Lyon boasts an impressive array of parks and playful options. The zoo at the Tete d’Or Park, Fourviere and City adventure parks, the Aquarium and Safari Parks all top the to do lists of visiting children. Another interesting park is the mysterious medieval Barbe Island, just outside the city center in the ninth arrondissement. Silk workshops that demonstrate how Lyon’s proudest export is made, an International Puppet Museum and kids programming at the Opera House and Auditorium make for interesting additions to the usual urchin activities.

For an unusual way of getting to your next destination, Cyclopolitain is a high tech-looking rickshaw that provides taxi service for the price of a bus. It’s a fun way to see the sights.

Outside the city
From May to September Pilat Park organizes more than forty nature excursions suitable for all ages. Gimel peat bog, Malleval vineyards and slopes, Bessat natural forest and the “chirats” rock slides are all explained by specialists.

Families will want to visit the sites of the recently created Monts d’Ardèche Nature Reserve, including – Arc Bridge, Chauvet Grotto, Mont Gerbier de Jonc, Ray Pic waterfall and  Païolive wood.  Exciting adventures in the vicinity include camping overnight in the Ardèche gorges, traveling by kayak, exploring the numerous grottos with professional cavers, riding the rapids in a canoe or canyoning.

In summer families can mountain bike or try a donkeyback ride through the dark mysterious forests of spruces and firs of the Chartreuse Nature Reserve. Depending on the season, visit the reserve on foot, on horseback, in snowshoes, on a mountain bike or on the back of a donkey following the marked trails stretching for 100 km.