What to do with children when it rains? Our indoor ideas in French-speaking Switzerland

It’s raining, everyone is going round in circles, and the day is still long. Good news: French-speaking Switzerland is not short of places where you can stay dry and where children genuinely burn off energy.

Here is our method and our best addresses, sorted by what you feel like. All of them are under cover, from the first metre to the last.

Letting off steam: indoor play parks

When the aim is to empty the energy tank, nothing beats an indoor venue. Trampolines, nets, slides and climbing courses: the children run, the parents sit down. Browse our full selection of indoor play parks in French-speaking Switzerland.

Being amazed: aquariums, vivariums and tropical greenhouses

AQUATIS in Lausanne remains the safe bet on grey days. A stone’s throw from Geneva, the Vivarium de Meyrin offers a shorter outing, with more than 200 reptiles. See all our aquarium and vivarium ideas.

Getting hands-on: museums where you touch everything

At l’Espace des Inventions, everything is made to be operated. It is the opposite of the museum where you get bored. Our full selection of interactive museums, and on the Valais side, our museums for children.

Getting in the water: water parks and thermal baths

Rain doesn’t matter at all when you are already wet. Aquaparc in Le Bouveret is entirely covered and heated; the region’s thermal centres, for their part, are even more charming in the rain. See our water parks and thermal baths.

Heading underground

The idea seems counter-intuitive on a rainy day, and yet: in a mine or a cave, the weather outside counts for nothing at all. See our caves and mines to visit as a family.

Thinking together: escape games and the cinema

For older children, an hour of puzzles makes the afternoon fly by: see our guide to escape games for children. And the cinema remains unbeatable for effort-to-result ratio, especially in Geneva.

By town

• In Lausanne: our ideas for a rainy day in Lausanne
• In Geneva: our ideas for a rainy day in Geneva

Our tips for a successful rainy day

• Decide early: at 2pm on a rainy Sunday, the whole region has had the same idea. A morning slot changes everything.
• Book where you can: trampolines, escape games and indoor pools fill up quickly in bad weather.
• Pack a change of clothes: between the rain in the car park and the heat inside, a dry t-shirt in the bag saves a lot of grumbling.
• One activity, not three: on a rainy day, energy drops faster. Better one outing well enjoyed than a sequence endured.
• Keep a “free” card up your sleeve: a library, a toy library or a free-entry museum saves the end of the month as much as the end of the day.

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