Have you ever taken your children to Paléo? We tried for the first time yesterday and it was brilliant!!
One of my favourite memories of Switzerland was my first time at Paléo. Jean and I had been dating for about 8 months and he persuaded me we should go together. It rained a lot (which I loved), we drank a bit too much beer and ended up in a very expensive taxi at the of the night - it was great!
Impossible for us to imagine then that a few years later we would be returning with two of our three children for a very different kind of night.
We left Elio with his God mother last night as he’s having a bit of a tough time at the moment and would have found the heat very difficult, but Alba and Jude were smothered in sun cream and raring to go when we set off around 5pm. We were invited as press which meant that we had access to a car park close to the heart of the festival and made things much easier for the children.
Jude and Alba’s faces when we stepped through the gates were a picture. They were both awed by the people, sights and sounds all around us. We started with a walk around and it was really fun for us to point out all the cool things everywhere that we might not otherwise have paid attention to. We got ourselves some drinks and headed down to the children’s area behind the village du monde.
Before the children came along we would never have set foot in here but it’s such a great place for little festival goers with shows and lots of games made out of recycled items such as bicycles where the children had to use their ingenuity to solve problems. Jude and Alba really loved the pool where they used nets to fish out plastic flowers made from drink bottles and they surprised us by not pushing each other in. The area is really well set up with children’s toilets and areas to change babies. If you are going to Paléo with your children, you need to take a look!
When we left, we explored the enormous metal structure which Jude thought looked a bit like the Titanic and we found a shady spot to try some spiral potatoes on a skewer which we all really enjoyed. The great thing about Paléo is the huge amount of weird and wonderful things you encounter including the robot zooming around with aliens on it which passed us by and fascinated/bemused the children.
We put Jude and Alba in their ear protectors and watched a bit of the band Les Cowboys Fringants in the crowd with some friends. We hoisted the children up where they could see better but it was VERY hot and they soon started to grumble that they wanted to move on so we went in search of something to eat. It was hard to choose with so many options and part of the fun was trying to pick what we wanted. On our travels we came across a staff member who was giving out stickers on which we could write the children’s names and our telephone number in case they got lost which we thought was a really good idea.
With full tummies we decided to discover more of the press area. We were able to access a special box to the right of the stage which was brilliant and much more comfortable for the children so we perched them on a table and waited for Christine and the Queens. With a better view, fewer people and a bit less heat, the children were mesmerised by the performance with Alba waving her hands and trying to sing along.
From there we explored the area behind the stage which is a lovely walk through a kind of hidden village. It was beautifully lit in the approaching darkness and took us over bridges crossing the river and a couple of cool bars. Back out in the main festival and we stopped for a nice cool glass of Swiss Milk. By this time it was 22.30 and the children were starting to flag a bit so we made our way slowly back to the car. As night fell, the festival took on a new excitement for the children with fires and lights everywhere so we stopped often to explore this fascinating new landscape.
The children were brilliant! Alba was skipping and singing right to the end and Jude managed to keep going until we got to the car despite being very tired. They really enjoyed their first festival experience and Jude is counting down the number of sleeps until we go again on Sunday. For us too, it was a really fun evening. It’s clear that we couldn’t have stood in the crowd and listened to a full show, and we had to keep our wits about us to make sure the children stayed close by, but we really loved it.
One of the things that has always impressed us about Paléo is how accessible it for everyone. We’ll have Elio with us on Sunday so we paid extra attention to facilities for those with pushchairs and wheelchairs and it’s really amazing how much there is on offer including a space where those with special needs can rest in a cool place and a special viewing area for those with disabilities.
Thank you Paléo for this wonderful experience. You didn’t disappoint!
--> Tickets are still available for Saturday and Sunday! <--
Discover the Line-up for the rest of the week !
Information
Parking : Yes ( More info) - We would recommend to come by public transport
Toilets : Yes
Accessibility : Accessible for all - More info
Various information : here