Climbing & adventures for kids in Fontainebleau?

August 6, 2012 10:24 AM

Recommended family adventures in Fontainebleau and Sancerre, France?

My almost 7 year old son and I will be traveling by car from Paris to Sancerre in late August. Would like to stop somewhere for little adventure(s).

Would sandstones around Fontainebleau be accessible to father and son without any climbing experience? I.e. are there some trails and/or rocks that don't require much skill and no equipment beyond good shoes? Or better yet, would there be a climbing school allowing kids to try climbing safely? Other ideas beyond climbing are also welcome.

We are also interested in activities around Sancerre, where we'll have free afternoons for a week after our daily French classes.

posted by zeikka to travel & transportation around Fontainebleau, France (3 answers total)

I haven't been to Sancerre, but my wife and I spent a bit of time around the Loire valley our last visit in France. Best time we had was when we rented bikes and peddled around the countryside. 7 might be a bit young (depends on your son I suppose), but I can't imagine that area is any less beautiful than where we were. We took it slow and just enjoyed the scenery and it was a heckuva adventure to stay off the main roads and just navigate by a real honest-to-goodness paper map.
posted by aviwarner at 8:22 PM on August 15, 2012

We ended up spotting some of the very cool rock formations as we were driving towards Fontainebleau and pulled over. There were rock formations from few feet to maybe 30 feet tall. There were several groups of real rock climbers with their safety mattresses and other gear.

My son had a blast just climbing on his sneakers on the easier rocks, some of which were good 20+ feet high. So even as we couldn't find good information or make a real plan beforehand we ended up having the perfect side adventure. Would have stayed much longer, but it was 30+ Celcius.
posted by zeikka at 6:36 AM on August 19, 2012

During our stay Sancerre/ Loire Valley area we ended-up swimming several times in the river, which was very fun as the current can make you "fly."

We also rented a kayak from outfit at St. Satur -- they took us 10 miles up the river and we came down over about 3 hours. This was great.

Biking would have also been an option, but my son little young for that. Lot's to do around the area.
posted by zeikka at 12:41 PM on August 24, 2012