The 2026 autumn holidays run from 5 to 25 October depending on the canton. Here is our full programme: what closes and what opens in October, which week is the quietest, and our ideas sorted by weather and by age.
Halloween falls on Saturday 31 October 2026, just after the autumn holidays: a whole Saturday ahead of you. Here is where to go in French-speaking Switzerland, which activities work at what age, and how to pitch the scare factor without spoiling the evening.
Autumn is the best season for taking children into the forest: the colours, the chestnuts, the rutting stags and temperatures that are perfect for walking. Here are our routes in French-speaking Switzerland, what to look for with children, and the two safety points specific to the season.
Most ice rinks in the region open their season between mid-October and early November, and several are free. Here is our selection, indoor rink by indoor rink and village by village, with the age to start, the kit that helps and our tips for a successful first time.
In late September, the herds come down from the alpine pastures and the vines are harvested: it is the season of the désalpes and the wine harvest festivals. Three big events fall on the same weekend in 2026. Here is which ones, with practical advice for going with children.
Kidora keeps shining a light on the associations working for childhood in French-speaking Switzerland. After Patouch, we are today welcoming Handicamp, a volunteer-run association that has been bringing together children with and without disabilities for more than 40 years around a simple idea: go to camp, live together and discover differences another way.
September brings two days off in French-speaking Switzerland, but not in the same cantons: the Jeûne genevois on Thursday 10 September 2026 in Geneva, and the Monday of the Jeûne fédéral on 21 September in Vaud, Neuchâtel and the Bernese Jura. Here is what to do with the children.
Canton Vaud is arguably the most spoiled corner of French-speaking Switzerland when it comes to lake swimming: its shores touch four very different la...
At 3 to 5, a successful outing in Geneva is often car-free: a shallow-water beach, a free animal park, a crossing on a Mouette. Here are our ideas in the canton of Geneva, tailored to the real needs of this age — short duration, a safe perimeter and stroller access.
At 6 to 9, children want to do, to succeed, to climb and to measure themselves. Here are our outing ideas in the canton of Vaud genuinely tailored to this age: adventure courses, minigolf, summer toboggan runs, gorges, hands-on museums and first train outings.
Kidora helps you find family outings, but children’s wellbeing does not stop at weekend activities. We have decided to highlight, on the site, the associations working for childhood in French-speaking Switzerland. And it is Patouch, committed for more than twenty years to preventing violence against children, that opens this section.
It’s official: Kidora is now available on iPhone and Android. More than 600 children’s activities in French-speaking Switzerland now fit in your pocket, with an interactive map, age filters and a search around your location. Here is everything the new app can do to make your family outings easier.
Between 3 and 5, a good outing comes down to three criteria: short, safe and stroller-friendly. Here are our tried-and-tested ideas in the canton of Vaud, from the shores of Lake Geneva to the Jura vaudois, with shallow-water beaches, playgrounds and walks that really work at this age.
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