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Family Adventures in France
Our friends and fellow travelers Eric and Fay and family have spent many vacations in wonderful France - here's their report.
We have been fortunate to spend several family vacations in a place that most Americans associate with distinctly grown-up activities-France. We have found France to be a wonderful place not only for us adults, but for our children as well. We spent five wonderful summers in the South of France, mostly in the Nice area, and some time in Paris and Provence as well. What follows are some general impressions and thoughts about our French vacations, rather than specific travel recommendations - though a few of those are sprinkled in where relevant.
 | | French flowers |
We found that France does museums very well for children. Conforming somewhat to stereotype, English translations of museum descriptions were sometimes lacking, but we found that they often had special kid sections with lots of fun hands on activities that required little or no translation. One museum that stood out in that regard was the special "water" museum at the famous Pont du Garde Roman aqueduct. Playgrounds were common and well maintained and equipped.
One of the reasons that the South of France is such a great place for family vacations during the summer is that this is where much of the north of France - not to mention England --spends its summer vacations! Even though the area can get crowded during the summer, there are loads of family-friendly activities and places to visit that are special enough to produce lasting family memories. Our children have never forgotten the medieval jousting match they watched at Les Baux de Provence, featuring knights on horseback pretending to knock each other off their horses while shouting "Montjoie St.Denis!" and other historic French battle cries. The South of France also has wonderful zoos, including one in the breathtaking town of St. Jean Cap Ferrat, and the city of Monte Carlo (an easy 20 minute drive from Nice) has an extraordinary aquarium and an equally memorable botanic garden. The beaches are, of course, known for their "minimal" dress code (it's worth having a discussion with your kids before taking them to a topless beach for the first time), but after a while, it felt completely natural. The beaches in Nice are rocky, not sandy, but there are great sandy beaches close by - including a public beach in Antibes, around 15 minutes away by car, that is in a bay and ideal for families with small children. And there are literally dozens of music festivals all across the south of France during the summer, providing for wonderful evening family activities with a bit of culture thrown in. Finally, there is nothing like watching your young children run happily through a field of lavender while you are sitting close by, sipping a glass of Rose, and marveling at your good fortune to be in such a heavenly location.
France has the world's greatest food (IMHO) so feeding your kids shouldn't be too hard, unless they are that picky stage where they only consume one specific brand of chicken nugget prepared in one specific way. (Yes, there is "McDo" for such food emergencies.) Supermarkets are filled with some familiar American brands, and there is (despite the reputation for fine food), a fair display of junk and snack food as well. Of course if your 10 year-old is an adventurous eater, France is a paradise. Our son's attempt to order Crispy Lamb Tongue (Langue d'Agneau Croustillante) in a restaurant became the stuff of family legend.
Every traveler's worst nightmare is requiring medical attention overseas, and though no major accident occurred in our travels, we did have a few occasions to use French hospitals and doctors. I would simply say that they at a minimum were comparable to the US, and in fact, probably left us in the dust. When our 5 year-old daughter required a blood-test, for example, the French doctors were horrified that we Americans subjected children to this procedure without applying "Emla," a simple local anesthetic patch to numb the skin beforehand.
We are admittedly Francophiles, but France I believe holds out great treasures for all. It has great natural beauty as well as the more well known cultural sites. One summer we went to the Gorges du Verdon, the "Grand Canyon of France." Now of course it is a lesser canyon than ours, but very beautiful nonetheless. France has for families all the ingredients of a good time - no end of great things to see, do and eat. And although I personally wouldn't want to be caught dead in any Disney theme park, for families who appreciate those types of things, there is also Euro Disney near Paris to add to the fun.
 | | Swimming under the Pont Du Gard |
Of course the country is modern and well run. (Yes, like any country it can have its head- scratching moments and strange rules and customs, but I mean modern and well run compared to some less developed countries.) The people are, despite the American stereotype, perfectly friendly. We never experienced the Gallic frosty snobby attitude which supposedly is common. As is the case of most people on this planet, people in France have a soft spot for children, and our children would regularly receive attention from strangers and merchants. I recall one vendor in an open air market whom we would frequent for our meat purchases - she would without fail produce a small toy for my children every time we stopped by her stall. Knowing a little about the customs beforehand - including that it's important to acknowledge merchants formally with a "bonjour monsieur/madame" when entering a shop, for example - goes a long way towards establishing friendly relations.
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