Camping du Mont Olympe

Charleville-Mézières is rather more than just a handy place to source your eats and drinks, so you’ll want to spend at least a day here, taking in the Arthur Rimbaud Museum (in a gorgeous 17th-century water mill on the river), wandering through the Musée de l’Ardenne and passing by Le Grand Marionnettiste to see its hourly automated puppet shows. There are 12 scenes to see in total, but don’t worry if you skip a few: swing by on a Saturday night and settle in with snacks to see the whole show play out. A little further afield, 20 minutes’ drive takes you to Fort des Ayvelles, to tour the 19th-century fortress both above ground and beneath, on an exploration of the subterranean tunnel system. Once the tiddlers are done with the tunnels, take them to Domaine de Vendresse (35 minutes’ drive) for a huge and varied play area including ziplines, water play area and sandpit, plus well-stocked fishing lakes. If they’re hankering after a bit more adventure, plot a course to Ardennes Terre d’Aventures amusement park (half an hour away) or Terraltitude adventure park (40 minutes).