Camping Portes d'Ariège

When you’re looking for inspo on family days out, try the tractor rides at La Ferme aux Bisons (25 minutes’ drive), where the kids can get (fairly) up close to herds of wild bison and fallow deer, and closer to geese and goats at the petting farm. Any budding botanists should hotfoot it to Le Parc aux Bambous (20 minutes) for strolls through sheets of bamboo on a sculpture walk, and if more robust activity is called for, the rope courses at La Belle Verte Accrobranche (15 minutes) should suffice nicely. Continuing with the outdoor action, you can get adventurous on hang-gliding escapades (50 minutes), go rock climbing at Calames (half an hour) or cycle arduous trails in the Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises (also half an hour). Closer to home base, there are looped countryside bike rides from Pamiers (five minutes), where you can also meander along medieval canals, admire the stained glass in Saint-Antonin Cathedral and climb up the ornate, many-sided Tour de la Monnaie for views over the town to the Ariège River.