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Maison Nosh, Aix
Although Maison Nosh doesn’t have kids as their target audience, this coffee bar/brunch/lunch cafe is very suitable to take your mini to. It is definitely a good kid-friendly spot for healthy food in Aix-en-Provence. With a lot of students chatting about student things (I AM OLD!), nobody cares whether your kid makes more noise then usual. They have a very creative menu with a lot of healthy products and bio drinks. The tasteful meals and bakings Maison Nosh offers are all produced in an eco-responsable way. That makes the offer way better than the standard ‘menu d’enfant’ with French fries and a ‘steak hachee’. They have just moved to another…
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Playground Aix-en-Provence
Parc de la Torse Looking for a playground in Aix-en-Provence, just outside the centre? Parc de la Torse is beautiful green parc in Eastern Aix with two small gated playgrounds. One more for the little ones, the other more for kids till around 8 years old. There are long paths to cycle and scooter on, the park is very suitable for playing ball or enjoying picnics (and apéros ;-). Parc Jourdan Quite close to the famous Cours Mirabeau in the heart of Aix-en-Provence you find this pretty city park. The park has a gated playground with some nice play objects, like a plane for example. You can definitely bring a…
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Playground Eguilles
The charming uphill town Eguilles has a fun playground, next to the ‘Ecole Élementaire Publique du Cros’. If you are already around and your kid wants to move, you could have a good stop here. The playground is not perse big, but diverse enough. The playground has for instance a climbing pyramid for those who want to train their climbing skills. For the smaller kids there is a wooden train and some seesaw objects. There is also a wooden castle with a slide that, my kids their favorite, has a fire pole. Fireman Sam can shake it… Sporty and older kids can have a go in the soccer court and…
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Dinosaur’Istres
Here is one great activity for the whole family! This kid-friendly dinosaur park in Istres is big fun for your kid, is super educational (including for this mum) and is even for free. And open despite sanitary restrictions. Go go go! Dinosaur’Istres is a park on a hill where you can walk a trail from 3km, here you come across all kinds of real size dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptors. Remember that kitchen scene in the Jurassic Park movie? Iiiihks, well I definitely did remember while seeing some of those species. With every species comes an explanation, though in French. The trail was just perfect for my 4…
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Hiking around the Sainte-Victoire
All around Aix-en-Provence you can see the mountain named Sainte-Victoire. It’s top with a huge cross on it, is an icon for every Aixoise or Aixois. I have come to love this spot so much, that it really feels like coming home when I see it. Popular as it is in the Provence, there are many walks possible, from several places to start. If you would like a few hints of kid-friendly hikes around the Sainte-Victoire, feel free to read this post. It depends on your kids condition (and mood!) how long you’re able to hike. Going to the top is quite a big hike, I consider my kids (6…
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Château La Coste, Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade
OK, you would like to admire some beautiful landscapes, see art and taste a lovely rosé? However, your kid wants to run around and move? I have the perfect go-to for you! It is the marvelous place called Château La Coste. Château La Coste is a kid-friendly wine domaine just a few kilometers from Aix-en-Provence. Château La Coste is a huge vineyard with amazing land art objects, specially made for the domaine by artists all over the world. To have a walk on the landscape, you buy a ticket at the modern reception building. From there you are free to go and walk by as much art as you (and…
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Colorado Provençal, Rustrel
OK, it is quite a ride from Aix-en-Provence towards this place (+/- 1 hour), but it is worth the effort. Rustrel, a village in the beautiful Luberon, houses Colorado Provençal. It’s a former ocre mine and creates a beautiful landscape that is just perfect for a kid-friendly hike. Formed millions of years ago, this colorful place was turned into a mine in 1871. The ocre was used as a pigment and therefore transported all over the world. The mine stopped its activity in the nineties and later became this touristic site. We had never seen a soil of ocre before, the colors that cover the landscape are picturesque. Let alone…
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Forêt des cèdres, Bonnieux
Let me take you to la Forêt des Cèdres, a beautiful kid-friendly forest in the Luberon. The Luberon is a gorgeous green mountain range near Aix-en-Provence and houses several of the most charming villages of France. After having had food truck bio crêpes for lunch and delicious ice cream as a dessert in Apt, you would say that the day couldn’t get better. The road towards the forest was already breathtaking, oooh, the views… If you have the chance, I’d recommend to take a stroll through Bonnieux as well. But, I was talking about the forest. There are 4 routes you could take, all are well marked. We took the…
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Ma Ferme, Eguilles
Have I got a secret for you to reveal…. psst… It is a place called Ma ferme in Eguilles, which is a charming village next to Aix-en-Provence. Ma ferme is a kid-friendly farm shop in the middle of the ‘campagne’. It’s not perse the intention to be kid-friendly, however there are some nice elements that make it a kid-friendly activity around Aix-en-Provence. Let’s begin with animals… The place has some cuties walking about, for instance goats, geese, pigs and lots of chickens. On a field behind the farm there are even ponies and donkeys. Besides the cattle, there is also a lot of interesting fauna to look at. Especially tempting…
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Playground Vitrolles
Between Aix-en-Provence and the airport Marignane lies Vitrolles. The village is especially known for its yellow and blue Swedish shop. Who knew that it would offer a great playground too (and I don’t mean Småland)? Thanks to a good hint we visited Parc du Griffon and I am happy to share this huge playground with natural elements. What an amazing kid-friendly park! My kids were sold when they encountered the huge wooden griffin that embraces two large slides. These were by far the largest we experienced in a free public playground. It was touching to see a big smile on literally every kid’s face that came down, again and again…
