What can you do with your children during the April holidays?

What can you do with your children during the spring holidays?

Visits, Easter egg hunts, aquariums, safari trains, boat trips… with children or teenagers, find what you’re looking for in Touraine during the spring school holidays. Load up on ideas and great family activities!

Château du Clos Lucé Amboise — ©Chateau Du Clos Luce Amboise Credit Adt Touraine Jc Coutand 2034|ADT Touraine - JC COUTAND

Dates for the April 2026 holidays

Depending on the academic zone, the April school holidays run from 4 April to 3 May 2026:

Zone A (Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon, Poitiers): from 4 April. Classes resume on 20 April.
Zone B (Aix-Marseille, Amiens, Caen, Lille, Nancy-Metz, Nantes, Nice, Orléans-Tours, Reims, Rennes, Rouen, Strasbourg): from 11 April. Classes resume on Monday 27 April.
Zone C (Créteil, Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, Versailles): from 18 April. Classes resume on 4 May.

1. Get some fresh air in the garden

Admire the spring blooms in the gardens with the whole family! The gardens of Villandry, Le Rivau, Valmer and Le Prieuré Saint Cosme, not forgetting the superb garden village of Chédigny, are waiting to be explored. Children will be running up and down the avenues, and parents will be strolling peacefully: everyone’s happy!

On the agenda: the spring plant festival at Château de la Bourdaisière, from 4 to 6 April 2026.

2. April holiday walks

With the return of fine weather, succumb to the call of nature! Take your pick from a selection of moderate-distance walks, suitable for shorter legs. One suggestion: the 2 walks around the Domaine de Candé, where you can also picnic and hire outdoor games from the reception!

By bike, there are around sixty signposted loops throughout Touraine, and a number of bike hire companies.

Hike and castle at the Domaine de Candé

Flowering escapades in Touraine

©Escape Game Cave Vouvray|ADT Touraine - JC Coutand

3. Team adventure

Yes, you can discover the vineyards of Touraine with the kids! Try theoenological Escape Game at the Pierre & Bertrand Couly estate. If you’ve got a keen sense of observation and team spirit, there’s no puzzle you won’t be able to solve! The same goes for the Cave de Vouvray, with the Secret de la Guilde Saint Martin, and Maison Lacheteau – Grands Caves Saint-Roch with its Sparkling Game!

The whole family can also play at the Royal Fortress of Chinon, the first monument in Touraine to launch a ” monument game “. The game is based on escape game codes, but here the whole fortress is the playground!

4. Seeing animals!

At theTouraine aquarium, see fish from the Loire Valley (sturgeon, pike, pike-perch…) as well as more exotic species: seahorses, caimans and white-tip sharks! Board the little train at the Beaumarchais reserve for a safari in the heart of a 30-hectare wildlife park, where you can meet deer, fallow deer, ostriches, bison and wallabies. Visit the Goupillières troglodytic valley and its farm animals, as well as educational farms. Or book an organised nature outing in the Espaces Naturels Sensibles or the Loire Anjou Touraine Regional Nature Park.

Educational farms

5. Visits with children

Take advantage of a variety of unusual initiatives in the châteaux, aimed particularly at young visitors:

From 18 to 26 April, at the Château du Clos Lucé, 17 interactive workshops will help visitors discover the properties of water, with… Effervesciences!
“L’exposition dont on ne doit pas prononcer le nom“, at the Château de l’Islette (Azay-le-Rideau).
The treasure hunt at Château de Gizeux, as well as theMusketeers’ School at 11am (Monday to Friday), the costumed visit at 3pm for 4-12 year-olds (every day) and themed workshops at 4.30pm;
A monumental tree house at the Château de Langeais;
Fun tours using the Histopad tablet, at the Cité royale de Loches, the fortress of Chinon and the château royal d’Amboise;
The game card at the Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, a challenge for all the family!

And take a tour of most of the châteaux of the Loire in the mini-châteaux park in Amboise 😉

Extend the experience

6. Pool break

Don’t forget to pack your swimming costumes and swimming caps for a dip in one of Touraine’s aquatic centres. And have a great time… that’s what holidays are all about!

7. On the boat!

Getting on a boat is already the start of a journey. So treat yourself to a beautiful river trip, with beautiful scenery, informed commentary and fresh air! In April, departure from Chinon, Savonnières, Chisseaux or Rochecorbon.

Book your boat trip

8. Workshops & courses

Visit the Centre d’art autour de la Vannerie to make beautiful wicker creations. At the Musée du Grand-Pressigny, take a trip back to prehistory, with a variety of workshops. Learn how to make fire, for example!

Finally, if some of your children are sometimes over the moon, a one-day course at theastronomical observatory in Tauxigny should please them!