Moving House to France: Best Family Orientated Museums to Visit

If you are planning on moving house to France and have children in tow, you will doubtless, have already done some research on the many different and exciting ways in which you can entertain them. In this, the latest of our removals to France blog articles, we would like to share with you some ideas about where to take them during the holidays. One such idea might be to visit one of the many family friendly museums that are dotted all over France.

If you're moving to Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France, for example, you won’t be too far away from the Dinosaur Museum in Mèze; and those of you moving house to Marseille, might want to pop along to the The Préau des Accoules, a museum designed especially for children.

There are many other museums in France that look at things from a child's perspective and we have listed some of them here; but if you know of any we haven’t covered, by all means tell us about them in the comments section below and we'll try to feature them in a future post on the subject.

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Meanwhile, here is our guide to some of the best and most family friendly museums France has to offer.

Grande Galerie de l’Evolution
36 Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire,
75005 Paris

One of the most family friendly attractions in Paris, this place is a real education. Not only does it introduce you to all kinds of animal and plant life, it also shows you the impact that we humans have had upon their lives. You'll see life size, animated models of creatures, large and small, and learn about their interaction and interdependence. The museum addresses the heady issues of biodiversity and the environment in a fun, practical way. It invites children and adults alike to observe and learn about the different ecosystems at work in our towns and cities, and in our rivers and tropical forests.

Stade de France
93216 Saint-Denis

If your kids are mad on football or rugby, this is a must-see for them. Guided tours of the stadium take in the presidential lodge, the changing rooms, the players’ tunnel, and a wonderful museum depicting the stadium's construction and it’s most significant events. The tour lasts about an hour with an extra 30 minutes allocated for you to spend at the museum. Summer tours run every hour between 10:00am and 5:00pm and winter tours operate at 11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm, and 5:00pm. No tours operate on match days, or the day before.

Dinosaur Museum
Route Départemental 613
34140, Meze

Located on what was once a spawning ground for these monsters, the Meze Dinosaur Museum will capture your children's imagination and keep them entertained for hours. Here, life size models of these incredible creatures can be seen amongst the trees. Some are grazing, whilst others are poised for confrontation. There is a great deal of information about Brachiosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops and all the other pre-historic animals, as well as related ones that are still with us today like crocodiles and turtles. A second and equally informative museum at the same site concerns itself with the birth of mankind.

The Preau des Accoules
29 Montée des Accoules,
13002 Marseille

What this museum does well is take the heavier subjects of art and history and replay them from a child's perspective. Recent installations have seen them display paintings on loan from one of the country's leading museums, and have the children recreate them through paint and crayon. Another exhibition of sculpture gave the children the opportunity to try their hand at this art form. The Preau des Accoules does this type of thing on a regular basis, turning trips to the museum into fun, creative days out, which children from as young as five years old can enjoy.

CAP Sciences
20 Quai de Bacalan,
33300 Bordeaux

The Science Museum in Bordeaux offers workshops for children of all ages, across a wide range of subjects. At CAP they can learn all about the photography process and go on to develop their own photographs. They also offer workshops on other interesting scientific subjects like robotics, chemistry, electricity and astronomy. Other subjects covered are exploration and discovery as well as cookery, in which budding young chefs get to experience working as part of a team in a kitchen. This guided workshop will guarantee they produce something tasty, which is great since they also get to eat it!

Air and Space Museum
180 Esplanade de l'Air et de l'Espace,
93350 Le Bourget

Six miles north of Paris, Le Bourget Airport is home to the fascinating Museum of Air and Space. Eleven exhibition halls display the history of French aviation, from the first flying machines to present day fighter planes, combat helicopters, satellites and rockets. Some famous passenger jets are here too, including Concorde, the Boeing747 and the Dakota. Two not-to-be-missed installations are the Planetarium, a must for all star gazers, and Planet Pilot, a space divided into four sections covering man's first flight, air travel, man's travels into space and living and working in space.

About Hamiltons Removals

Hamiltons Removals offers bespoke European removals. We are members of the British Association of Removers and The Road Haulage Association and we are BS EN ISO 9001:2000 registered, so if you are moving house to France, why not give us a call? For further information, visit our website www.hamiltonsremovals.co.uk