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 24 years!). Over 4 days – this year from Tuesday 6th to Friday 9th August 2019 – every afternoon and evening (15h30 until 18h30) the pedestrian streets of Sallanches, as well as the quais, the Pré de Foire, the Place de … Continue reading Festival « Les Enfants d’Abord » (Sallanches)
With a now eight year old and a five year old in tow, the MBFF family is beginning to find its 🏔 hiking mojo (we hope). Here, below, you will find some of MBFF’s favourite (and tried and tested!) family hikes 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, with suggestions for buvettes and refuges: For general tips on hiking with small children see MBFF post . . . FAMILY HIKES – … Continue reading MBFF’s recommended family hikes au Pays du Mont-Blanc
MBFF has now spent 8 years discovering and testing 🌈 playgrounds 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc. We are fairly confident that we have tested most of them (please let us know of any treasures we may have missed along the way!). The following list highlights our personal favourites (this is clearly subjective!). At certain points on our journey of discovery, we had to avoid certain playgrounds, as with two energetic boys … Continue reading 10 of MBFF’s FAVOURITE PLAYGROUNDS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
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 the 3rd lake for windsurfers. 🎣 Le Lac … Continue reading Lacs des Ilettes (Sallanches)
You have quite probably passed the 💦 Cascade d’Arpenaz on several occasions, on a trip between the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc and 🇨🇭 Geneva or 🇫🇷 Annecy on the autoroute. The 💦 Cascade d’Arpenaz is one of the most visible and iconic of our waterfalls in the region . . . but have you ever come off the motorway and headed onto the local road past the village of Luzier … Continue reading La Cascade d’Arpenaz (Sallanches)
You have perhaps heard that saying ☔️ “ there’s no such thing as bad weather; just badly dressed people “ ? (I heard this several times on a couple of work trips to 🇮🇸 Iceland!) . . . 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 can no longer actually see … Continue reading RAINY DAYS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
I had visited the Refuge du Tornieux (1450m) on a ☀️ summer hike a couple of years ago . . . but heading there last week on a ❄️ winter hike was an entirely different experience! I was on my own, which is a rare pleasure . . . but as I am always thinking ahead for fun family activities, as I stopped to take photos, I was … Continue reading REFUGE du TORNIEUX: a 4km luge descent (Sallanches)
It’s that time of year when the ⛸ seasonal ice-skating rinks begin to appear in town centres throughout 🏔 le Pays du Mont-Blanc . . . a lovely way to spend some time en famille, or to let the youngsters play with their friends. Sometimes, next to the ice-skating rink, you might find yourself rewarded with a mulled wine stand or a small🎄Christmas market! As well as the ⛸ ice-skating rinks au … Continue reading SEASONAL ICE-SKATING au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
🏔 Au Pays du Mont-Blanc we are lucky to have 💦 several swimming lakes with stunning mountain views . . . while the perfect spot for strolling and biking in autumn and winter, come the balmy days of spring and summer, the water warms and the lakes start to get busy with bathers and ⛵️ watersport enthusiasts (at Lac de Passy and Lacs des Ilettes: windsurfing, paddle boarding, SUP yoga, … Continue reading LAKES & WATERSPORTS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
It is now ☀️ officially summertime, scorching hot, and paddling pools have become fixtures in gardens – so I thought this the opportune moment to re-post an article about the 💦 WATERSLIDES, WATER GAMES & WIBIT PARKS, PADDLING POOLS, SWIMMING POOLS & AQUATIC CENTRES au Pays du Mont-Blanc and beyond! In the following article, you will find information about: 💦 summer waterslides – over the last few years, some ephemeral … Continue reading SUMMER SPLASH! – waterslides, wibit games, paddling pools and parcs aquatiques au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
According to the 🌳 Marronier de la Treille’s first blossom (Geneva), yesterday – Tuesday 12th March 2019 – was the first official day of 🌺 spring! (see below for more explanations). 🌷 Springtime – when 🌱 crocuses first timidly reach out to the sun from their bed of grass, when the first 🌺 almond and cherry blossoms appear in their splendid hues of pink, when magnolia trees blossom in splendid glory, when spring flower … Continue reading SPRINGTIME BLOSSOMS & FLOWERS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
The 📚 Médiathèque «Ange Abrate» in Sallanches finally opened its doors to the public on a ☔️ rainy morning – Saturday 17th March 2018 – with a day of animations for the whole family . . . The new médiathèque is spacious, with a very open-plan, bright and modern style of architecture. The Section Adulte is located on the ground floor, where you will also find 15 mulitimedia spots, … Continue reading Médiathèque «Ange Abrate» in Sallanches
We are lucky to have some 🖼 wonderful museums 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, many housed in architectural gems (old, new and renovated). . . and as well as their permanent collections, they also offer 🎨 temporary exhibitions and workshops for children and families over the school holidays! And if we venture further than the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc – 🇫🇷 to Cluses, to Annemasse, to la Maison du Salève, to … Continue reading MUSEUMS & EXHIBITIONS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
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, gold and orange covering the trees, crunching under my feet and reflected in the … Continue reading BUGGY WALKS & FAMILY STROLLS: lakes in autumn au Pays du Mont-Blanc
The 18th edition of 🎭 Les Petits Asticots – the annual children’s festival 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, taking place during the 🍁 Toussaint school holidays – will be yet again offering families six inspirational days of theatre, music, dance, circus and workshops from 20th to 26th October! The MBFF team absolutely LOVE 🎭 Les Petits Asticots – not only are the shows of high quality, the festival is local and its timing during … Continue reading Festival « Les Petits Asticots » (Pays du Mont-Blanc)
2019 update – this appears to be a very popular article on the MBFF website, so I have updated it with a few new suggestions for family walks! ⛰ Family hiking with small children is not 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 … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES – 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 areas . . . … Continue reading SOFTPLAY, INDOOR PLAY & BOUNCY CASTLES au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
A walk along the 💦 quais in Sallanches makes for a perfect buggy walk or stroll with a toddler on a draisienne (see MBFF post Sallanches springtime family stroll for a possible route). All is very compact in the centre of Sallanches – so you can take in two playgrounds, 🦌 Le Centre de la Nature Montagnarde (currently shut for renovation; re-opening 2020), 📚 la Médiathèque Ange Abrate, a … Continue reading The beautiful quais of the Sallanche river
What you’ll find in this post, is a list of baby & toddler playgroups au Pays du Mont-Blanc that you can just pop along to for FREE! For a much more detailed list of 🌈 Baby & Toddler Activities au Pays du Mont-Blanc, see separate post. Colour code for listings: Chamonix Valley (Chamonix, Argentière, Les Houches, Servoz & Vallorcine) Passy & environs Sallanches, Combloux, Cordon & Domancy St Gervais, Le … 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. Chamonix Chamonix’s 🎥 Cinéma VOX is a bit of an institution. There are VO films … Continue reading Cinemas au Pays du Mont-Blanc
There is now just 🎳 ONE bowling alley au Pays du Mont-Blanc: in Sallanches. Chamonix The 🎳 bowling alley in Chamonix recently SHUT . . . to leave place for – you guessed it – a NEW hotel! Sallanches In Sallanches you will find the 🎳 Bowling du Mont-Blanc, located near the 🎥 Ciné Mont-Blanc. This bowling alley is a favourite for birthday parties and our son had a great time … Continue reading 🎳 Bowling au Pays du Mont-Blanc
🌸 Springtime has arrived . . . and while I dream of one day being in Japan for its famous 🌸 springtime cherry blossoms, for now I am excited to share this little Sallanches town walk with you. While there is still snow on the higher altitude walks, why not take a leisurely amble through the streets of Sallanches, enjoy the spring blossoms and discover a little history as you go … Continue reading BUGGY WALKS – a springtime stroll in Sallanches
On some beautiful ☀️ sunny days (and even on some not-so-sunny ones), we find ourselves down at the 🛹 🛴 Sallanches skatepark! It was fairly recently renovated, and it is constantly re-painted with fabulous designs, and there is lots of space for skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes. I’m always pleasantly surprised by the range of ages present – little ones on small bikes and scooters, teenagers, young adults . . … Continue reading Sallanches Skatepark
[ NOTE – the 🐻 Centre de la Nature Montagnarde in Sallanches is undergoing a huge renovation project, and is set to re-open in 2020. While it is shut to the public during the works, you can visit the affiliate site (rue de Doran, old médiathèque site) / guided tours only summer 2019 ] Set in the historic 14th century 🏰 Château des Rubins, just behind the Eglise … Continue reading Centre de la Nature Montagnarde (Sallanches)
You don’t have to head as far as big cities like 🇨🇭 Geneva or 🇫🇷 Lyon to get your fill of culture (though there is certainly much culture to be had there too!). Head to Sallanches’ 🎭 Salle Léon Curral for some excellent (and very reasonably priced!) entertainment. Here you will find: 🎵 concerts (recent concerts have included: Ayo, Irma, L.E.J, Camille); 🎭 theatre; comedy; 💃 dance; 🤹♂️ circus acts; Recently renovated, and with a … Continue reading Salle Léon Curral (Sallanches)
