All the fun of the fair: Discovering a road trip across Europe with kids can be stress-free… when you let them run away to the circus

  • The Mail on Sunday’s Joanna Tweedy took her children on a European road trip
  • They were based at Le Chinaillon in France – it has good fondue restaurants  
  • A highlight was the funfair in La Clusaz, which pops up every summer 

By Joanna Tweedy For Mail On Sunday

Published: 22:01 BST, 25 May 2019 | Updated: 22:01 BST, 25 May 2019

Our kids have run away to the circus. And it isn’t just ours either. Everywhere we look, les enfants are flying through the air, dancing across tight-ropes or hurtling down zip-wires. The pluckiest sit inside giant inflatables and whistle down a ski slope.

A funfair pops up every summer in La Clusaz, a pretty French ski town in the Haute-Savoie region, just an hour’s drive from Geneva airport.

Glinting above us is the summer luge, a silver snake that slithers down one of the mighty grass-covered peaks. The half-mile two-lane slide for grown-ups and children is possibly the best fun you can have for £3.50 anywhere in Europe.

Alpine charm: Pretty La Clusaz in the Haute-Savoie region

Alpine charm: Pretty La Clusaz in the Haute-Savoie region

En famille, we boarded cable cars that take riders to the slide’s starting point and duly sat in the metal carts, which come with a joystick brake.

My partner Laura and I pelted down with our children – Belle, six, and Cleo, three – leaving them wild-eyed with excitement, and awaited the rest of our clan at the bottom. Dad, nudging 70, was slower than treacle in his descent, while my 19-year-old niece had to be rescued after dropping her phone as she attempted to live-stream the fun on social media.

Our mountain base was the village of Le Chinaillon. This place may be small but it’s surprisingly self-sufficient, boasting a string of good fondue restaurants, sports shops, a supermarket, spa and even a cute cinema showing subtitled films.

Exhilarating: Families love the summer luge at La Clusaz

Exhilarating: Families love the summer luge at La Clusaz

Exhilarating: Families love the summer luge at La Clusaz

We stayed at the luxurious Le Roc du Tours complex, a mega-chalet that is split into 44 apartments and comes with a fitness suite, spa and pool.

Summer road trips across Europe with kids are much less nerve-shredding these days – an iPad proved invaluable on our seven-hour drive from Calais. And at £100 for a return crossing with P&O plus £200 on fuel, it’s easier on the wallet than flying.

Before our journey home, we spent a perfect day on an emerald lake in the nearby village of Flumet. And the piece de resistance? A walk that served up a final souvenir – a glorious glimpse of Mont Blanc.

TRAVEL FACTS

Joanna Tweedy stayed in a three-bedroom apartment at Le Roc des Tours. A one-week stay in August costs £970 (mgm-hotels-residences.com). Return Dover-Calais crossings with P&O (poferries.com) in August cost about £100.

 

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