A Weekend in Calais

Just a 30 minute drive from the port of Calais, along the opal coast, past the rolling green hills is the village of Ambleteuse.  Picture French shutters on the windows, well looked after paths with vibrant flowers in every colour and a hut serving ice cream and beer on the beach that is still busy at 10pm with people watching the sun set over the sea.  Having always associated Calais with a ferry port I was curious to see another side of the area and our weekend away did just that.

We picked the children up from school and drove down to Dover where we could get a DFDS ferry across to the port of Calais.  The ferry was quiet and modern and we grabbed some dinner (they even had a vegan option for me) on the 1.5 hour sailing.  The port of Calais is familiar to me, having grown up in Kent, the ferry has always been the easiest option to get across the channel and a pathway to exploring the rest of France.  This was the first time we have stopped in Calais though to explore the area and we were excited to see more.  The ferry was clean and modern and had a space for children to play as well as plenty of comfy seating and huge windows to watch the coast getting closer.

It took just under half an hour to drive to our holiday home in the village of Ambleteuse and our apartment had stunning views over the sea as well as plenty of space for the seven us.  We were only in there for moments before we had to head down to the sea though.  It was a warm evening and we had spotted the fort out on the sand which was just calling to be explored.  The beach had a bit of everything, smooth sand for building sandcastles and paddling in as well as mossy rocks perfect for finding crabs and then the fort and the surrounding rocks which you can't help but climb on.  The fort seems to be open briefly over the summer to see inside but we enjoyed the exterior, We had dinner in a little restaurant up the road that served burgers and pizzas and grabbed ice creams at the hut on the beach, which still had deck chairs out and plenty of business at 10pm.  This is the ideal situation for us, somewhere with space to run free and get out the last of the day's energy before bed.

We had a whole itinerary planned for our weekend but the weather and children's temperaments meant we had to slow down a bit and change our plans.  I will include a list at the bottom of some of the things to do in the area that we couldn't fit in our weekend agenda.

On Saturday we drove to Bourlogne-Sur-Mer, less than half an hour from Ambleteuse and a charming seaside town which is home to the most incredible sea life centre we have ever visited called Nausicaa.  Before we went inside however, we made the most of the beautiful weather and spent time walking along the sandy beaches, playing in the playgrounds both on the sand and on the grass outside the aquarium and exploring the town which was lined with colourfully painted bollards.  We even found the street art team painting some and stopped to watch.  There were lots of pubs and restaurants serving lunch and lots of colourful street art to explore.  

Nausicaa is the kind of aquarium you could easily spend all day in and I would recommend allowing a minimum of three hours to walk around.  Split over several levels, it is buggy and wheelchair friendly and has seals, penguins and crocodiles as well as the biggest viewing wall I have ever seen.  I will write another post about our visit later but I don't think you can come to Calais without visiting Nausicaa and if you are Kent based it could easily be done as a day trip. (Look out for a post about Nausicaa coming soon!).

On the Sunday we had planned to explore the beautiful coastline and lighthouses but the weather wasn't on our side so after a very short walk, we found some indoor entertainment.  We spent the afternoon in Calais, checking out the incredible street art, discovering what a 'Welsh' is after seeing it all over the menus (a Calais dish, worth a try if you like a lot of cheese!) and finally seeing the Calais Dragon.

I had heard of the Calais dragon a couple of years ago and I just loved the idea.  The dragon is 12 metres high and 25 metres long and you can pay to ride on his back as he patrols the seafront area, roaring, blowing water over onlookers and even breathing fire.  Designed by the artist François Delaroziere, the dragon is both a work of art and incredible machinery and we all thought that the person who rides on his head controlling where it blows water has the very best job!  The children could have spent all day with the dragon and it is definitely an experience not to be missed on a visit to this area in France.  

The dragon is right next to the port so it wasn't long before we were back on board our DFDS ferry to Dover and heading home for a good night's sleep before Monday morning.  Calais is a fantastic destination for a weekend adventure with the ferry sailing only 1.5 hours and so much to do and see along the stunning Opal Coast.  For kids that can't travel far in a car or if you need a weekend getaway and fancy somewhere a bit different, check out what Calais has to offer! There is so much more than we were able to see and we can't wait to visit again to check out more attractions and some of the incredible coastline.

Other ideas for family adventures in Calais:

The cliffs and beaches at  Cap Gris-Nez, Wissant and Cap Blanc-Ne

Agincourt 1415

Land of Giants

Berck Sur Mer

Parc D'Olhain

Read more ⇨

Our Week at Les Villages Nature, Paris

It was a holiday that was supposed to happen in 2020, then 2021 and so we approached the lead up this year cautiously, hoping that it would go ahead but not getting the children too excited just in case things changed.  As May approached everything starting looking positive and thankfully by the time we made it over to France last month, there were very few restrictions and we could enjoy a week away with my extended family.

It was our second time visiting Les Villages Nature, the French Centre Parcs on the outskirts of Paris and there is something lovely that comes from that familiarity, of not needing to spend too long finding your bearings.  The bigger boys have some memories from our last trip here 3 years ago and the younger two had been looking at our photo scrapbook from our last trip so they came with a good idea of where we were headed.  Rex of course was oblivious to it all, but it was his first time in a new country and I think he had a great time!

I have written before about what there is to do at Les Villages Nature and this year we spent just as much time in the huge pool complex, but the children were even more confident on the slides (and tall enough to do more of them).  We went back to the amazing playground, petted the goats in the onsite farm and tried out some of the activities including the escape room, climbing walls and pony riding.  

The parc has changed slightly since our last visit, there is a lunchtime burger restaurant and a creperie, although we didn't get enough time to try either.  We took lots of photos with the goats again and barely any elsewhere but I wanted to save it all on this blog as something to look back on.  This year we decided to do a day trip into Paris mid week as some of us had never seen the city centre before and I have written about what we got up to there seperately.  Les Villages Nature is perfectly positioned to visit Disney and it was easy enough to get to the centre of Paris via a short bus ride and then a train.

We had a fantastic week away and made wonderful memories with our family.

Read more ⇨

Paris in a Day, with Kids

We recently spent a week at Villages Nature, a Centre Parcs resort on the outskirts of Paris and decided to do a day trip into the city.  I have been to France countless times but have never made it to the centre of Paris so I was excited to see all the famous sites and nervous of how child friendly the centre would be with our five children aged 10 and under.

            

Villages Nature is a 35 minute drive to the centre of Paris, but we decided to use public transport which meant a bus ride to Disneyland (10 minutes) and then the train in from there to Chatelet Les Halles (44 minutes).  It was the children's first double decker train which they all loved.   We had already planned our first stop and so we walked slowly towards the River Seine and over the bridge to embark on a boat tour.  You can buy tickets there but we had pre-booked them online (with flexible timing) and thought it would be a great way to orientate ourselves with the city before exploring further on foot.

The river cruise was on an open top boat and we sat at the front of the top deck ready to take it all in.  The live commentary was in both English and French.  In hindsight I would have done this slightly later in the day when the children were getting tired and needed to sit down, but I loved getting to know some of the history of Paris and getting a feel for how spread out the city is. It started and ended at Pont Neuf and once we had finished we went off in search of food.

I grabbed a burger meal from Naked Vegan Burger which was delicious. I was nervous about being vegan in France but I could always eat something. After lunch I was keen to find the Louvre because I wanted to see the pyramid up close.  I hadn't taken in quite how huge this famous art museum is and with all the children in tow we decided to keep the inside for another trip.  We marvelled at the beautiful buildings and the modern pyramid in the centre of the courtyard and then found the row of souvenir shops selling model versions of the Eiffel Tower and postcards of the iconic views.

We were keen to give the children some space to run around by this point so we headed into the Jardin les Tuileries, watched children sailing miniature boats with little sticks and then found the playground.  It wasn't huge but there was plenty of seating for parents and it gave the children some time to free play in the middle of a busy day.

             

From the park we walked up to Place de la Concorde which I was fascinated to see after the boat tour commentary.  By this point the sun was strong and we were tiring so we walked up the Rue Royale and found a restaurant with shady outdoor seating for some much needed crepes (and sorbet for me) and to play some card games.  Cora (aged 5) had a nap in the buggy as her little legs were tired, and the baby had a rest in the sling, making me very glad I had packed both!  Everywhere we visited was stroller friendly and if you have a child who still fits in a stroller then I would recommend bringing one to let you explore for longer.

When we were rested and ready to return, we walked back to Concorde Place as we had spotted the TukTuks there.  Being a family of 7, we needed two taxis, but we could fit in one TukTuk (which was roughly the price of two taxis) so we had an open air ride over to the Eiffel Tower.  We decided not to go up it on this occasion as most of us were more interested in seeing it rather than the views from the top, and there were big grass areas in front perfect for a picnic or just to sit and enjoy the views.  There were also plenty of street stalls selling keyrings of the Eiffel Tower in all colours at 5 for 1 Euro and we left with pockets full of them! If you want to go up you can choose to pre-book or queue on the day and you can go either to the 2nd floor or the top.

By the time we were finished admiring the view, everyone was tired and hungry so we decided to get a taxi over to the Arc De Triomphe as we could get the train home from here.  We walked down the Champs Elysees to find food, but the prices in restaurants were just too much for us (30-50 Euros minimum for a main course) so we ended up in McDonalds (which was still 12 Euros for a Cheeseburger meal) and I bought a vegan meal from a shop. 

We caught the train back from here and arrived home close to midnight and utterly exhausted! Paris is beautiful, dusty, expensive and definitely worth a visit.  I would love to go back and take it in slower but we managed to catch many iconic sights on our one day trip! If we didn't have the children with us then I would have walked the two taxi rides (or used the Metro) but with children this gave us a rest and a chance to see more in our one day.

Read more ⇨