Organised departures

It's the great summer crossroads that weighs down on Lorraine every year. Hordes of families passing through Luxembourg on their way to the south of Europe, where there is traditionally more sunshine. Hours of driving ahead, with everyone having to be patient. With a few weeks' break, the motorways, stations and airports are packed, especially at weekends. For those who opt for public transport and can't accompany their child for the whole trip, how do you send them to their grandparents' house, for example? This is the headache for many parents who have to keep their offspring occupied for long weeks, and their holidays are not enough. There are leisure centres, camps or the option of simply staying at home. But toddlers have to be kept busy while their parents are away. Family and sometimes friends can volunteer, but with 47% of the resident population of foreign origin, not counting Luxembourgers who have family abroad, that's a lot of people who are far from the Grand Duchy to potentially look after the children. With the weather not spoiling us this year and a particularly capricious 'summer', the desire to get away is there for those who can afford it.

Most of the time, it's a case of one parent taking the child or children to a relative who will be looking after them. It takes a lot of organisation and planning to be both cost and holiday efficient: "Every year it's the same, I have to wait and see with the availability of my relatives, our own holidays, the children's possible activities, and the price of plane tickets, which go up quickly even several months beforehand. I drop the children off in Portugal at my parents', then my husband, or I, pick them up a few weeks later, " explains Anna, mother of two. An extra return ticket for each adult, plus tickets for the children, quickly adds up.