Bonjour tout le monde,

Our pattern for the past few years has been that once every two summers we head back to the US, and then the next summer we stay in France. Last summer we went to the US, and so, again, this summer we're planning on staying in France.

But we don't just stay in France. We stay home. By choice. I love it here in Burgundy in the summer. As a teacher, I'm off of work. We often ship the kids off for a few weeks to Mamie's, I sign them (and myself!) up for activities organized by the city of Dijon and we just chill. It's blissful.

But we try to sprinkle in a few fun (mainly water-related) activities in as well, and as we're approaching summer, I'm thinking about all the things I'd love to do with the kids in the area, and I thought I'd share some of our favorites with you.

Maybe we'll see you there?

• ​​TNCO​, in Premeaux-Prissey: You can do wakeboarding and water-skiing using their motorized pulley system, or, if you're into less extreme activities, they have pédalo, little paddle boats, that you can take out on the pond. But I especially love TNCO for the beach club vibes. You can go, have lunch or dinner (the food is good!), and hang out with (or make new) friends.
• ​​Beaune Côté Plages​: Okay, so we're far from the ocean here in Burgundy, but here's another place you can basically go and feel like you've spent a day at the beach. This place has a series of naturally-filtered pools of varying depths, plus slides, diving platforms, a climbing wall you can intentionally fall off of and splash into the water, nice lawn space for lounging and a good little snack bar.
• ​​Les grottes de Bèze​: You walk into the cave and then a guide takes you on a little boat excursion in the cave! It's very cool, literally, bring a sweater, even in the summer. The village of Bèze itself is also very charming.
• Lac de la Liez, Langres: I have always thought the fortified, medieval city of Langres itself was extremely underrated, by this lake, just on the outskirts of Langres, one hour from Dijon, is another place you can go, spend the day, and feel like you are really on vacation. The beach is lovely, there are nice restaurants on the lakeshore (reserve ahead of time) and on the water there are fun inflatable structures and tubing for kids and adults alike.
• ​​Le spa thermal de Santenay​: My husband and I love nothing more than to spend an afternoon soaking in bubbly, warm, thermal water, and Santenay is a wonderful place to do it. The village itself also has several nice restaurants, but make sure to reserve ahead of time. Last summer we forgot to reserve and wound up having to drive to Chagny for dinner instead.
• ​​Piscine du Carrousel​: Yes, this is "just" one of Dijon's public pools, but it is legitimately a great place to spend the day; good snack bar, fun water slides, nice lawn for sun bathing, plus a sauna and hammam. (You'll need a bathing cap and men must wear a tight bathing suit, what we referred to as a "Speedo" when I was growing up.)

Really, seriously, what more could you want!?

I’d also like to do at least one new thing. For example, I’ve never been to ​La Karrière​, an outdoor modern art and performance space that looks so cool. It seems like they're always having interesting events. Maybe we'll finally make it there this summer. And I'd love to try a via ferrata in the Jura, both because I love the Jura, and because I've never done one, and from what I see online they look very thrilling and fun. Let me know if you have a recommendation of one we should try.

And I am hoping to get at least one or two local city visit videos made for you. 😊

Bel été à toutes et à tous,

Suzi

PS: If you’d like my personal feedback on your own France plans, you can book a 1-on-1 strategy session with me: ​Schedule your session with me here​​

PPS: This is certified AI-free content, in case you couldn’t tell. 😆