I spent long hours googling playgrounds around the cities we visited, hoping always to find “the right one”. Well, I was lucky, never been disappointed!
So, I thought to share some info about the playgrounds we saw and enjoyed so much. And who knows, may be I'll make your life easier if you ever visit these cities too!
The first city I was a little unsure of was: Moscow. I had been there many times already, but never with a toddler AND during the winter! Well, yes, Moscow offers great playgrounds all year around and EVERYWHERE! Yep, there is no need to look for a playground. You may very well have one in front of the place you are staying! Russians have a great sense of family, and they love kids! So, to make life of parents easier (or life of children happier!), they built playgrounds every other block! They are clean, safe and packed with kids, so it will be easy for your kido to find new friends! Also...if you plan to stay long, playgrounds are great places to meet other parents....Russian moms are really friendly!
Suggestion: during the winter remember to dress up your child with skiing suites, waterproof gloves, and waterproof snow boots! Best is to buy them directly in Russia, unless you are from Canada and used to the cold!
Suggestion 2: if you hate the cold or you are especially concern of your child getting a running nose, you can always take him to one of the thousands shows for children. I have been there from December to January and practically every day there was something going on for children!
I post the video of the BEST children show ever seen! This is the New Year show just for children offered at and by the Kremlin (map). Be prepared to fight for a sit! And be prepared that you may not be able to join your child if he/she is older than 5!...yep, just for children!
City Number 2: London
Well, as for Moscow, I did not know what to expect from London when it comes to entertaining little children. I googled and googled, and I actually found that such busy crowd royal city was really friendly to children! If you are a tourist and hang out at the most obvious places, such as Buckingham Palace, you will find a cute playground (map) in James Park (in front of the Palace). The cool thing about this playground (beside the obvious slides, swings, huge sand pit, picnic tables, and much more) is that it is a perfect place to watch the “Change of the Guards” in relative peace and quite! Be there around noon, and you’ll find out why!
Here is a pic of the playground. Sometime it is closed because of the weather, but the very short gates have never stopped British moms to jump over and still enjoy the ground!
Even if it should be open only to families or people with at least one child, sometimes couples, singles, or teens like to hang out here to spend their lunch break. They are not the problem. The problem is the squirrels that would do anything to still your food!
Another playground in London, and absolutely the most famous, is the Lady Diane Memorial Playground, in Hyde Park (map). It is probably the biggest outdoor playground I have seen: it has all the usual stuff (swings, slides, and Co.), but also indian tents where kids love to play hide-and-seek, and a HUGE pirate boat great for kids of all ages. The oldest ones love to climb on top of the mast, and the youngest ones love to go deep in the cockpit. The boat sits on sand (as well as much of the rest of the playground), so be ready to deal with it after a play day! The area has also tables for picnics, benches, and lovely grass areas. It seems pretty safe, since it is all fenced off, and there is always someone at the entrance making sure that whoever enters is accompanying a child.
Suggestion: if you can avoid to go there on sunny weekends, do it! I was told by a mom that sometimes the line to get in is so long that people give up! Yes, once she had to wait more than 2 hours...she gave up! But you can always try...if you do not get in, you can always opt-out for a beautiful walk in the Park!
Here are a couple of pics. Unfortunately, everytime we went there, it was cloudy and wet. But my girl did not mind at all!
Here is a pic!
What was I almost forgetting!!! The Holland Park playground!!! This is in a VERY fancy area, there were more Ferraris and Porches and Bentleys there than in Mayfair! If you are not from there, you will not know about this place easily. No, I am not from there, but we got lost, followed a local family, sort of met them, and they took us here!
Now, if you go to Holland Park, there are two playgrounds: one is small and nothing special. The other one is hidden behind the hill, and it is a great adventure place (map). Probably better for older children or small ones with athletic parents!
What to do during a very rainy day, when your children refuse to visit a museum, and you are tired of taking them to see dinosaurs? Well, if you don’t mind a long bus trip to Chelsea Harbor, then the place to go is Gambado (map) ! It is an incredibly fun indoor playground, where you can just relax and let your kids have fun without you having to worry about anything! You can also have lunch there, food is good and not expensive (yes, a rarity in London!).
Practically, this is how it works: you have to register at the entrance. They take a picture of you and the child (and they will check your photo when they let you out). I don’t remember how much it is, but it is worth! Then, they let you in...and all the fun begins! There is a huge construction (3 floors) surrounded by safety nets. Inside the construction there are slides, obstacle courses, mirrors, places to jump and climb...everything a child wishes to find. If this was not enough, there is also a carousel and a dodgem! My daughter loved the dodgem, and not to brag, but she was also a very good driver!
Suggestion: if you do not live in the Chelsea area, and do not have a car, this playground is not near the touristic area. So, check the bus route, and for the way back, consider a taxi!
Here is some pic!
City Number 3: Paris
Ah, Paris Paris! City that inspired poets, song writers, lovers, and dreamers! Yes, right, until you decide to take all your family there! Then your view of a romantic city becomes the nightmare of forcing your children to appreciate Notre-Dame and Louvre! Well, if you want to give them a break (and you want to relax too!), I would suggest you to go to the Luxembourg Garden, in the Montparnasse area. The Gardens are beautiful, the fountain as well, and it gives you this sense of peace that may be hard to find in other touristic places. Very close to the French Senate building there is a playground for little and big ones. (map) It has probably the tallest and fastest slides I have ever seen...but these are for kids 7 years old and up...or for preschoolers that have no fear, like my little girl! Naturally, it has an entire side for little kids, with normal size slides, swings and sand pits.
The drawback is that you have to pay to get in, and there is not control on who is actually entering the place...or at least, I did not notice it (but I don’t speak or read french, so I am not sure about it!). So, yes, keep an extra eye on your kids, the place is big and there are tons of people!
Ah, yes, on the way to the Gardens, there are playgrounds sparse here and there. They are as small as it gets, but still fun!
City Number 4: Sydney, Australia
Well yes, if you ever decide to cross the world to go Downunder, Sydney is the city to visit! It has everything a family can ask for! Beside the beauty of nature, the safety of the city, the best food ever, there are playgrounds open 24x7 and 365 days a year: the beautiful sandy beaches! And no, you do not need to get out of the city to visit them! They are IN the city!
We were there during the winter (winter...right...for north-emisphere people it felt more like a mild spring!). We bought a shovel and a bucket -sold at any corner store- and head for the beach. What a way to relax! My child could spend hours running up and down the beach, digging pits, building castles and getting to know the local kids....yes, because among the other amazing things of Australia, people are extremely friendly!
Now, lets say that your kids are really really into man-made playgrounds, and they really hate the beach. Ok, for you, I would suggest the playground up on the hill of Coogee Beach (map). It is a wonderful place, immersed in trees and with activities for kids of all ages. The view on the ocean is stunning. I believe if you are at the playground early in the morning you may see whales from up there. But I was also told it becomes miserable during the summer, since it gets too hot! But anyway, why would you spend a minute in there when downhill there is a beach with a wonderful ocean?!
Here is Bondi Beach!
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And here we are, new country, new adventures, new playgrounds! We are back in Europe, and as usual, we are making sure our daughter has a lot of fun time with her new friends! We moved to Versailles, a town famous for its Chateau, Kings and Queens. But Versailles is much more. The kindness of people is incredible, the attention paid to the smallest details to make the town "jolie et coquette" is remarkable, and families rule. And children have tons of places to enjoy. The first place is obviously the Chateau's Gardens. However, most of kids spend there time at their neighborhood's playground. Here is some pics (sorry, I took the photos from an old cell, and they came up really tiny). I'll go to get some more photos when it will stop raining...yeah, right...when?!
Because I am a GIS nerd, I could not resist to the temptation to make a full map of the playgrounds in Versailles. Here is the link, use it if you need! ...if you click on the balls, the description of the playground will appear, such as the address, what games it has, the max and min age, etc. Neat feature, right?
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