Kid-friendly stay in the woods ⋆ Carcassonne, Occitanie

With big enthusiasm I can tell you about a fun trip (outside the Provence) we had last fall. My kids still talk excitedly about our stay in the ‘cabin in the wood’. We booked a 3 day stay at Les cabanes dans les bois in Carcassonne. Lovers of medieval times must have heard about this town, it is also a very popular board game. Let me tell you some more about our kid-friendly stay in the woods.

A cabin in the woods

If you are looking for a slightly different holiday accomodation and love to be in the woods… Search no more, I’d recommend this lovely little park where the wooden cabins are set up high so you have a beautiful view over the forest. Because of a slightly boring period (talking about Covid-restrictions and cold weather) we couldn’t enjoy the swimming pool or restaurant facilities. But the kids didn’t mind. They were fond of the very cute room service, both in the morning and evening we ordered a menu. This was brought in a picnic basket, including cute tablecloth and was hanged next to the door. The kids were thrilled!

Little knights

The park itself didn’t have a playground, but there was a small treasure hunt to discover the domain. There is enough to be discovered in the surroundings. To start with a visit of the medieval town Carcassonne. It is very touristy, of course, but your kid will probably be impressed by the castle and the medieval elements within its gates. All tourist shops have their best kid-attention-drawing-stuff in their window. The little town has all kinds of restaurants, from chic to not so chic. We loved all the ones that served crêpes because our kids don’t have the finest taste. This town sure was a good place to spend a few hours.

Toulouse in a too tiny nutshell

Afterwards we were a bit crazy to drive to Toulouse. Our visit of this town was way too short so we definitely want to go back there. And write a proper blog about it of course! Still, I already have one very cute place to share with you… We loved our stay at Madame Bovary where we all enjoyed a delicious piece of cake. Madame Bovary is a sweet combination of a used book store and a ‘salon de thé’, where the interior and tableware is of the vintage style. The area around this salon de thé is also very interesting when you are on a small kids shopping mission. Don’t skip the nearby specialized kids bookstore Tire Lire, of course most books are French, but you can find some pretty presents here. More to follow about Toulouse with kids, hopefully sooooon.

A great cave

As we only booked two nights (I think this was a perfect amount, because the cabins are quite expensive), we drove homewards the next day. However, not straight away because we had to see one of the famous caves in the region. The ‘gouffre géant de Cabrespine‘ is an enchanting cave, from a glass balcony you and your kid(s) can get a view of the magnificent stalactites and stalagmites. To thinks that these wonders of nature exist for millions of years… My kids were impressed, but I have to admit they especially liked the headphone auditor which they could operate themselves. One big hint: provide your family with warm clothes, the temperature inside is 14 degrees.