf, a lynx and a bear among others!). As well as panels explaining the … Continue reading Centre de la Nature Montagnarde (Sallanches)
Chamonix has a great selection of museums, and these museums often offer creative workshops or guided tours for children during the school holidays (the Tourist Office will have a list of those scheduled during your stay). In Chamonix town itself you will find; the Musée Alpin; the Espace Tairraz (Musée d’Alpinisme et des Cristaux); the Maison de la Mémoire et du Patrimoine Janny Couttet (see below for … Continue reading Chamonix Museums
One of our favourite museums in Geneva is the MEG (le Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève) . . . we watched as it was being built and we were excited when it opened its shiny new doors! The adventure starts before you even enter the museum – the architecture is modern and audacious (designed by Graber Pulver Architekten AG) and there is a pretty landscaped garden (Hager Partner … Continue reading MEG – Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève
One of the largest museums in Switzerland, the MAH – Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, displays over 650 000 sculptures, objects and paintings over 5 floors. Built in 1910 by the architect Marc Camoletti, the museum is located in the old town, and so is a short walk from plenty of other family delights. We thoroughly enjoyed our last visit here, concentrating on just a couple of … Continue reading MAH – Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (Geneva)
Geneva’s Natural History Museum has been our go-to museum on rainy days for the last 5 years! We have, over the years, pushed a sleeping baby around the exhibits here, watched our toddlers crawl/run/topple over and we have spent plenty of time running after them too! What a wonderful museum this is! Set across 4 floors, the permanent exhibits include: local fauna, animals of the world … Continue reading Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle (Geneva)
