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Hiking l’Étang de la Bonde
In the wonderful green Luberon there is this beautiful lake, called l’Étang de la Bonde. This lake is situated nearby the village of La Motte d’Aigues. You can make a great hike with kids along the lake. We made the hike with our two kids in the fall, which offered us awing views on a beautiful landscape. The type of vegetation will give you beautiful colors all year long though. The fresh air also prevented our kids from complaining about the heat. In our case, to make a hike with our little ones, we have to create perfect conditions to get them enthusiastic ;-). This hike along l’Étang de la…
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Zoo La Barben
Zoo La Barben is a kid-friendly zoo near Aix-en-Provence, in a beautiful surrounding. If you like zoo’s, you will probably adore this petit but well maintained zoo. A big variety of animals live in Zoo La Barben, so your kid can learn about bears, monkeys, reptiles, tropical birds, you name it. There are more than 130 different species to admire and to find out how interesting they are. It gives you a good chance to teach your kid about the beautiful flora and fauna the world can offer. Although the animals are not in their natural habitat, the zoo has made a good effort in giving the animals a proper…
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La Ciotat
La Grande Plage at La Ciotat could be a beach you would want to avoid during weekends and holidays. It can be very crowded over there. But when you have the luxury to visit La Ciotat on a quiet moment, it is a nice Mediterranean kid-friendly spot (especially because of other another factor, see below…). La Ciotat its beaches are a combination of rocks and sand and the beautiful seawater keeps being shallow for lots of meters. The beach itself is very narrow though, that’s why it can be packed with sun lovers. A factor that it is very comfortable is that the beach has several restaurants where you can…
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Le Village des Automates
Close to Aix-en-Provence, on a road with several ‘châteaux de vin’, you find this outdoor amusement park for kids with lots and lots of fun to play. While driving on the road that leads you to Le Village des Automates in Saint-Cannat, you just can’t miss the huge blue whale that almost screams: ‘come here’. Well, my kids got that message. Factor cute The park is located in a forest and is very good to manage with young kids. Although some of the theme attractions are kind of old-fashioned, the cuteness factor wins. Kids don’t even see that. They are far too happy with all the creative slides, a bicycle…
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Picnic Château Gassier
Sometimes you just have to extend the idea of kid-friendly activities, also to make yourself very happy. And a happy you is always a good idea for the whole family! So what would you think of a picnic with kids on a vineyard? The vineyard I would like to suggest you is Château Gassier in Puyloubier, a village near Aix-en-Provence. The château is situated in a beautiful surrounding, right on the foot of the Sainte-Victoire mountain. Picture acres of vines and the impressive mountain range and you must be as enthusiastic as me. On top of that the vineyard organises several cute events, like an outdoor cinema or an astronomic…
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Lac de Peyrolles
As a proud resident of the Provence, I really love the sun and the massive amount of sunny days. However, the summers in the Provence can be very hot. My kids love the sun as well, but sometimes we can’t take the heat anymore. Yes, we are spoiled brats, I know. I have the perfect cooling get-away for you, including playgrounds and a swimming lake. And near Aix-en-Provence. Lac de Peyrolles is a great kid-friendly place to spend your entire day. Only from July to August you pay a fee to park your car, besides these months this even is a free escape! And what do you get? An azur…
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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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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…
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Indian Forest, Aix-en-Provence
Hidden under a bunch of leafs, you find some fun climbing tracks made from tree to tree. How great that you can go climbing with kids in Aix-en-Provence. Indian Forest is a low-profile place, where kids from already 3 years old can have their first encounters with climbing material and techniques. The kind instructors first provide your kid with gear and then explain some techniques at the beginning. Afterwards you are free to go with kid. My kids surprised me completely by immediately copying the right moves and having no fear on hight. There are several levels in climbing tracks and the first levels are easily accessible for parents to…
