You and the children will be enthralled by the Northern France take on the great outdoors – family fun on the beach, shrimp-fishing, sea-swimming and jumping around in the dunes. Be sure to tuck into some real French favourites too; moules-frites (the famous mussels-chips combo) against the backdrop of a stunning Northern France sunset is an image that will remain in your mind’s eye for a long time to come.
Meeting your host Anne-Stéphanie at Villa Samoa kick starts the family beach break. As soon as you arrive, the children will be simply itching to catch that first glimpse of the sea through the dunes before running off, toes sinking in the sand as they go. Well, thanks to B&B Villa Samoa’s blessed location in Bray-Dunes only 300m from the beach, that’s easy. Anne-Stéphanie can lend you kids’ scooters to whizz to the beach wind-in-hair, as well as buckets, spades, sand-rakes and nets in case you all fancy a bit of shrimp-fishing!
At the tourist office, you can also hire bikes for all the family before heading off on the coastal cycle-path towards Dunkirk, admiring the dune seascape as you go. If you’d rather go walking, why not tell the kids you’re going to tick off yet another country from the bucket-list ─ it’s only a 2km coastal walk to the Belgian border after all!
No family weekend break is complete without the perfect family photo: Anne-Stéphanie will recommend you head to the local beach at Leffrinckoucke for the most unexpected and wow-inducing sight: an old WW2 blockhouse covered in shards of mirror. At high tide, the sea, sun, sand and sky are all reflected in this work of art and poignant reminder of WW2.
And it’s not the only remnant of WW2 history of course. To really capture Dunkirk spirit, watch Christopher Nolan’s epic film Dunkirk – depicting the dramatic allied evacuation of 1940 ─ then stand eyes-closed on the peaceful sandy beach. Feel the frisson as you recall the WW2 drama that took place right here and talk to the children about it too ─ learning history this way is more captivating than the classroom.
If all this sea air gives you an appetite, savour a cone of frites by the colourful beach-huts or grab a crêpe – classic French fare. Later, relax in the enclosed gardens of B&B Villa Samoa. On your sunlounger, drink in hand, children playing table tennis, all you have to do is discuss tonight’s eating options: Shrimps or moules-frites…? Seafood or shrimp croquettes…? Wherever you end up eating - Bray-Dunes, Dunkirk or La Panne over the border in Belgium, you really won’t be short on ideas.
After a day of so much French adventure on your family weekend break in Bray-Dunes, collapse into the comfort of your super-spacious family suite at B&B Villa Samoa. Sleep easy too – you’ve still Anne-Stéphanie’s indulgent French breakfast to look forward to, setting you up for another day ─ beachbound we’re guessing!
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