A vacation to the Ardèche with kids is super fun! As kids, we regularly went to this region in the south of France and always had a very good time in this beautiful area. Therefore, every year thousands of families with kids also go to this region to spend a few weeks cooling off in the river that flows through this region. Besides lounging by the water, there are quite a few activities you can do with your family in the region. We list the best activities you can do in Ardeche with kids.
Ardeche with kids
#1 Ardeche zoo
You can take kids to the zoo in the Ardeche area. In fact, there is a large zoo in the town of Peaugres. At Safari de Peaugres zoo, you can enter the park either on foot or by car. By car, you can drive very close to the animals. You can compare it a bit to Safari Park the Beekse Bergen.
In the zoo, you can spot most of the major African animals such as the elephant, lion, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra and also different types of monkeys. At the tigers’ enclosure, you can even get very close to the animals. Of course, there are also places in the zoo where the kids can play.
To cool off in the summer months, the zoo also has a 600m2 splash park at the zoo where kids can play. Of course, there are plenty of catering establishments in the zoo, where you can get something to eat and drink.
You can easily spend a half to full day at the zoo entertaining the family. Especially if your kids can also have some time in the splash park. For more information on opening hours, entrance fees and different animals, take a look at the Ardeche Zoo website .
#2 Gorge
What the Ardeche area is best known for is the thirty-kilometer-long gorge that runs through the area. This gorge runs between Saint-Martin-d´Ardèche and Vallon-Pont-d´Arc. The scenery in this nature reserve is beautiful and there are several ways you can explore the area with the family.
Quite a few animals live here, such as foxes, deer and wild boars, but we never encountered them in the area. You can travel the entire thirty kilometers along the gorge by car. Along the way, you have 11 different vantage points where you can stop and photograph the gorge. The most beautiful viewpoint is the one near the Pont-d’Arc. This is a natural bridge that crosses the river where you can also lie by the water on the beach for a while.
Another fun activity to do in the Ardèche with kids is to explore the gorge by canoe. Most canoe trips are suitable for kids as young as seven. You have different tours with different mileage offered. There are quite a few rental companies that offer canoes and canoe tours.
#3 Velorails
A special activity you can do in the Ardeche with kids is railroad track cycling (Velorails). Here, you have to imagine taking a seat on a kind of family bike and riding along a railroad track that is no longer in use on a route through the area. You cycle through spectacular scenery and you don’t have to worry about riding the wrong way.
The first place to undertake this activity is in Boucieu-le-Roi. At Velorail Gorges Du Doux, you can choose from four different routes, which differ in distance.
For example, the shortest route is eight kilometers and the longest route is 20 kilometers. With kids, the shortest route is already extremely suitable and this route will take you just under two hours. For more information on all the routes offered here, take a look at the Velorail des Gorges Doux website. It is also possible to explore the area by steam train here with this provider.
The second provider of this activity in the Ardèche with kids is Velorail du Sud Ardèche. Here they offer only one course that goes over five different viaducts. You can ride these bikes with two parents and the kids sit between the two parents. They don’t have to pedal.
We have done this before in the Belgian Ardennes with our daughter and we find it a very fun activity to do with kids.
#4 Forest of Païolive
The Ardèche also has a fairytale forest that you can visit with the family. Bois de Païolive is a kind of play forest for kids, where you can go for a great family walk. Here you walk a route over the rocks and along the way you will come across all kinds of things.
Keep in mind that if it has rained the surface can be slippery and shoes are recommended if you are going to walk this hike in the Ardèche with kids.
You can walk different routes here and sometimes you have to climb and scramble quite a bit. You have three different routes you can walk here with kids and they are marked with colors. The green route is the shortest walk and this walk is 1.5 kilometers. It takes you about an hour to do this.
You also have a blue and yellow route and these are a bit longer in terms of distance and therefore take longer (about 2 hours). With kids it is great fun to climb and clamber over the different rocks. In the shapes of the rocks you can discover all kinds of figures. You can park your car for free at one of the three parking lots near the forest.
#5 Balasuc
If you always enjoy visiting a nice village or town during your vacation, Balasuc is definitely a nice option. This village located in the middle of the Ardèche region is known as one of the most beautiful villages in France.
Balasuc is known in part as one of the most beautiful villages in France because of its location. In fact, the village lies against a mountainside, in a bend of the river. As a result, you have beautiful views of the surrounding area almost throughout the village. Walking through the village is like being back in the Middle Ages. You will find throughout the village all small stores and also many art galleries.
By the way, you can easily combine a visit to Balasuc with a day at the beach. In the town of Balasuc you still have a fairly large sandy beach at the beginning of the village. Most of the beaches on the river are pebble beaches, making it a lot nicer to lie here with your family. Parking near the river is available here.
#6 Mad Maze
You can also go to a fun play park in the Ardèche with kids. Mad Maze of course has a maze, but you can do much more here with kids. The maze consists of two parts and in the middle are several slides. This maze is as large as 2000 m2 and you have 8 entrances where you can enter the maze with the family.
In addition, you have different play equipment for the kids. For example, there are several giant swings, there is a kind of traffic park, where kids can ride go-karts and there are several courses for kids where they can climb and scramble. There are also several wooden games that kids can play at the park.
There is also an area with nets, where kids can also have fun. You pay a fixed entrance fee for the entire park. It is also possible to have a bite to eat at the park and you can have lunch on an outdoor terrace. You can have a great half-day of family fun in the Ardèche here.
#7 Joncas Aventure
You can also go climbing in the Ardèche with kids. Climbing park Joncas Aventure has several courses for kids to climb. These courses all have their own color and each color has its own level of difficulty and height. You can go climbing here with kids as young as 2 years old.
The older the kids are, the more difficult courses they get to do and these courses are therefore at a higher height. This makes the climbing park suitable for kids of different ages and of course for parents as well. We always enjoy going climbing with our daughter at a climbing park abroad.
Just make sure that when climbing with kids here in the Ardèche during the summer months that you don’t go climbing in the middle of the day, as it can be very hot. The climbing park does not have its own catering, so it is convenient to bring your own food and drinks for the kids. There are picnic tables where you can eat and drink. You can park your car for free at the climbing park.
#8 Bamboo Garden Les Bambouseraie
If you want to do something different for once in the Ardèche with kids, visiting the Bamboo Garden is a nice option. This park is only open during the summer months and you have several beautiful gardens here that you can visit with the family. You have more than 1,000 different species of trees and plants in this garden and it is great to go for a walk through the gardens with kids.
Especially the bamboo forest is impressive in this park and for a moment you imagine yourself in Japan with the family in this forest. You can have a great time here for an hour (or 2) with the family in these gardens.
Children up to 3 years old can enter the gardens for free, and kids up to 10 years old pay a reduced rate for admission. You can park your car at the gardens for free. There is plenty of shade in the gardens, so you can also visit the gardens with kids on a hot day in the Ardèche.
#9 La Ferme aux Crocodiles
You can go to another animal park in the Ardèche area with kids. La Ferme aux Crocodiles is all about reptiles and a big advantage of the park is that it is largely covered. This also makes this a great kids activity in the Ardèche to go to when the weather is not so good and you still want to do something with the kids.
Several presentations are given by the caretakers throughout the day at the different animals of the park. The most spectacular animals here are, of course, the crocodiles. There is also an area outside for kids to play. The animal park also has a restaurant where you can grab a bite to eat and it is possible to eat outside on the park’s picnic benches as well.
#10 Aven Marzal
The Ardeche region is also known for the beautiful caves you can see in the region. For example, in Ardeche you can visit the Aven Marzal caves with kids.
The caves here look impressive and keep in mind that you have to walk quite a few stairs in the caves and this can be tiring for young kids. In addition, you should keep in mind that it is quite cold in the caves (despite it being just 30 degrees outside, for example).
Families with kids here can also visit the Dinopark that comes with these caves. You pay a separate ticket for this. For more information on opening hours, entrance fees, the dinopark and the cave, check out the Aven Marzal website.
Family-friendly hotel Ardèche
You can stay in the Ardeche with kids just fine. There are plenty of great accommodations in the region where families with kids can stay. In the different price ranges, we list some family-friendly accommodation in Ardeche.
Budget hotel: Logis Hôtel Beauséjour
Mid-range hotel: Les Marronniers
Luxury hotel: Hôtel La Bastide d’Iris
Also check out the total overview of family-friendly accommodations in Ardeche.
Family-friendly restaurant Ardeche
The Ardèche is a tourist region and from there you have plenty of family-friendly restaurants where families with kids can go to eat. Of course, you have many French restaurants in this region where you can go to eat, but there are also plenty of international restaurants where you can eat. For example, in most cities you have Italian restaurants where you can go for different types of pizza and pasta.
Of course, you also have several fast food restaurants that you can visit in the Ardèche with kids such as a chain like McDonald’s. We also always like this kind of restaurants on vacation when we want to have a quick meal with our daughter.
Many families with kids spend the night at a campsite in the Ardèche and usually these campsites also have several catering facilities where you can go for a snack and a drink.
In addition, you have several large supermarkets in the region, where you can get excellent groceries to cook for yourself, for example. For example, you have large supermarkets of Intermarche, LeClerc and Carrefour, where you can actually get everything you need to cook.
Best travel time Ardeche with kids
The best travel time to visit Ardeche with kids is from June to September. These are the summer months in Ardeche and then you have the greatest chance of sunny weather. Most families with kids visit this region anyway because of the nice climate and sunny weather and in these months you have the greatest chance of this.
July and August are the months with the highest temperatures and then the temperatures are regularly around 30 degrees. We also always visited this region during this period and then it is often nice and warm! The chance of rain is not so great. You can then of course go swimming with kids at the pool or in the river.
These are also the busiest months in the Ardèche, when accommodations and campsites in the region may be fully booked. It is best to book in advance.
Transportation to and in the Ardèche
The easiest way to discover the Ardèche with kids is by car. Most families with kids visit this region this way. There are buses in the region, but they are not very efficient and this is not the most ideal means of transportation with kids.
By car, you can easily drive everywhere and you can also easily visit most of the attractions in this list of children’s activities in the Ardèche. If you are visiting the Ardèche with a car and caravan, make sure to check the route beforehand. You do have several steep and narrow roads in the region and that can be a bit more difficult with a caravan.
By the way, it is also possible to explore the Ardèche by bike with kids. For example, you have the bicycle route La Dolce Via which is 90 kilometers long and goes right through the beautiful nature of the Ardèche.
Many families with kids take their own bikes with them on the car, but it is also definitely possible to rent a bike in several places in the region. You also have children’s bikes or for example a tray behind the bike if you are on vacation in the Ardèche with young kids. In short, there are plenty of opportunities to discover the Ardèche with kids.
