| Disneyland® Resort Paris >>
The Eurolines service from London and Canterbury direct to Disneyland® Resort Paris is second to none. In the first place, Eurolines takes you direct to the Park or your hotel so you don’t have to transfer from the airport or central Paris. Best of all, because they pick you up from the hotel you get valuable extra hours to enjoy the fun – and don’t worry if it’s a bit tiring, because the minute the kids get back on the coach they can go straight to sleep (as can you! -Ed.). Eurolines has complete Disneyland® Resort Paris packages including travel and hotel at excellent rates. To check it out click on the icon. Paris >>
The city of Paris itself is great for children and it’s easy to add a few days to a Disney trip, although it’s well worth a visit in its own right. The boat trip down the Seine around Notre Dame is a good start and, since Disney made ‘The Hunchback’, kids are fascinated by the church itself. The Eiffel tower is always impressive, while the street theatre and mime artists around the Pompidou Centre are an established attraction. It’s a very easy city to walk around, which will hopefully leave the little ones tired out at the end of the day and make them sleep late the next morning. Perhaps one of the very best things is the French attitude to children eating in the cafes and restaurants – so mum and dad don’t lose out on a decent lunch and glass of wine. Poitiers - Futuroscope >>
Most people never really get to Poitiers as they get off the coach at Futuroscope – France’s answer to Disney’s Epcot centre. Futuroscope is devoted to ‘the moving image’ and fittingly so as the French have long been at the leading edge of cinema. It’s really rather wonderful, with some fabulous 3-D and 360 degree screen experiences. Being France it’s all rather educational too. At night there is a very bizarre water/light/firework show that’s a bit like ‘It’s a Knockout’ meets Jean-Michel Jarre. You can easily spend a couple of days here and even the food is worth a mention, far superior to the American style parks (and you can even get a beer or glass of wine -Ed.) Cité Europe >>
If your kids like shopping – and in our experience that means everyone! – take them for a day trip to Cité Europe. Just outside Calais, with over 200 outlets, Cité Europe is retail therapy par excellence. It’s fab for fashion, has all your favourite UK brands at bargain prices, and an enormous Toys’R’Us. There are stacks of places to eat and drink, from fast food to chic French. The coach takes you straight to the door and back again so you get maximum time to wander around and spoil the little ones. And as for grown ups – you get to bring back the wine and beer at French prices. Amsterdam >>
The great thing about Amsterdam for children is that it’s so very different from anywhere else. Grown-ups might take it for granted but to see a town built on canals, linked by bridges, with people cycling everywhere is pretty gobsmacking if you’re used to Romford. The lack of traffic makes it very child-friendly - you can go to the cheese and flower markets, try on a pair of clogs, take pictures of windmills – it’s all something of an experience. And the weirdest thing of all - just about everybody you meet will speak English! |