Hang on, aren’t 🛝 ALL playgrounds 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc 🛝 mountain playgrounds ? I mean, we live in 🗻 the mountains, so every 🛝 playground has mountain views ! 🛝 Mountain playgrounds sounds like a misnomer for the 🗻 Pays du Mont-Blanc? For the sake of argument, this article concentrates on 🗻🛝 the mountain playgrounds that are less easily accessible – ie you … Continue reading MOUNTAIN PLAYGROUNDS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
I thought it might be useful to have at hand in one article some of ☀️ the activities available for families & children 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond) over the ☀️ summertime . . . So, if you reside 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, or if you are visiting the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc this July or August, here are some (perhaps) fresh ideas – or reminders of great activities … Continue reading 25+ SUMMER ACTIVITIES au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
We are 🐯 HUGE ANIMAL LOVERS here at MBFF . . . And so we are lucky to have some 🦌 fabulous animal parks, farms and kennels 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, [ ⇒ for more information about 🗻 animal parks au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and a little beyond), see separate article here ] As we are at the crossroads with 🇫🇷 Further France, 🇨🇭 Switzerland and … Continue reading ANIMAL PARKS & AQUARIUMS further afield
We are lucky to have some fabulous 🛷 pistes de luge au Pays du Mont-Blanc, some in town centres, some up the mountain . . . [ ⇒ for more information about 🛷 pistes de luge au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and nearby), see separate MBFF article here ] Colour code for listings Pays du Mont-Blanc 🇫🇷 Further France 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇫🇷 Pistes de luge in … Continue reading PISTES de LUGES beyond le Pays du Mont-Blanc
Have you ever been to the 🖼 MAMCO Genève? This 🖼 modern and contemporary art museum is located in an old industrial building in the Plainpalais area of Geneva, and it offers fabulous guided visits for families on Wednesdays and on the first Sunday of each month. MBFF has been a few times, and we love it! What is the MAMCO ? The 🖼 MAMCO (Musée … Continue reading A visit to the MAMCO Genève en famille (GENEVA)
🐠🐊 AQUATIS aquarium-vivarium opened just over 4 years ago, and I had been wanting to take the boys ever since! And so MBFF was delighted to be invited just before the Christmas holidays. I kept it a secret from the boys until we arrived, just to add to the excitement; both boys being huge animal lovers (yes, including 🐊 reptiles and 🐸 amphibians!), I knew … Continue reading AQUATIS aquarium-vivarium en famille (LAUSANNE)
We are lucky to have some 🖼 wonderful museums 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc, many housed in architectural gems (old, renovated and new) . . . and as well as their permanent collections, they also offer 🖼 temporary exhibitions and 🎨 workshops for children and families over the school holidays! We are also lucky if we live in (or are visiting!) the 🏔 Pays du Mont-Blanc, as we … Continue reading MUSEUMS & EXHIBITIONS in nearby SWITZERLAND
[ note 2023 – this exhibition has been and gone, but I’ll leave the article on the website, as the photos are so magical ! Also, similar interactive exhibitions will come to the Beaulieu in Lausanne ! ] Just before the holidays MBFF had the great privilege of being invited to experience the world-famous sensory exhibition Van Gogh Alive – the experience in Lausanne . . … Continue reading « VAN GOGH ALIVE – the experience » en famille (LAUSANNE)
This is a whole article dedicated to 🎄 Christmastime chez vous au Pays du Mont-Blanc, and here you’ll find information about : 🎄 where to buy your own Christmas tree locally; ✨ where to buy your Christmas decorations locally; ✉️🎅 where to post your letters to Santa; 📦 Les Boites de Noël – Secours Populaire; 🎨 some ideas for Christmas craft chez vous; Head over … Continue reading CHRISTMASTIME chez vous au Pays du Mont-Blanc
It’s official in Geneva: 🌺 SPRINGTIME has ARRIVED ! The 🌳 Marronnier de la Treille’s first leaf appeared last week, on the 3rd March 2024 – and this is seen in the Helvetian city as the first official day of 🌺 spring! (see below for further explanations). And here are the 🌺 first buds on our Sallanches co-property tree too: 🌷 Springtime: when 🌱 crocuses & snowdrops … Continue reading SPRING & SUMMER BLOSSOMS and FLOWERS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
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)
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)
There are several 🧬 BIG SCIENCE EVENTS that occur regularly 🏔 au Pays du Mont-Blanc and beyond, and we have the annual 🧪 La Fête de la Science in autumn ! 🧪 La Fête de la Science – in October (annual); 🧪 La Nuit des Sciences – every two years in Geneva; 🧪 CERN Open Days – every few years, the CERN opens to the public; This got me thinking … Continue reading SCIENCE MUSEUMS, EVENTS & ACTIVITIES for families au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and beyond)
🍁 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)
The MBFF tribe had driven past the starting point to the 💦 Gorges Mystérieuses de la Tête-Noire on numerous occasions, on our way to the 🇨🇭 Bisse du Trient family hike, or en-route to 🇨🇭 Martigny or 💦 the Bains de Saillons . . . but until a few summers ago, I hadn’t ventured any closer to this “ mysterious gorge ” . . . but I had certainly wondered what … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: les Gorges Mystérieuses de la Tête-Noire (Switzerland)
We made our first visit en famille to Geneva’s 🌷 botanical gardens (CJBG – Le Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Genève) on a crisp and sunny 🍁 autumn’s day a few years back . . . and we loved it so much that we couldn’t wait to head back there in early spring! Just how had this magical garden eluded us for so long? (we … Continue reading Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Genève (CJBG) – Geneva’s botanical gardens
[ 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)
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)
The hike along the 💦 Bisse du Trient is perfect for families with young children or older relatives who are searching for a short and easy (and relatively flat) hike at slightly higher altitude than the valley floor! The path starts from the 🇨🇭 Col de la Forclaz (Vallée du Trient, Switzerland) and meanders through the shade of a 🌲 pine and mélèzes (larch) forest, to reach the ☕️ Buvette … Continue reading FAMILY HIKES: Le Bisse du Trient (SWITZERLAND)
We are 🐯 HUGE ANIMAL LOVERS here at MBFF . . . and we are lucky to share our home with a couple of affectionate (and fairly tolerant!) 🐱🐱 felines. But perhaps some of you don’t have the home set-up to accommodate animal friends, or perhaps allergies are preventing you from doing so . . . Luckily – whether you live 🗻 au Pays du Mont-Blanc or you are visiting – … Continue reading ANIMAL PARKS & FARMS au Pays du Mont-Blanc (and a little beyond)
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
🇨🇭🎄 Montreux Noël 2023 will be running from 23rd November ⇒ 24th December 2023. I had wanted to go to the 🎄 Marché de Noël de Montreux ( part of the wider🎄 Montreux Noël celebrations ) for a very long time, and we finally managed to go en famille five years ago. We were not disappointed; it was quite simply féérique! So let me share with you … Continue reading Montreux Noël ( SWITZERLAND ) – 23rd November ⇒ 24th December 2023
🏔 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 you’ll find: … Continue reading LAKES & WATERSPORTS au Pays du Mont-Blanc
🏔 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)
Throughout the year in 🇨🇭 Geneva, Nyon & Valais many of the 🖼 museums and their temporary exhibitions are 🗓 FREE on the FIRST Sunday of the month! In addition, the 🖼 museums often put on some 🎨 wonderful workshops & guided tours for children and families (also FREE!) on this day. NB – this initiative does not apply to private museums & collections. The next FREE Sunday will … Continue reading GENEVA, NYON & VALAIS (Switzerland) – FREE museums on first Sunday of the month!
Mont Blanc Family Fun 