The Best Summer Camps and Workshops for Kids in Paris

The Best Summer Camps and Workshops for Kids in Paris

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summer camps in Paris
© Dmitriy Shironosov/123RF

Already planning for the summer holidays? Before you know it, school “les grandes vacances” will arrive! Whether you’re a local or planning a trip to Paris with teenagers or little ones, there are plenty of workshops and camps to offer kids of all ages fun and enriching experiences in the City of Light.

Here’s the scoop on summer day camps (“stages”), workshops (“ateliers”), and educational courses for kids in and around Paris. (Note: Activities are led in French unless otherwise noted.)

Day Camps in and Around Paris

FEATURED CAMPS

American Childrens Theatre Paris
© American Children’s Theatre

American Children’s Theatre

Winner of Expatriates Magazine’s Best of Paris 2018 Summer Camp category, American Children’s Theatre (A.C.T.) offers not only year-round musical theatre classes in English but also fun weekly camps during school holidays for children aged 3 to 16. Depending on the children’s age group, they can sign up for the Morning (ages 3+), Afternoon (ages 6+), or All-day (ages 6+) camp sessions. All camps are led by experienced actors and drama teachers.  Each week is different, so children can sign up to one, two or more different sessions.  During the week the children learn and prepare a show ready to perform in costume on Friday to end the week on a high note!

Ages: 3-11 (Broadway Baby), 6-13 (Broadway Bop and Cre-Act Camps), 10-16 (Gleek Week)
When: July 1- 5, July 8-12, July 15-19, July 22-26
Where: Maison St. Agnes, 23 rue Oudinot 75007 Paris & American Cathedral, 23 avenue George V 75008 Paris
Cost: 
Broadway Baby: 25€ annual registration fee, Morning: 150€ per week;
Broadway Bop: 25€ annual registration fee, Afternoon: 175€ per week + / All-day: 350€ per week;
Cre-Act Camps: 175€ per week + 25€ annual registration fee;
Gleek Week Camp: 25€ annual registration fee, Afternoon: 175€ per week
Details/Registration: visit their
WEBSITE


Apprends et Reve camps
© Apprends et Rêve

Apprends et Rêve

Would you like to travel around the world while staying in Paris? This summer, with Apprends et Rêve, your children can search for the treasures of Tutankhamen, explore the Native American great plains, journey on an odyssey to Crete and Greece, or learn how five people changed the world. Workshops and complementary activities will let your kids and teens explore each topic to provide a creative, cultural, sporty, playful, and sensory experience, allowing them to travel without going far. Additionally, Apprends et Rêve offers diverse workshops throughout the summer: sewing/fashion, coding, 3D, soccer, gardening, YouTube, animated movies, drawing, modern dance, Parkour ADD, theatre, musical theatre, circus… whatever stimulates your children and teens’ interests!

Ages: 2-15
When: June 17-July 26 and August 26-August 30, 9:30am-noon, 1:30pm-4:30pm, OR 9:30am-4:30pm.
Where: 69, rue de l’Assomption, 75016 Paris
Cost: 
35€ – 355€ (depending on the camp chosen)
Details/Registration: Tel: +33 (0)6 10 25 80 69,
Email: [email protected], WEBSITE


Magic Makers coding camps
© Magic Makers

Magic Makers (computer coding)

If you have a techie at home, why not let them learn to create their own apps, computer games, robots or cartoons with simple coding, a new skill which is increasingly important in a numeric world? Magic Makers offers half-day and full-day intensive workshops from Video Games with Scratch to Lego construction, App design or Minecraft coding and Robot Making for kids from 7 years and up in multiple locations around Paris. Both younger children and adolescents will love the chance to express their imagination and learn that programming can be a creative tool. Most of their stages are taught in French, but some workshops are in English!

Ages : 7-8 years, 9-10 years, 11-12 years and 13-14 years
When: all major French school holidays, including summer (From 17 June to 26 July 26 and the last week of August)
Where: More than 20 locations in Paris and Ile-de-France
Price: 220€ and up
Informations: Tel: + 33(0)1 82 88 11 77, [email protected]
Registration: visit their WEBSITE


Roaming school house
© Roaming School House

Roaming School House (English-language activities)

School’s out! Keep your children active mentally and physically at the Roaming School House Summer Camp: a fun and structured week aimed at English-speaking children growing up in the French education system. This summer, campers will learn about the history of Sport and Games, from the Olympics to Duck Duck Goose via Scrabble and all in English. Add art and drama and a visit to the American Library and you have the perfect recipe to keep your children happy for the first week of those long summer holidays.

Ages: 4-14 years
When: July 8 – July 12, 2019; drop off between 8:30 and 10am, pick up between 4:30 and 6pm
Where: School Sainte Catherine, 13 bis rue des Bernardins, 75005 Paris
Price: 300€ (270€ for second child)
Inquiries/Registration: Tel: +33(0) 6 62 72 87 93, Email: [email protected]WEBSITE

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Other Summer Day Camp Options in Paris

Still looking for more ideas? There are plenty of other options to let your kids have some active fun over the summer holidays!

International School Camps

Want your kids to have constructive fun this summer in an English-speaking environment? Some of the international schools in Paris open their doors to all kids and offer a wide range of artistic, cultural and educational activities during French school holidays. Check out the American School of Paris and International School of Paris for a start:

Centres de Loisirs

Looking to immerse your kids in a French environment on a budget? Approximately 280 Centres de Loisirs, housed in local French public schools, offer low-cost supervised activities and outings for kids 3 to 14 all summer. Register ONLINE or directly at participating schools between June 11-25, 2018.

Sports and Cultural Associations

Neighborhood sports and cultural associations like La Salésienne (17th arrondissement), or La Nicolaïte de Chaillot (16th arrondissement) offer affordable sports-oriented day camps, run in French, at reasonable prices.

English-speaking sports lovers can check out the American Basketball Camp, Energy Academy, or the Paris Country Club, which run bi-lingual camps and activities.

And Even More Options in our I-LIST!

For the lowdown on more tried-and-tested camps in Paris, visit our I-List directory HERE. No matter what your child’s interests you’ll be sure to find a camp to suit your kids!


Summer Ateliers (Workshops) in Paris

Camps and workshops for Kids

If your kids prefer shorter workshops rather than full-day activities, Paris is packed with places offering inspiring and creative ateliers. From cultural activities in French, to English-language theatre or science, you’ll find dozens of ideas in the workshops and classes section of our I-List.

Museum-based workshops

The plethora of amazing museums in Paris offer regular workshops for children, some with and some without their parents. Some of our favorites include: 

Brought to you in partnership with: American Children’s Theater, Apprends et Rêves, Magic Makers, and Roaming School House.

20 COMMENTS

  1. Bonjour! My husband and I are both french and we live in LA, California with our 2 years and soon a half daughter. We speak french at home and she understands and speaks french. She is in an american Montessori preschool here where they only speak english. So she is familiar with english even though she doesn’t speak much english and probably doesn’t understand all of it. I am looking for a camp or activities in both languages in Paris for the summer. If anyone has tips, I would be very grateful. Thank you!

  2. Looking for 2 weeks (half day) for a 3.5 year old in Paris in June. I’m a native french speaker. My son understand french perfectly but needs a little push to speak French. We’re looking for a French speaking immersion (similar to pre-k or something where he can interact with kids his age)

  3. Is there any updated information for summer 2019 summer camps for kids 8 and 9 years old? we are interested either in arts or sports camps but in an immersion summer camp for kids for this year in Paris or around France?

    Thanks

    • HI Avril, thanks for your message. We haven’t updated the camps article for 2019 yet, but the majority of the camps we have written about run the same camps with slight changes to the theme, or new elements, each year. The best thing to do is to check the websites of those we have listed here, and also check our I-List under the Children’s section for all the different children’s activities in and around Paris.

  4. Bonjour,

    My 13 yr old son plays competitive soccer here in Seattle. I am trying to find some competitive soccer programs in France for the summer for him to improve his French. Possibly a soccer program that also has boarding. Last summer he was in Switzerland with a friend’s family but it seems it was off season for soccer and he didn’t have a chance to play with any teams.
    Also I am wondering how competitive soccer works in France due to the long school days vs here in USA? Normally here they are done with school by 4pm then have soccer practice 3 nights a week for about 2 hrs each day on a team they had to try out for and pay to play. Then they have usually 1-4 games on the weekends. I am trying to figure this out for when he does a high school exchange program.
    Merci beaucoup for any advice and help!

  5. We have an apt in the Marais and would like to bring 2 of our grandchildren (6 yrs old) from Canada for a week over Easter. We would like to enrol them in a day camp to upgrade their French and ideally be able to walk them to camp each day. The nature of the camp is not as important as that they are communicating with French kids.

  6. Any recommendations on a Christian Based French Day Camp where my children who are French Speakers can interact with native French children in Paris? A similar camp in the US would be Young Life, Pine Cove or a YMCA type camp. My children are ages 7 and 9. Thanks!

  7. Hello!
    Does anyone have a good suggestion for an art camp/class/program in the South of France for 13 year olds??
    Thank you SO much!!

    • You can research the summer camp program for teenagers in Cap d’Ail or Centre International d’Antibes. Nice has a large expat community so google and check out their expat questions. The Nicois will know best what there is to offer teenagers.

  8. Could anyone recommend a good french immersion summer camp for kids? I am looking to spend the summer in Paris and would like to enroll my 13 & 9 year old in a camp where they can learn French.

    • Hello! the Paris Country Club (mentioned in the post above) offers French immersion in partnership with Acadomia (which specializes in French academic tutoring and workshops), along with sports and fun activities (unless you specifically choose the English immersion option of course); and the other camps such as Magic Makers, Urban Soccer, plus the workshops at museums and the camps we mention in the post under “Other Summer Day Camp Options in Paris” are all led mainly in French to kids of all ages. If you do book with any of the camps mentioned here, we would really appreciate if you mention that you heard about it through INSPIRELLE!

      • Greetings! I am following your guide in finding an immersion summer course – day camp. The activities are only for 2017. Is there any information for Acadomia in summer 2018? My son is 8 years old.

  9. This is a gold mine to break the 24hour-playstation vacation day ! I’ve tried the American school of Paris camp for French kids who want to learn English the fun way and they quite liked it. They have classes in the morning (they learn songs and American history) and all kinds of sports in the afternoon.

  10. I’ve tried several of these camps with my kids, and we’ve been pleased with the quality of the instruction. One son prefers coding, so he’s done most of the Magic Makers workshops for his age group; the other is more sporty and often does the PSG workshops during school holidays. Both have liked the Paris Country Club, which for parents is quite flexible. You can book up till the weekend before a new week starts for their summer day camps.

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