Here’s a great and above all free way to keep your kids (3 – 17) busy during the Xmas holidays in Paris! In a hige snow-filled stadium, they’ll be able to ski, climb, rope slide, snowboard and much, much more…

No, this is not Charléty, it's the Tuileries gardens, but there is snow in the photo. It's by Flickr user Kat... and used under cc licence

Open every afternoon from 19th – 31st December 2009 (except the 25th of course) this event organised by the Paris council is a huge success every year. When you see how much it costs – 0 euros – it’s understandable.

The programme does look pretty cool too:

- Rope slides
- 300 m² of snow to play in
- Toboggans
- Downhill skiing
- Climbing activities
- Trampolines
- Merry-go-rounds
- Games (on the Wii console)
- Miniature golf
- Cross-country skiing
- Laser rifle shooting (what???)
- Snowboarding with ramps

If I were still young, I’d be down there in a shot! A bit of snowboarding would do me the world of good I think…

And just so you know, many of the activities are also accessible to handicapped youngsters.

Nope, still not Charléty. It's Sacré Coeur, silly! And it's snowing! Flickr user ilhan gendron took this shot, and we've used it under cc licence

Charléty sur neige (as it is called) is open every day from 19th – 31st Decembre (apart from 25th) at the Charléty stadium (here), from 1.30 – 6pm during the week and 1pm – 6pm weekends. Careful though: gates close at 4.30pm.

More info (in French): www.paris.fr