THINGS TO DO FOR CHILDREN

A list of things to see and do with children. Most of the ideas below are within an hour of the gite although the caves at Niaux (which we highly recommend) and some other ideas are a bit further afield.

• A tourist train that takes you around Albi. The tour lasts about 45 minutes.
• A boat trip along the Tarn. Lasts about thirty minutes
• Cycle route An old railway line that has been converted to a cylcle and walking path. It runs from Albi to Castres
• Mine museum Close to Albi and about 45 minutes from the gite the museum lets you go down in to an old mine and get a feel of what it was like to work in a mine. Not for the claustraphobic.

Cordes sur Ciel

• Hill top fortified town with a steep walk to the top which will tire out most children!!
• Swimming pool with a waterfall, rapid river, 3 lane water slide and a paddling pool.
• Nine hole mini golf course

Toulouse

• Airbus factory and museum - The guided tour of the factory needs to be booked well in advance. The aerospace museum is open 9.30 to 6 and has various aircraft on display including Concorde.
• The Toulouse Space museum - This is a great museum with lots to see including full scale replicas of the Arianne rocket and the Mir space stateion. Not just for children!

Other places

• African Safari at Plaisance du Touche This safari zoo has 600 wild animals. In the summer it is open 9.30 to 7.30. It's about 55 minutes from the gite. You can download a map here.
• Le Cri de Tarzan at Puylaurens, 30 mins from the gite. 110 activities including zip lines, monkey bridges and rop footbridges. Suitable for children as young as 3 years old.
• Cap Découverte A 250 acre park with lots of activities including skate boarding, go-karting, skiing, rope climbs, paint balling, swimming and a water slide. Too much to describe - see the video. (81450 Le Garric). 52 minutes from the gite.
• Parc de Gourjade A large natural park close to Castres which has a mini golf course, minature train (Saturdays), a swimming pool. 45 minutes from the gite.
• Zoo des 3 Vallees A large zoo with more than 1200 animals and 100 species. However it does have some poor reviews on TripAdvisor. 50 minutes from the gite.
• A forest adventure park with rope brigdges and slides. This video (not from the actual park) gives an idea of the activities. At St Pierre-de-Trivisy about 1.25 hrs from the gite.

Canal Du Midi

• Beautiful and historic canal side walk at Naurouze/Montferrand
• Boat trips at Renneville aboard 'Surcouf'
• Hire a bike at:
  • Trèbes (1.5 hrs)
  • Castelnaudary

Horse Riding

• Poney City
• Voyage à Cheval
• Club Hippique de Bonnery
• Les Ecuries de Cocagne
• Haras de la Colline
• Ferme Équestre Sapientis