FamilyFirst

Indoor Fun on the French Riviera

Parent and Child Activities Indoors on the French Riviera

It’s the time of year when parents start searching indoor activities to amuse their toddlers on week days or older children at weekends. When my eldest son was a baby it was easier to find a needle in a hay stack than a mother and toddler group and an activity centre for babies on the Riviera! 10 years later I am pleased to say that there is now a vast choice of both public and privately run groups, from Monaco to Mandelieu, providing activities for the under 3’s, advice and support or simply a play area for the children and a precious meeting and exchange venue for often isolated mothers. Those more likely to suit English speaking families are the Saint Paul’s Church Mother and Toddler group in Monaco, Le Kids club in Nice, Kidooland in Valauris and the AVF Mother and Toddler group in Sophia Antipolis.

Another alternative that appeals to the 1 to 12 year age range is Fun City (www.familyfirst.fr/fun-city-en.html). This play area located in Cannes-La-Bocca, is 1200m2 of indoor fun, with different areas for different ages, including: slides, climbing frames, ball pools, Tyrolienne, trampolines, electric go-carts, bouncy castles, baby area and more! It is open from 10am to 7pm on Wednesdays, weekends and bank holidays during term time and every day during school holidays.

If your child of 4 and over is interested in the prehistoric era and history in general, animals and nature and enjoys art and craft and cooking, the French Rivera’s museums have a rich program of workshops for children with or without their parents, or fun guided tours by way of treasure hunts. Contrary to what many people think, the list of possibilities is long.

One place that I recently visited with my 5 year old son is Nice’s main library “Louis Nucéra”. 543m2 are dedicated to children and home to more than 20 000 documents, books, CDs and DVD and it also organizes story telling sessions in French on Wednesdays. When my son walked in to the room his face light up as if he’d just walked into a sweet shop! We spent time together reading stories and my son was even able to practice his alphabet as big letters were suck on the front of the alphabetically organized shelves. It is open every day except Monday and is even open on Sundays from 2pm to 6pm - www.bmvr-nice.com.fr . Membership is free for those living, working or studying in Les Alpes Maritimes and Monaco.

To find more library, museum and parent-toddler group addresses and other indoor venues for families on the French Riviera and in Monaco look at www.familyfirst.fr (French and English).

Photo credits: 1) Kidooland 2) Fun City by Misseri

Article written in December 2009. Warning: The information and images are not legally binding and may change without notice.