Borrowing a game for four weeks rather than buying it: that is the principle of the La Marotte toy library, in the centre of Payerne, which makes more than 1,000 games available to residents of the region. Plenty to keep the family games table regularly refreshed.
Activities are run throughout the year, and gift vouchers make it easy to give the gift of play. The library also accepts donations of games and toys in good condition, which go on to enrich the shelves.
Annual membership costs 20 francs for Payerne residents and 25 francs for other municipalities; it is free from the third member of the same family onwards. Openings take place two afternoons a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays from 15:00 to 18:00, on Rue du Châtelard.
Kids activities nearby
Family outing ideas around the toy library.
Want a day of swimming with family in the heart of Broye? The Payerne Pool welcomes you outdoors with its large 50 m pool, a paddling pool for the little ones, slides, and vast shaded lawns. Perfect for alternating between swimming, sliding, and picnicking under the trees all summer long.
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Fancy sending your children up a real medieval keep? The Château de Chenaux has watched over the old town of Estavayer-le-Lac since the 13th century. We take you to the top of its tower, from where the view runs straight over the rooftops and Lake Neuchâtel.
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Want a day with your feet in the sand by Lake Neuchâtel? The Nouvelle Plage d'Estavayer-le-Lac combines a beach, playground, barbecues, and the longest cable ski in Switzerland. Enough to delight the whole family, from toddlers to teenagers.
View detailsNearby toy libraries
Other toy libraries in the same canton.
Ludothèque de la Broye
Font, 1473
In Font, at Sous le Château 57, the Broye toy library brings together more than 900 games and toys in every category, chosen to support children's development as much as adults' enjoyment of play. Three sessions punctuate the week: Wednesdays and Fridays from 16:00 to 18:00, and Saturdays from 09:30 to 11:30. How it works remains simple and affordable: annual membership costs 30 francs, and each game is lent for three to four weeks, two months for teachers. An ideal formula for trying a game at home before deciding whether to buy it. The premises are reached by a ramp suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs, a detail that matters when you arrive with young children.
Ludothèque du Château
Avenches, 1580
In Avenches, in the Broye region of Vaud, the Ludothèque du Château lends games and toys to families in the area. The principle is that of a library, applied to play: you borrow, you play, you bring it back, then you choose something else. A simple way to vary the fun at home without stacking up boxes. For children, every visit is a chance to discover something: an unfamiliar board game, a different kind of toy, an activity idea for a Wednesday or a grey Sunday. And for parents, it is a chance to try a game out before deciding whether it deserves a permanent spot on the shelf. Practical information is available from the municipality of Avenches, whose website presents the leisure activities on offer for children and young people.
Ludothèque Schtroumpf de Neyruz et environs
Neyruz, 1740
Founded in 1986, Ludothèque Schtroumpf serves Neyruz and the surrounding villages from the municipal complex, below the gym hall, at Route d'Onnens 5. It lends games and toys to everyone, young and less young, and also offers Tonies figurines: stories, songs and adventures to listen to. Two weekly sessions set the rhythm of the place: Wednesdays from 15:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays from 09:00 to 11:00. Free parking is available on site, which makes visits easier with children or bags of games to return. Run by a committee of five toy librarians, the toy library relies on a team of around twenty volunteers, a fine village effort built around the pleasure of play.
