Vendée, France – Top Things To Do With Kids
The Vendée first appealed to us for a summer trip, after we discovered it offered glorious summer sunshine and miles upon miles of beautiful golden beaches, not to mention the most incredible 5-star camping. Upon arriving, however, we soon realised there was much more to Vendée than just sun and beach and we found lots of fun family activities which kept us all entertained during our camping trip.
Les Sables D’Olonne, town and beach
This was our favourite coastal town we visited, and we went back on numerous occasions to spend a full day on the beach. The beach is clean, with soft golden sand, and clear and calm waters – perfect for younger children to play in. Behind the beach is a promenade lined with shops, cafes and restaurants, which makes getting lunch and having time out of the sun possible. The town itself is charming, with pale yellow stone architecture, cobbled streets and plenty of quaint shops selling clothes, and our favourites, ice cream and pastries. We’d recommend getting there earlier rather than later, as parking can get quite difficult, despite there being pay and display car parks. Also, at low tide, throughout the morning and early afternoon, there is tons of beach space, however, space on the sand gets a little cramped during high tide/late afternoon, when the water comes very close to the promenade.
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Saint-Jean-de-Monts, town and beach
This was another coastal town in Vendée which we thoroughly enjoyed visiting. The 8km beach is clean and the water there is shallow enough for younger children to paddle safely. In the centre of town, right on the sand, there is a coffee bar, right next to a children’s fun area with, bouncy castles, trampolines with harnesses and inflatable slides. The promenade, running along the beach is perfect for cycling or better still hiring out a 4-seater pedal kart, which although we didn’t have time to try, looked like fantastic fun. Directly off the beach on the main strip, there are lots of shops, brimming with clothes, shoes and souvenirs, not to mention a few good-sized amusement arcades and some pretty impressive ice cream parlours, which were a huge hit with the kids. Saint-Jean-de-Monts also has a fabulous market, open all year round, where you can find a great selection of fruits, cheeses, breads, pastries and seafood.
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Le Grand Défi Adventure Park
The largest treetop adventure park in the world is definitely somewhere you’ll want to take the kids. We were blown away with the amount of climbing courses on offer, for 2-year-olds and up, with over 38 different journeys, 30 zip-lines and many other activities to delve into. We particularly liked that there was no advanced booking needed, we just turned up and climbed straight away, after a short safety briefing. Some of the other activities on offer are; paintballing (with a children’s alternative), orienteering, pony riding, treasure hunts, quick jumping and disc golf.
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O’Gliss Water Park
For anyone who loves adrenaline thrill seeking and the water, O’Gliss Water Park is the place to go. There’s enough to keep the entire family entertained for the whole day, so much so, we arrived at 9:00 am and didn’t end up leaving the park until 8 pm! For the adults and bigger kids, they have all the huge water slides that you’d hope for, plus a really great area for younger children, with climbing frames, 10 small water slides and a load of water sensory stations. There is a large wave pool, which gradients in, replicating a beach, and also exciting rapids, (hold onto your kids tightly however, the rapids are fast and ferocious!) They have a number of eateries on site; a restaurant, a takeaway cafe and a crepes hut. All are outside and can be accessed whilst wearing your swimwear.
Although there are some lovely areas to relax in with white sand and sun loungers, these were all occupied when we arrived and in all honesty we were a little taken aback by the shortage of chairs available, being none. It does get jam-packed, so people arriving later have to leave their towels and belongings either in a locker, or in any spare space they can find. Our advice is to get there before the park opens, so you can beat all the queues and grab a sun lounger or chair. Another option would be for you to take your own fold-up chairs to sit on, which we wish we had done. They also have available quiet spacious VIP areas, with sofas and tables on soft sand, which may be a good bet if you don’t mind spending the additional money, but remember to book in advance, as they sell out fast.
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Velo Rail
The VeloRail is a manually propelled 5-seater pedal cart, which follows the old railway line from Commequiers to Coëx for seven kilometres and then returns. It’s a great family activity, having to all work as a team, in order to make the cart move and anyone particularly fond of trains or cars will be thrilled by this mode of transport. What we will say is, that it’s a physically demanding activity when pedalling, but you can take it in turns to have a break, so it’s a good idea to have at least 3 adults minimum. Young children will need to be accompanied by an adult who isn’t pedalling, in order to keep them safely seated, on the non-pedal seat at the back of the cart. Outbound there is a very subtle incline, which makes it slightly harder to pedal, but rest assured on the way back, it is downhill slightly, so you fly down the tracks.
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Fête de l’agriculture Vendée, Agricultural Show
This was a spontaneous trip, but we were really glad we made the effort to go to this agricultural show, even on one of the hottest days of the year! We initially worried that we might see animals stuck in pens and cages, but upon arriving we didn’t see any, which we were grateful for. Instead, greeting us was an enormous field full of harvesting machinery, which you could get up and close to. The kids were in their element, being surrounded by tons of monster-sized combine harvesters and tractors and cranes, which they even got to sit in. To keep children entertained at the show even further, they had a large fun area full of tractor-themed bouncy castles, inflatable slides, a marquee packed full of toys, games, an art station and a smaller soft play area. Located in another area of the field, there was a rock climbing wall and a platform jump, which used a crane to lift participants up to their preferred height, where they could jump into a huge inflatable safety mat. Food options were available at the show, with gazebos serving crepes, ice cream, burgers, fries etc, but we did need to buy coupons there, to enable us to purchase anything at all. This worked out fine in the end, however, it entailed quite a lot of walking back and forth to find the coupon stand, so we’d recommend taking a packed lunch for convenience.
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Puy Du Fou Theme Park
Although this place has no actual rides, what it does offer is a trip back in time, to witness history made into reality and it’s been voted several times by Thea Awards, as ‘the world’s best theme park.’ The grounds of the park spread across 140 acres, have well-tended gardens and pathways leading to villages, huge amphitheatres and a castle. The shows put on, are renowned for being spectacular, with incredible stunts, equestrian acrobatics, and staged combat.
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Le Château Des Aventuri (Leisure park)
If you love solving riddles and puzzles, then a day out at this multi-generational leisure park will be right up your street. Being perfect for younger children, this place will have you participating in different challenges, ‘On the Trail of the Dinos’, ‘The Haunted House,’ ‘Investigation At the Castle ‘ and ‘The Pirates Treasure.’
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City Zebres, Soft Play
This 1000m plus indoor soft play in La Roche Sur Yon, is a great bet for a rainy day activity, to let the kids burn off some steam. It has 2 main areas, a separate one for toddlers (1 to 3 years old), with ball pools, slides, an acrobat course, a maze and soft play structures. The second area for older children (4 to 12-year-olds) has trampolines, inflatable play structures, huge slides, giant Lego pieces, a zip line, an 8m high climbing wall and a football and basketball multi-sports ground. In the summer they have outdoor play structures also.
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Mecamax (Karting)
Try karting and quad biking in d’Olonneat, at the largest centre in Vendée. As well as adult tickets, children in particular ages 7 to 14 years old can practice their skills on the 850m circuit.
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Labyrinthe En Délire (Maze Exploring)
Translated as ‘The Delirious Labyrinth,’here you can make your way around a pretty big corn maze, in search of 26 letters of the alphabet. They also have an 18-hole football golf course, where you must kick the ball through a series of obstacles in the corn. There is also a shaded picnic area, with 200 seats for you to relax in, after you have finished getting lost amongst the corn!
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La Route du Sel Canoeing
Why not hire a canoe and explore this area by boat, along one of the marked routes? There is also the option to go on the bike and follow one of the many cycle tracks.
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La Maison des Libellules (House of Dragonflies)
Here you can emerge yourself in the heart of nature, surrounded by dragonflies and other wildlife. There is a range of activities available, which will appeal to children; a barefoot path and sensory table, climbing frame, huge locust games, stilts, a beam and balance and dynamic games.
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Cycle Tracks Valley of Jaunay
The mountain bike routes of the Valley of Jaunay offer 4 different options. Ideal for families and beginners, is the blue route number 1 (12km) and blue route number 2 (25km), which allow for cycling on rolling paths and small roads. The red routes, number 3 (41km and red route number 4 (58km) are better suited for experienced bikers.
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