This post is all about the best theme parks in France you should know about!

France has of course a lot of history, beautiful cities, and a lot of art. But it is not just that. You also have some great places to have some fun, either with friends or family.

You have some very famous theme parks, like Disneyland Park, but there are also some hidden gems you need to know about. The French amusement park scene is very diverse.

The great news is that there are not all around Paris, so there could be a great park near the places you will be visiting. Many of the parks will have some amazing roller coasters, but not just that. Some are more history or science-focused.

There is something for everyone and for all ages!

Let’s have some fun and review the best French amusement parks!

 

Theme parks in France

 

Disneyland Paris

This is undoubtedly the most visited theme park in France: Disneyland Paris, or “Disney” as we call it in France. There aren’t that many Disneyland parks around the world, and this one is located in the suburbs of Paris.

To get there you could take the car or the train RER line A, which goes directly to the Disneyland Paris park. The latter option would take you around 1 hour (give or take, depending on where you depart).

It is the biggest theme park in France with two sides of the park: the Walt Disney Studios Park and Disneyland Park. The first one explores the Pixar, Disney, and Marvel worlds. There is a brand new Avengers campus land, which currently has 2 rides (an Avengers one and a Spiderman one).

The second one has all you more traditional Disney characters, the iconic Disney castle, and the beautiful parades. It is the bigger park of the two. When you have young children, this is definitely the park you should do first. You’ll find rides for all ages and adventure levels.

Whichever park you decide to visit, you’ll go through Disney Village, which has all the souvenir shops and some restaurants. You do not need an entrance ticket to visit it.

There are some great live shows and themed hotels to prolong the experience. Staying in the park itself can be pretty expensive. You’ll find cheaper accommodations outside of the park very close by. This is usually the options that families take when they want to spend several days in the park.

You can go directly to the Disneyland Paris website to book your tickets. 

 

Parc Astérix

While Disney is known worldwide, you might be less familiar with Asterix and Obelix. They are two beloved French comic characters. Their adventures take place during the Roman Empire in Gaul (the old name for France). You have Asterix, a short blonde guy, and Obelix, a tall round fellow.

The first comics came out in 1959 and it has been a success ever since. There have been many comics, movies, and cartoons with Asterix and Obelix.

They even deserved their own theme park they are so popular! It is in fact the second most popular theme park in France.

This is probably my favorite theme park. I love the atmosphere, the sets really put you in Gaul and there are more water slides in Parc Asterix (which are my favorite type of ride).

It is smaller than Disneyland making it more cozy. The perfect time to visit this park is on a nice sunny day, that way when you do get soaked from the water rides, you can dry off pretty easily.

The park is only accessible by car or with a shuttle from the Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 3.

You can go directly to the Parc Asterix website to book your tickets.

 

Parc du Futuroscope

We are now moving away from roller coaster theme parks and into more specialty theme parks. The Futuroscope theme park is all about technology, and science located in western France, near the city of Poitiers. It has existed since 1987.

It is one of the most frequented theme parks in France.

The original idea behind this park was to introduce people to future technologies, especially in the field of information and communication. Remember this was back in the 80s.

Today the Futurosscope has around 40 different attractions, many of which are for the whole family. From Europe’s biggest LED screen, an Imax cinema experiencing Mars’ gravitational pull to a futuristic city, and upside-down houses, you can find it all!

This is really a great place for families with younger children.

To prolong your experience you could stay at one of the Futuroscope’s themed hotels or a more traditional hotel. You’ll find something for all budgets.

The easiest way to get there is either by car or by train (there are some direct trains directly from Paris, that will take you to the theme park in just under 2 hours). 

To book your tickets, you can go directly to the website of the Futuroscope. 

 

Parc Terra Botanica

Terra Botanica is for all the nature and gardening-loving people in your life.

Anger, which is where the park is located, is renowned for its know-how in botany and horticulture. The goal of the park is to educate the younger (and older) generations on the natural environment that surrounds us and the biodiversity.

This is a huge park, there are more than 40 hectares of parks and gardens. As a result, it is best to visit Terra Botanica during the spring or summer time.

The attractions are not comparable to Disneyland Paris or Parc Asterix. there are much more gentle and calm activities: a little train to go through the park, pedaling in a walnut shell through the forest to be close to some legendary trees, and a ride in a hot air balloon.

There are also some live shows during the day and at night for the whole family to enjoy. This can be a whole day experience without a doubt.

You can either hop in a car or take the train and bus/tram to get to this park.

To book your tickets, you can go directly to the website of Terra Botanica. 

 

Puy du Fou Park 

This is one of the great theme parks in France. If you have the time and the opportunity, I would highly recommend you check it out!

The theme here is France’s history from Gaul to more modern times. It is reflected in the attractions, the interactive experiences, and the hotels.

This park runs thanks to the help of local volunteers: they are the ones making all the live shows happen.

The Puy du Fou theme park is mostly known today for its award-winning show, La Cinéscénie. It is a nighttime sound and light show presenting a fictional history of the Vendée region (where the Puy du Fou theme park is located, near Les Epesses). The show takes place in the Middle Ages and follows the story of the Maupillier family.

The park is open since 1989. It is so popular that they opened a second theme park…in Spain in 2021: Puy du Fou España!

The French park is in the middle of nowhere, so the easiest way to access it is by car. Also, I would highly recommend staying in one of the hotels around the park…because there aren’t that many other options for accommodation.

To book your tickets (and hotel), you can go directly to the website of Puy du Fou. 

 

Walibi Rhône-Alpes

We are back in the more traditional theme park zone: Walibi Rhône-Alpes has rides, roller coasters, and water attractions.

This park is located in the Rhône-Alpes region, about 1 hour by car from Lyon. There aren’t really any public transport options to get to Walibi Park.

The first theme of the park back in 1979 was the Wild West and Cowboys. Since then the park expanded its collection of attractions to include water rides, roller coasters, but also water parks for smaller children. The theme no longer is the Wild West, but the goal of the park is for you, your family, and your friends to have a nice time (just like any of the other parks).

To book your tickets (and hotel), you can go directly to the website of Walibi Rhône-Alpes.

 

Parc Dennlys 

Time to go to northern France to the Dennlys park.

The park was built in an old mill, which solely transformed itself into an animal park before becoming the theme park it is today. The mascot of this park is a turtle named Denno.

The outreach of this park is much more local than a Disneyland or a park Asterix, nonetheless, it’s a great place to visit if you’re in that region of France.

Like any of the bigger parks, Dennlys has special events around big holidays like Halloween or Christmas.

If you are planning a visit there, be sure to check out the calendar of Dennlys Park, because it is not open every day. You can check out the calendar and opening hours directly on their website. 

The only way to get to the park is by car. It would take you a little less than 1 hour and a half from Lille.

 

Fraispertuis city

Fraispertuis City is a family-owned theme park located in the East of France, near the Voges mountains. It has existed since 1966 and has been owned by the same family since then.

The park started out with an inn and was centered around food. It grew to include a fishing pond (you could cook the fish you just caught in the inn) and in 1971 the first Wild West-themed ride appeared in the park. The theme of the park came to be as the owner was passionate about the Wild West.

Since 1971, the number of rides kept increasing. Today there are 36 rides, 6 of which are water rides.

This park was awarded best family-owned theme park back in 2004. So if you are in the region, be sure to check it out.

It is open from April to the last weekend of September.

You can get there by car, it’s about 1 hour and a half from Colmar or Strasbourg and 1 hour from Nancy. Another option would be to go by train. Everything is very detailed on their website. 

 

*****

 

Here are some bonus places I wanted to mention in this post. They are not really attraction parks per se, but I feel like they deserve an honorable mention (especially i you did not want to live in Paris to have some fun)!

If you are in the south of France, namely near the pink city of Toulouse, you might want to check out the Cité de l’Espace.

The Cité de l’Espace (Space city in English) is not really a theme park in the traditional sense. There are no rides or roller coasters, but it is themed. It is a scientific discovery center all about space flight. You can see space rockets and mock-up control rooms. If you have someone who is obsessed with space in your family this is the perfect place to take them. It’s very close to the city of Toulouse, which is a great place to visit anyway. That way there is fun for the whole family.

If you are in Paris and do not really want to travel to experience a theme park, you could go to the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It’s the perfect place for families with small children. If you want to know more about this garden and how to get there, go read this post!

Another great place to check out is the Fête à Neuneu, which takes place at every school start, from September all the way to mid-October. It’s in the Bois de Boulogne and all the attractions of a city fair. This is perfect for the whole family: you have some very kid-friendly rides and some more adventurous ones. If rides are not your thing, there are also concerts and live shows.

You can get there with the metro. Just get off at the station “Porte d’Auteuil” on line 10 or “Ranelgah” on metro line 9.

Should you be in Paris during the Christmas season, I have written a post about all the great things that you and your family could do. There are some lovely Christmas-themed attractions you might want to check out, which could be fun for the whole family!

This post has been all about the best amusement parks in France!

 

Save for later on Pinterest!