Travelling with kids doesn’t always feel like a holiday for a lot of parents. When your trip is paced around keeping the kids entertained, you can find yourself growing tensed and stressed. A lot of parents feel stuck to visiting children-friendly destinations, which can sometimes be a little dull if you’re not an energetic eight-year-old anymore. Admittedly, there are still plenty of excellent resorts that offer children activities and that can give parents some well-deserved freedom. But these are built around the principle of a closed and expensive world. Are you really on holiday if you are swapping your home for a hotel room and a pool without being able actually to enjoy discovering a new region or a new culture? Travel enthusiasts prefer considering creating new experiences. So how can you best create a holiday experience that can keep both parents and children excited? The answer comes from a 53-year-old comic book: Plan your tour of Gaul!
Getting ready
What’s a tour of Gaul? It’s easy, in 1965, René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo publish Asterix and the Banquet, that takes Asterix, Obelix and for the first time Dogmatix, the famous bone-obsessed little dog that will follow the two friends everywhere. Put it in modern terms, this trip around France’s most famous regions can be planned over two weeks. You will find it easy to hire a motorhome on MotorhomeFreedom for the duration of your holiday, as you don’t need to worry about hotel costs, luggage space and playtime. Remember to pack the comic book too: Kids will love to compare the Latin world with modern towns! Otherwise why not consider a family friendly gite?
Where to stop?
The plot is based on a bet that Asterix made with the Romans that they can travel freely through Gaul despite the stockade erected around their village. As proof of their travels, they will bring regional items back with them. As described on AsterixOnline, the idea takes readers through Roman France, starting with Lutetia – Paris – where the heroes collect ham. You need to make a stop in Cambrai to obtain a sweet called Bëtise de Cambrai, before heading to Reims to get a bottle of champagne.Stop by in Lyon for the infamous quenelles, and head down to Nice for the Niçoise salad and Marseille for the local fish stew. Then you can finish in Toulouse for the sausages, before eating Agen prunes and drinking a glass of Bordeaux wine.
A little extra on the road
Planned over an extended summer or spring holiday, you can also include a few extra stops to keep the family excited and connected to the modern history. For instance, why not spend an extra day in Lutetia to visit Disneyland Paris? Or Paris itself? You can also spend a few nights in Reims to visit the Episcopal Palace that contains a talisman belonging to Charlemagne and the oil used for the coronation of every king between the 12th and the 18th centuries. Too much history? Take a break around the Med and enjoy a sunny day by the sea instead!
Who would have thought that comic books were the perfect travel companion? Here’s a little tip to make the most of your trip: introduce your family to Asterix and the Banquet now so that your children can map out the journey in advance.
We also have a post on some of the most family friendly hotels in Paris.
