Le Moulin des Forges

Start your local wanderings in Sainte-Suzanne, five minutes away by car – take a walk round the well-preserved medieval walls before climbing to the castle for some super views over town and countryside. If the nippers are flagging, their efforts can be rewarded with cool drinks and tasty pastries at the old town’s cafés and bakeries. (Sans enfants? Perhaps sample a little something from local brewery La Suzannaise.) Take a look even further back in time by booking a visit to the prehistoric Saulges caves, 20 minutes’ drive away. Having explored the underground caverns, take your dino-dippy kids next door to La Ferme aux Fossiles to see a collection of ancient critters. Being a couple of hours’ drive from the coast you may think you’ve blown your chances of a beach day. Think again – there’s a lovely sandy stretch with safe shallow lake waters for swimming at Sillé Plage, half an hour’s drive away. Miniature golf, pedaloes and fishing are among the activities on hand, and there’s an adventure park next door for treetop trails and other woodsy antics.