Toy libraries in the canton of Valais

AGAULUDO

Saint-Maurice, 1890

At chemin de la Tuilerie 3a, Agauludo makes more than 1,600 games and toys (including a selection of wooden games) available to families in Saint-Maurice and the surrounding area. The toy library opens three late afternoons a week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 16:00 to 18:00. Two membership options exist side by side: CHF 35 a year with a small charge of CHF 1 to 4 per hire, or CHF 70 a year with unlimited hire. You can borrow up to three games per person for three weeks, and the online catalogue lets you spot titles before making the trip. The premises are accessible to people with reduced mobility, with an access ramp and a lift. The team also organises games evenings and summer openings, so that the holidays are never short of a game.

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LudoGrim

Grimisuat, 1971

Since 2003, LudoGrim has been keeping play alive in Grimisuat thanks to a team of volunteers. At rue de Coméraz 43, families will find more than 1,500 games and toys to hire at low prices, with advice from the toy librarians to track down the right game for every age and every occasion. The toy library opens two late afternoons a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 16:00 to 18:30, as well as the first Saturday of the month from 10:00 to 12:00, a welcome slot for families with busy weekdays. LudoGrim also organises games evenings and recreational afternoons, in particular for school classes from the region: play happily extends beyond simple lending to become a shared moment.

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Ludothèque Ardon

Ardon, 1957

Two weekly slots at the end of the day: that is the rhythm of the Ardon toy library, which lends games and toys to families in the municipality on Mondays from 16:00 to 19:00 and Fridays from 17:00 to 19:00. In July and August, the Monday opening even extends until 20:00. Located on Rue des Grands Vergers, the library also takes part in occasional events, including a games evening organised as part of World Play Day. For parents, the lending principle is hard to beat on the budget front: children regularly discover new games without constant purchases, and everyone can try a title before deciding to buy it for keeps.

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Ludothèque d'Orsières

Orsières, 1937

In Orsières, families have a toy library that works on the tried-and-tested library model: instead of books, it is games and toys that you borrow, bring back, then swap for new discoveries. For parents, it is the assurance of regularly being able to offer the children something different without turning the living room into a box depot; for children, it is the ever-renewed pleasure of opening a game they have never played. Games circulate from family to family, and everyone comes out ahead. The toy library is presented on the municipal website, www.orsieres.ch, where you will find the useful details before a first visit.

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Ludothèque de Chamoson

Chamoson, 1955

In the heart of the Valais wine country, the Chamoson toy library offers families in the region games and toys on loan. It works like a library applied to play: you borrow, discover at home, then bring things back to choose something else. For parents, the formula has real advantages: trying a board game before buying it, keeping the children busy on bad-weather afternoons, or simply rotating the little ones' toys without piling things up. Grandparents will also find plenty here to kit out the house for their grandchildren's visits. Practical information (opening hours, loan conditions and the catalogue) is available directly from the toy library.

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Ludothèque de Grône - La Passion du Jeu

Grône, 3979

On the place des Écoles, in the former gymnasium (access from the east side), the Grône toy library lines up more than 1,100 games and toys: role-play and early-learning games for the youngest, construction sets, educational games, outdoor games, puzzles and strategy games. The way it works is simple and affordable: games can be borrowed for three weeks, with an annual membership of CHF 20 valid for the whole family and hire charges of CHF 1 to 10 depending on the value of the game. Opening time is Tuesdays from 16:30 to 18:30, a weekly rendezvous that is easy to fit in after school. Designed as a meeting point for games enthusiasts from 0 to 99, the toy library lets you regularly refresh the boxes at home without straining the family budget.

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Ludothèque de Martigny

Martigny, 1920

The Ludothèque de Martigny offers families in the town and surrounding area games and toys on loan, a valuable address to know when it comes to keeping children busy, especially on grey Wednesdays and rainy weekends. One stop at the toy library is enough to leave with everything needed to turn an afternoon stuck at home into a family tournament. And since games are returned after use, every visit is a chance to vary the fun rather than endlessly bringing out the same boxes. News and practical information are published on www.ludomartigny.ch; a glance at the site before dropping in makes it easy to plan a family visit.

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Ludothèque de Nendaz - Lud'Oasis

Basse-Nendaz, 1996

At the Lud'Oasis in Nendaz, play comes in every age bracket: the toy library lends its games to children, teenagers, adults and seniors alike. This intergenerational spirit runs through its programme of activities, with games evenings for teenagers and adults, sessions dedicated to people aged 60 and over, and the "P'tits joueurs" activity, which brings young children together with their parents or grandparents around the table. Based in Basse-Nendaz, the library welcomes borrowers twice a week: Mondays from 14:00 to 16:00 and Wednesdays from 16:30 to 18:30. You leave with games under your arm, enjoy them at home, then come back to swap them for new finds.

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Ludothèque de Riddes Le Totem

Riddes, 1908

The story of Le Totem begins in 1986, when four mothers from Riddes founded the toy library, which opened its doors in the spring of 1987. Nearly forty years on, the place remains true to its original spirit: a friendly space for borrowing games and toys for families in Riddes and the surrounding area. Run by a committee and a team of volunteers, the toy library welcomes the public at rue de Combremont 11, on Monday evenings from 18:00 to 20:00 as well as the first Wednesday of the month from 15:00 to 17:00. Beyond lending, Le Totem regularly puts on activities (craft sessions, board games, storytelling and shows) which punctuate the year and make the toy library a genuine little hub of local life.

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Ludothèque de Sierre

Sierre, 3960

Right in the centre of Sierre, at avenue des Écoles 13, the regional toy library welcomes families three times a week: Tuesdays from 15:00 to 17:30, Thursdays from 16:30 to 19:00 and Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 11:30. A Click & Collect service lets you reserve your games in advance and pick them up on site, handy when you already know what you are looking for and want to avoid back-and-forth trips. Occasional openings are also organised during the summer, plenty to keep the holidays stocked with new games. For families in the region, the toy library remains the simplest way to test games before adopting them, and to vary games evenings without multiplying purchases.

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Ludothèque de Sion

Sion, 1950

With more than 2,000 games and toys, the Sion toy library ranks among the best stocked in central Valais. At rue du Chanoine-Berchtold 23, the collections cover early years and role-play games, board games, construction and patience games, electronic games, outdoor games, as well as a party and dressing-up section. Opening times are Wednesdays and Fridays from 15:00 to 18:00, two well-placed afternoons for leaving with everything needed to liven up the weekend. Games can be borrowed for three weeks, a rhythm that leaves time to explore a box before returning it. The online catalogue, backed by a Click & Collect service, lets you find and reserve what you want before coming in, handy for targeting a specific age or type of game.

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Ludothèque La Boîte à Surprise

Savièse, 1965

On the heights above Sion, Savièse has its own toy library, La Boîte à Surprise, dedicated to lending games and toys to families in the municipality and the surrounding area. The name sets the tone: every visit can hold its own discovery, a game never tried before or a box that will become the favourite of the moment. The lending principle keeps the games at home rotating at the pace of everyone's wishes, what has been explored goes back on the shelf and makes way for the next novelty, with no purchase and no clutter. The toy library is listed on the Ludo Valais website, where its practical information can be found, a convenient starting point for planning a first family visit.

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Ludothèque Les Branchés

Conthey, 1964

In Conthey, in the heart of central Valais, the Ludothèque Les Branchés offers families in the region a games and toy lending service, modelled on a library applied to play: you choose, you take home, you bring back, then you leave with new boxes. For parents, the formula avoids buying a game that may lose its appeal after a few weeks: you first try it out as a family, and only the true favourites end up joining the shelves at home for good. Children, for their part, regularly refresh their discoveries without the flat overflowing. Practical information and news are published on the toy library's website, www.ludoconthey.ch, a good first step before coming to explore the shelves as a family.

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Ludothèque Les Galopins

Fully, 1926

With Les Galopins, families in Fully have a neighbourhood toy library dedicated to lending games and toys to young and old across the region. The appeal of such a place comes down to one simple idea: try a game before adopting it. A box spotted in a shop or recommended by friends can first be borrowed, tried out around the family table, then returned, and only the titles that genuinely win everyone over deserve a purchase afterwards. An economical way to vary games evenings, while letting children explore new worlds with every visit. The toy library is presented on the Fully municipal website, where you will find the practical details for planning a first family visit.

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Ludothèque Les Wacouwas

Saxon, 1907

Between Martigny and Sion, on the Rhône plain, the village of Saxon has its very own toy library, Les Wacouwas, which provides games and toys on loan to families in the village and the surrounding area. Borrowing rather than buying: the formula noticeably lightens a family's games budget while multiplying discoveries. Boxes that have had their day go back on the shelf for other children, and every visit is a chance to leave with something different, quiet games or lively rounds, depending on the mood of the moment. Like other toy libraries in Valais, Les Wacouwas is listed on the Ludo Valais website, where you will find its practical information before a first visit.

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Ludothèque Ludomino

Vouvry, 1896

An inter-municipal toy library serving Vionnaz, Vouvry, Port-Valais and Saint-Gingolph, Ludomino sees itself as a cultural space open to children, teenagers and adults alike. Its collection covers all the ESAR categories (exercise, symbolic, assembly and rule-based games) and you can play on site just as easily as borrow. Annual family membership ranges from CHF 20 to 60, with hire charges of CHF 0 to 3 per game, for 3 to 6 games over four weeks; institutions can borrow up to 12 games for six weeks. The toy librarians advise visitors and organise activities in partnership with local organisations. At ruelle des Lavendières 1 in Vouvry, the toy library opens on Tuesdays from 16:00 to 18:30, as well as Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 09:30 to 11:30, three weekly rendezvous for refreshing the whole family's games.

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Ludothèque-Bibliothèque Evolène

Evolène, 1983

At the Evolène school centre, at rue des Condémines 6, this facility brings a library and a toy library together under one roof: novels, picture books, comics and non-fiction sit alongside board games, puzzles and early-learning toys. Enough to leave with a novel under one arm and a game box under the other. Opening times are Tuesdays, from 09:00 to 11:00 and then from 13:00 to 17:00; the morning is reserved as a priority for pre-school children accompanied by their parents, in a setting that encourages discovery. Readers also have access to e-books through the shared catalogue of the Val d'Hérens libraries. The team runs on volunteers and remains open to new helping hands, a concrete way of keeping reading and play alive in the valley.

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Ludothèque/Bibliothèque de Bagnes

Le Châble, 1934

In Le Châble, the Bagnes toy library is part of the municipality's network of libraries and documentation centres: games and toys are lent out following the same logic as book lending, at the service of families in the Val de Bagnes. The principle has plenty to appeal to parents: rather than piling up boxes, you borrow, you play, you bring back, and the games available at home are refreshed with each visit without ever overflowing the cupboards. Children, for their part, enjoy a steady stream of new things to discover. Practical information is gathered on the bagnes.bibliovs.ch portal, alongside the other institutions in the municipal network, making it possible to combine, in a single trip, reading and games for the whole family.

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