Alsace
4 places · 0 guides
Discover Alsace with kids: medieval castles, fairy-tale villages, open-air museums, mountain hikes, and some of France's most family-friendly food.Browse →
🇫🇷 France
From fairy-tale Loire Valley châteaux to Mediterranean beaches and lavender fields, France offers families an extraordinary mix of history, nature, and food in one country.
11Regions
57Cities
0Guides
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Timezone
CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2) in summer
Power plug
Type E
Population
Approx. 68 million
Climate
Varied: oceanic in the north and west
Currency
Euro (EUR)
Timezone
CET (UTC+1) / CEST (UTC+2) in summer
Power plug
Type E
Population
Approx. 68 million
Climate
Varied: oceanic in the north and west
Discover France
France with kids: châteaux, beaches and countryside
France has a way of making every family trip feel effortless. Whether your kids are racing up sand dunes on the Atlantic coast, staring open-mouthed at a real medieval castle in the Loire Valley, or dipping a croissant into hot chocolate at a pavement café, France delivers those brilliant travel moments without you having to work too hard for them.
What makes France so good for families is the sheer variety packed into one country. You can spend a morning in a lavender field in Provence, an afternoon splashing in the Mediterranean, and an evening wandering cobblestone streets past centuries-old fountains. The landscapes shift dramatically as you travel, from snowy Alpine peaks to golden Atlantic beaches to the wild wetlands of the Camargue.
France draws over 90 million visitors a year for good reason. The food is genuinely delicious, the infrastructure is excellent, and there is always something around the next corner to make your kids stop and say wow. This is a country that rewards curiosity, and families who love to explore will never run out of reasons to come back.
Frenchofficial language
Euro (EUR)currency
25°C avgin summer
Popular regions in France
6 of 11 regions
Champagne & Reims
3 places · 0 guides
Explore Champagne and Reims: UNESCO cathedrals, ancient chalk tunnels, rolling vineyards, and iconic pink biscuits that children love.Browse →
Corsica
1 place · 0 guides
Corsica combines stunning Mediterranean beaches, a vast natural park, prehistoric sites, and dramatic clifftop towns into one brilliant family island escape.Browse →
Côte d'Azur & Monaco
6 places · 0 guides
From the beaches of Nice to the hilltop village of Èze and the tiny glamour of Monaco, the Côte d'Azur is a brilliant family destination packed with food, culture, and outdoor adv…Browse →
Languedoc & Pyrenees
4 places · 0 guides
From Mediterranean beaches to Cathar castles and Pyrenean peaks, Languedoc is one of France's most rewarding and varied family destinations.Browse →
Loire Valley
4 places · 0 guides
Explore the Loire Valley with your family: nearly 300 châteaux, dedicated cycling routes, UNESCO heritage, and incredible local food from rillons to Tarte Tatin.Browse →
Why families love it
What makes France work for families
Fairy-tale castles that actually look the part
The Loire Valley alone has enough châteaux to keep kids amazed for days. Château de Chenonceau spans an actual river, and the Palace of Versailles with its 800 hectares of fountains and gardens feels like stepping into a real royal palace.
Beaches for every kind of family
From the calm, shallow bays of the Brittany coast to the buzzing Mediterranean shores of the French Riviera, France has a beach to match your family's style. The Atlantic coast is especially loved for its wide sandy stretches and reliable surf.
Landscapes that genuinely take your breath away
France packs an extraordinary range of scenery into one country. The Alps, the Pyrenees, the lavender fields of Provence, the pink flamingo wetlands of the Camargue, and Europe's tallest sand dune on the Atlantic coast all sit within the same borders.
Food that even picky eaters enjoy
Freshly baked baguettes, buttery croissants, crispy crêpes, and mountains of cheese make France a surprisingly easy destination for families with selective eaters. Every village has a boulangerie, and markets overflow with colourful, fresh produce.
History and culture that comes alive for kids
Prehistoric cave paintings in the Dordogne, Roman amphitheatres in Nîmes, the walled city of Carcassonne, and the Eiffel Tower towering 324 metres above Paris give children a tangible, exciting connection to thousands of years of human history.
Wildlife and nature
What animals can you spot in France?
Pink Flamingo
The Camargue wetlands in southern France are one of the world's top breeding grounds for pink flamingos. Spotting hundreds of them wading through shallow lagoons is a brilliant sight for kids.
Golden Eagle
Golden eagles soar above the Pyrenees National Park and the French Alps, hunting from high mountain perches. Keep your eyes on the sky during any mountain hike and you might be rewarded with a sighting.
Brown Bear
Brown bears were reintroduced to the Pyrenees Mountains and remain a powerful symbol of France's conservation efforts. Spotting one in the wild is rare, but their presence makes every mountain walk feel a little more adventurous.
Alpine Ibex
Once extinct in France, Alpine ibex have made a remarkable comeback in the French Alps and Pyrenees. Males sport impressive metre-long horns and cling to near-vertical rock faces at elevations up to 3,300 metres.
Eurasian Beaver
Beavers have bounced back brilliantly across France and are now found in around 50 departments, including the Loire and Rhône river systems. Spotting their dams and lodges along riverbanks is a great nature activity for curious kids.
Popular cities & places in France
8 of 12 places
Did you know?
Things to know about France
The Eiffel Tower was only meant to be temporary
Built in 1889 for the World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower was originally planned to be dismantled after 20 years. Today it stands 324 metres tall and welcomes millions of visitors every year. Good thing they changed their minds.
The most visited country on the planet
France welcomes over 90 million international visitors every year, making it the most visited country in the world. That is more tourists than France has people living in it.
The Louvre is the biggest art museum on Earth
The Louvre in Paris is the world's largest art museum. It holds around 380,000 objects, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. If you spent one minute looking at each piece, it would take you almost nine months.
France's national animal is a rooster
The Gallic rooster has been a symbol of France since 1848, rooted in a clever Latin pun linking the words for 'Gaul' and 'rooster'. It still appears on official seals and sports emblems today.
Wolves came back after 60 years away
Wolves disappeared from France in the 1930s but returned naturally from Italy in the 1990s. Today around 430 wolves roam the country, with more than half living in the Southern French Alps.
Over 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
France has more than 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, from the banks of the Seine in Paris to the Palace of Versailles, the Canal du Midi, and the prehistoric caves of the Dordogne. Few countries pack in this much history.
Taste France with your family
What your family should try in France
Dishes and treats that even picky eaters will love
Croissant
Buttery, flaky, and still warm from the oven at your local boulangerie, the croissant is the perfect French breakfast. Kids adore them, and you will find them on every street corner across the country.
Kids love it
Crêpes
Thin French pancakes filled with anything from Nutella and banana to ham and cheese. Crêpe stands appear at markets, festivals, and seaside promenades all over France, making them the ultimate on-the-go family snack.
Daily treat
Quiche Lorraine
A golden, savoury tart filled with eggs, cream, and smoky bacon. It is a staple of French boulangeries and cafés, easy to eat on the go, and reliably popular with children who are not yet adventurous eaters.
Safe choice
Ratatouille
A slow-cooked Provençal vegetable stew made with courgettes, aubergines, tomatoes, and fragrant herbs. It is colourful, comforting, and a great way to introduce kids to the flavours of the south of France.
Local favourite
Crème Brûlée
A silky vanilla custard topped with a crisp, caramelised sugar crust that kids love cracking with a spoon. It's one of the great pleasures of eating in France and appears on menus from Paris to Provence.
Must try
Off the beaten path
Places most families never think to visit
French surprises worth the detour
Dune du Pilat, Atlantic Coast
Europe's tallest sand dune rises dramatically from the pine forests of the Landes coast near Arcachon. Climbing it rewards your family with sweeping views over the ocean and the forest below, and the descent is as fast and fun as any theme park slide.
The Camargue, Southern France
This vast wetland between Arles and the Mediterranean feels like another world entirely. Wild white horses, pink flamingos in their thousands, and flat lagoons stretching to the horizon make it one of the most striking natural landscapes in all of Europe.
Occitanie and the Cathar Castles
Tucked between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, the Occitanie region is packed with dramatic medieval Cathar castles perched on rocky outcrops, the perfectly preserved walled city of Carcassonne, and landscapes that feel a world away from the tourist trail.
The Canal du Midi
This 17th-century UNESCO-listed waterway links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through vineyards and sunlit countryside. A gentle boat trip along the canal is one of the most peaceful and memorable things a family can do in southern France.
Montmartre, Paris
Most families head straight for the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, but the cobblestone streets of Montmartre offer a quieter, more atmospheric side of Paris. Climb to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica for panoramic views over the city and let your kids explore the winding lanes where Picasso and Van Gogh once worked.
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