The first event to be held at Villa Windsor, Jardins, jardin leaves its usual setting of the Jardin des Tuileries for the second year running to take up residence in the exceptional setting of the Bois de Boulogne.
Dedicated to the art of urban landscaping,outdoor design and the cause of plants, this event is a veritable showcase for contemporary landscape creation. It's an opportunity to admire ephemeral installations staged by renowned landscape designers, and to talk with passionate master gardeners.
Among all the activities, some are great for families :
• An immersive visit to the CHANEL space : a 300 m² garden dedicated to the House's Sandalwood division, to discover how each fragrance is born of demanding cultivation and meticulous harvesting. An ultra-couture olfactory experience ! (Reservations strongly recommended). • Readings of tales inspired by the world of Nature. • A discovery of wild plants with Alice Roussel, co-author and illustrator of the comic strip ‘A l'ombre du pissenlit’, who will guide you through the recognition of plant essences, enriched with anecdotes.
4 route du Champ-d’entraînement 75016 - Bois de Boulogne Free shuttles from Pont de Neuilly station (metro line 1)
The Espace Monte Cristo is first and foremost a project driven by a woman, Danièle Kapel-Marcovici. The daughter of the founder of Raja, a famous brand of packaging materials, this passionate entrepreneur of more than 80 years, still with incredible energy, wanted to pay tribute to sculpture and make it accessible to everyone. After creating the Villa Datris Foundation - a contraction of Danièle and Tristan, her husband - in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in Provence, where she exhibits her collection free of charge through annual themed exhibitions, she decided to go one step further. In Paris, in the 20th arrondissement, she transformed a former storage warehouse for reused cardboard into an art gallery open to all.
The Espace Monte Cristo is currently hosting the brand new Mille et une Vies exhibition, bringing together sculptures as diverse as they are fascinating. Among the works that make the visit worthwhile are the two bewitching faces of young girls by Jaume Plensa, the spectacular ‘tree lungs’ by Prune Nourry, and the delicate poetic installation on the top floor. At each level, enthusiastic mediators are on hand to explain and decipher these works, which are often steeped in mystery.
Here, children are invited to touch, experiment and marvel : the play area lets them discover the materials, while a subtly designed booklet-guide encourages them to think, and a treasure hunt takes them on an exploration of the site. There are even sculpture workshops for toddlers from the age of 3 months !
The Père-Lachaisecemetery is not necessarily the first place you think of for a family outing. And yet it's full of surprises ! This place steeped in history is also a veritable garden, home to remarkable biodiversity (over 5 300 trees) and surprising wildlife (some 140 animal species have been recorded). It exudes a unique atmosphere - peaceful, contemplative and surprisingly alive. As you stroll along the paths, the graves become unexpected encounters with illustrious figures : Oscar Wilde, whose tomb is topped by a sphinx; the sculptor Arman, immortalised by his violins; the surprising recumbent statue of Victor Lenoir; Victor Schoelcher, to whom we owe the abolition of slavery; and many others. The most famous of all, that of Jim Morrison, is regularly decorated with flowers by visitors from all over the world.
Many guided tours are available. Those organised by the association Les Amis et Passionnés du Père-Lachaise seem to be serious and well-documented. If you opt for a self-guided tour, their website is a mine of information. You can also use a map to find your way around the most famous tombs.
The Paris Mômes treasure hunt on the theme of Ancient Egypt is also an original way to discover the site with your children. Some of the funerary monuments are directly inspired by Egyptian architecture: pyramids, obelisks, sarcophagi... A fascinating plunge into history and imagination.
These two recommendations in the 20th arrondissement seem a long way from the west of Paris. But they're within easy reach of the 16th arrondissement by metro ! Line 2 (Alexandre Dumas station), line 9 (Buzenval station) and line 3 (Gambetta station) all take you there in less than 20 minutes ! If you decide to walk to the Espace Monte Cristo and then to Père Lachaise, I recommend that you enter the Père Lachaise via the surprising rue de la Réunion entrance.
Famous for his tender, poetic images of Parisian life, Robert Doisneau is undoubtedly one of the most endearing photographers of the 20th century - and one of those who speaks most to children ! For beyond the humour and lightness that emanate from his photographs, childhood occupies a central place in Doisneau's work. He himself was deeply marked by a painful youth - his father left for the front, then the loss of his mother at the age of 8 - and he never ceased to feel closer to children than to adults. This sympathetic and tender gaze runs through many of his photographs.
The Musée Maillol's major retrospective of his work will delight you and your children.
The museum has a booklet of games for children and an audio guide that can be downloaded onto a smartphone. And if you are a group of 15 people, you can book a guided tour (adaptable to families) by contacting severinelambert@museemaillol.com
The Potager des Princes is well worth a visit to Chantilly. Adjacent to the Château grounds, this unique place is as much a magnet for its old-fashioned charm as for the wealth of activities it offers and the diversity of its green spaces. Both a wildlife park and botanical garden, it also hosts shows for children in the theatre overlooking the greenery and the pond. Les Fables du Potager, inspired by the Fables of La Fontaine, are performed here every weekend in July and August.
Throughout the year, you can watch the hilarious chicken race, which will have you shouting ‘Allez Pouic-Pouic !!’ or ‘Titi !!’ in support of your favourite ! The other attractions are just as unexpected : the ‘rabbitodrome’, a veritable mini-stadium for rodent obstacle courses, the ‘chicken orchestra’ (whose symphonies are created by randomly pecking on percussion instruments), and demonstrations by sheepdogs guarding geese and sheep.
The tour continues in a setting reminiscent of a Japanese garden, punctuated by slates revealing historical anecdotes, proverbs and animal maxims.
An unusual, lively and wildly enjoyable park.
17 rue de la Faisanderie - Chantilly
Avenue du Père Lachaise
This little avenue, which looks more like a quiet alleyway, is full of good addresses ideal for a healthy family lunch or a gourmet snack.
Othman café : this coffee shop offers a fine selection of cakes, buns, salads and a wide choice of coffees. Their Datte-Latte made with rose-infused date syrup and a shot of espresso is remarkably subtle.
The Bar Italia Record shop-café is unique : over a thousand records, mostly new, many by Italian artists. You can listen to them on a turntable, and the bar serves coffees and a few pastries.
Oumi : a canteen-tea room. The menu includes bowls, quiches, sandwiches, soups, cakes, smoothies and acai bowls. Everything is organic, seasonal, often vegetarian and as local as possible.
Benches and cosy terraces are waiting for you, but you can also take away and stroll through the Père Lachaise alleys.
Le Hameau, set in the peaceful grounds of the château, is the ideal place for a family break in Chantilly. Housed in one of the seven cottages in the hamlet - the same one that inspired Marie-Antoinette to create her Petit Trianon in Versailles - this restaurant will win you over with its bucolic charm and its mouth-watering Chantilly cream ! You can enjoy their famous homemade cream, dense, creamy and irresistible, with your feet up in the grass ! If you're a fan and a gourmet, you and your children can take part in a workshop run by the Confrérie des Chevaliers Fouetteurs de Crème Chantilly, in the majestic Grandes Écuries !
Benoît Gallot, curator at Père Lachaise, has taken great pleasure in highlighting the animal life of the cemetery, which is home to almost 140 wild species, on his Instagram account. He posts sumptuous photos and gives news of the cemetery's many living inhabitants : weasels, cats, jays, robins, tawny owls and even foxes (a dozen have recently been recorded). Benoît Gallot has also had fun giving them little names based on their personalities : Nounours, Cachemire, Junkie…
Beurk is a little gem of fluorescent pink animation ! In just twelve minutes, it tenderly tackles a daring subject : the awakening of love. Touching and funny. A richly deserved César !
Informed English book recommendations from the experts at English bookshop Smith & Son.
It is Flor's third moving, and this time she changes country. But it's sometimes hard to cope with two cultures and two languages, especially when you try to fit in. On her journey to find a sense of home, she will realise that all the places she lived in made her who she is now, and that growth comes within change.
Sophie sends a letter to tell the Monster living under her bed she will call the Monster Police if it doesn't leave. It turns out, we follow the funniest epistolary friendship between them. If someone is afraid of the Monster living under their bed, they should read this book.
Twins Misha and Ziggy go on a trip to Ethopia to film the legendary black lion for their father's documentary. Except that poachers are well determined to find it first! But the twins have secret abilities: Misha can talk to animals while Ziggy can shift into them. Enter their thrilling, action-packed adventure and dive into beautiful Ethopia with real facts on the country, animals and nature.
Violet just moved to a new house where she experiences paranormal activity in her room. Added to this, she has to face the pressure of making new friends and the appearance of her chronic illness symptoms. An eerie and thrilling coming of age story about ghosts but also about the invisible battles we carry within ourselves.
9-13 years old
Nous restons à votre disposition pour tout complément d’information : UNION SCHOOL - Anne-Sophie de Monès
