Kids go free at Disneyland Paris

BANISH THE January blues with a trip to Disneyland Resort Paris where children under 12 “stay and play free” until April 6th.

Arriving January 28th, two nights in a family room at three-star Newport Bay Club costs €526 for two adults and two kids under 12 through Breakaway Tours (breakaway.ie or 01- 6079900). The price is on a BB basis and includes a three-day entrance to both Disneyland Park and Walt Studios, which is discounted by 20 per cent that weekend.

If you can lure the kids away, get a train to Paris where you can take sanctuary from the theme park at Notre Dame de Paris (notredamedeparis.fr), the Gothic masterpiece made famous by Victor Hugo. There’s a free organ recital on Saturday, January 29th at 8pm, which follows mass at 6.30pm. The recital will feature performances by organists Olivier Latry, Philippe Lefebvre and Jean-Pierre Leguay of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt and others. Add another culture layer with a trip to the Louvre (see louvre.fr) where entry is free to visitors under 18 with valid ID. Entry is free to everyone on the first Sunday of every month.

Catch:the price for the Disneyland Paris weekend does not include flights – full price for all over two. The stay-for-free offer is available on a family room, which accommodates up to two adults and two children. There is a cot for an infant under three.

Take note:after two days in Disneyland not even soothing organ music will salve your wallet's soul. Lighten the mood with a pit stop across the river at Restaurant Georges atop the Centre Pompidou (centrepompi dou.fr) where you'll balk at the bill but the view and the fashion gawking is free.

DUBLIN CITY and county dwellers can enjoy a light show for free at Dunsink Observatory’s (dias.ie) open nights in Castleknock, Dublin 15. Open nights are held on the first and third Wednesday of each month during the winter and run until March. Weather permitting, visitors can view celestial objects through the historic Grubb Telescope and two smaller telescopes.

Visitors can also attend audio-visual presentations and lectures on a variety of topics in astronomy. There is also a question and answer session on all your astronomy-related queries.

Open nights are free of charge. The next open night is on Wednesday. To attend, contact Hilary O’Donnell (tel 01-6621333 or e-mail hod@cp.dias.ie).

Catch:Dunsink Observatory isn't the easiest place to find so give yourself plenty of time to get there. The most convenient way to get here is by car and you have to walk up Dunsink Lane to access the observatory. Map and instructions on dias.ie.

Take note:the nights are cold and so is the observatory so layer up. The evening is best suited to children over the age of 12. For special groups or any other arrangements call Hilary.

TOUR OPERATOR Sunway (tel 01-2311888 or sunway.ie) is offering free child places on almost all its sun destinations. The offer is available through the holiday season to children under the age of 12.

A family of two adults and two pre-school kids who are not restricted by the school holiday structure can travel to the three-star Hyde Park Apartments in Lanzarote’s Puerto del Carmen in May for €1,517, a saving of €339 on the brochure price of €1,856. But the offer is also open to families with kids of school-going age.

The brochure price for the same holiday offer for a family of two adults and two children travelling on July 31st costs €2,316. A free child place means the same holiday costs the family of four €1,877 – a saving of €439.

Catch:there is one free child offer per family and free child places are not available on holidays to Turkey or Croatia.

Take note:the offer is available to children under 12, on bookings made before February 28th. Numbers of free child places to each destination are limited and are issued on a first come, first served basis.