Kids love to travel but for many parents a family vacation is a daunting prospect. It needn’t be if some in depth planning is done beforehand. Your arrangements for travel including booking flights and accommodations are only the tip of the iceberg.
Family Vacations Require Family Friendly Sites
There are a lot of vacation destinations with a shortage of family friendly sites. If you are on vacation with kids and there is nothing for them to do, or so it seems to them, you can expect to come home from your holiday more frazzled than when you set out. Finding what is available for kids in advance of your trip will make your vacation a true holiday.
Guide books are not really very helpful in finding child friendly sites. They will be very useful in preparing you for your general travel needs and might just come in handy when the young one inevitably asks a specific question about the site you are visiting. All those recommendations of places to eat are fine for adults but most are not very child oriented. There are other places to eat and you will come across them in your wanderings. Markets and are ideal for snacking.
It is best to have a look on the web for reviews by other travelers’ who have taken vacations with kids and heed their advice about specific sites. You could also have a look at the websites of the places you might visit to see if there is any indication that they are child friendly. Always the best advice comes from those who have gone before you.
A Top Family Vacation in the South of France
The number of wonderful things you can do with your children in the south of France is unlimited. It is more suited to their interests and needs than a big city like Paris.
Kids Learn By Exploring
The south of France is a great place for kids to explore. Here they can lead you through the streets of Arles following a path to the exact spots where van Gogh stood while he painted. They can snap pictures of the majestic Roman aqueduct, the Pont du Gard and run freely along the many trails that surround this unforgettable site. In Grasse they will love a tour of a perfume factory and learning about the sense of smell and the combination of ingredients that are used to manufacture scents. In Nice the whole family will enjoy exploring the old town and taking in the market. An unforgettable experience for children is a visit to a fortified medieval town.
The good thing about exploring such villages as Haut-de-Cagnes, near Nice or St.-Paul-de-Vence is that they are more or less free of cars. Children will love scampering along the streets and exploring the ramparts. Don’t miss Les Baux-de-Provence, a massive mountain-top fortified village and be sure to visit the captivating Villa Ephrussi de Rosthchild in Cap Ferrat where the gardens and musical fountain will delight all.
With all the climbing and walking, your kids are sure to be exhausted at the end of the day so you will have plenty of time to yourself to digest the day’s experiences and plan the what you will do next.
Filling little stomachs is a cinch in southern France. There are pastry shops everywhere. The little one’s eyes will just pop out of their heads when they see what is available. You will find some of the finest chocolate and candy shops on the planet here so be prepared to steer the kids away or give into their demands to enter and sample the delicacies. Proper meals are also no challenge. Tasty and nutritious fast food and street food are abundant.
A vacation with kids in the south of France will turn out to be a memorable, educational and relaxing adventure for the whole family.
