Camping Parc la Chaumière

The most excellent city of Mulhouse a mere six kilometres from Parc la Chaumière is famed as the creative capital of Alsace, home of several museums including the Cité de l’Automobile and the Musée Français du Chemin de Fer, respectively the biggest car and railway museums in the world. Arty sorts have a fine arts museum and a museum of modern art to goggle at, as well as the trompe l'œil paintings of the 16th-century Hôtel de Ville. Speaking of Alsace capitals, if you're anywhere around the Haut-Rhin department and are a dedicated follower of vino, a must is the city of Colmar, about 50 kilometres away on the lengthy Alsace Wine Route. Colmar's buildings of Vosges sandstone are pretty spectacular as well, along with its old covered market, and its handful of museums including the Unterlinden Museum, a toy museum and a zoological and ethnographic museum (try saying that after some local vino) dating back the mid-19th century. Boat trips on Colmar's Little Venice canal district also come highly recommended. For family days, take some time for the Ecomuseum of Alsace (26 kilometres), an open-air site covering the rural life of the Alsatians of the 19th and 20th centuries. Then get the kids along to the Little Prince Park (29 kilometres), the first aerial park in the world; the chattering creatures of Monkey Mountain, just over an hour away, and the rides and amusements of Europa Park, Germany's biggest theme park and also within just over an hour's drive.