Theme parks and amusement parks are great places for families to hang out and have fun all day on holidays or vacations. They can have full-fledged picnics over there or just simply have mindless family time.
France has a number of extremely unique and fun amusement parks. Disneyland is only the one that makes the headlines, but other than that, they are a number of fun, groovy theme parks in the country.
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Disneyland Paris: Disneyland Paris is not just the biggest theme/amusement park of Paris but of entire Europe. The entire Disneyland consists of two theme parks, the Disney Village, Golf Disneyland and seven Disney-themed hotels. The entire park is so big that takes up almost one-fifth of Paris itself.
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Puy du Fou: Puy du Fou is an excellent theme park but surprisingly, very few foreign visitors have heard of it. Located in Western France, the Puy du Fou covers a huge section of land, offering a daredevil interpretation of history, through reconstructing simulations of medieval cities, villages, forests, Roman coliseum among other things. The place is full of music and mock action including chariot races, gladiator fights and wrestling with wild animals. The entire extravaganza is capped with a light and sound show in the evening.
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Nausicaa in Boulogne-sur-Mer: Located in Boulogne, Nausicaá is a fantastic marine life center where one can spend time with his family for easily a day. The place is extremely well-designed and here you can find not just aquariums to show oceans and seas but the entire water world experience.
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Futuroscope: Located on the fringes of Poitiers, the futuristic architecture is a set-up for an unique range of different shows, games, films and interactive attractions. Over twenty five years old, Futuroscope has a large number of different attractions such as the European Park of the Moving Image contained with a landscape that screens different films every years. In the underground Cyber Avenue, you can play the latest video games. Other attractions include Cosmic Collisions, 3-D Imagery, etc.
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Vulcania in the Auvergne: Vulcania is a peculiar cone shaped building whose attractions are all underground. The strange theme park is centered on local volcanoes that have shaped the adjoining area over time and this the park has features like hot spots, geysers and artificial water cannons. Interactive digital displays inside the compound provide insight regarding the planet and its fascinating geological and physical forces.
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Musée Vivant du Cheval: Technically not a theme park, this one is a mash-up of circus, theatrics and showmanship centered around horses. Housing over 250 horses and 500 dogs, Vivant de Cheval is ideal for horse lovers. If you prefer to stay away from the stables, the interior decor containing a large number of exquisite art, furniture, books, paintings etc. make this truly a one-of-a-kind destination.
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Aqualand water park: The first water park in Europe, this is a huge park and the rides here range from smooth and relaxing to downright scary. Other attractions include a jacuzzi, a wave pool and a fantastic paddling pool. Families can have picnics at the place but be careful for glass bottles and jars will be confiscated at the entrance.
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Walibi Parks/Astérix : Walibi has parks all over Europe, 11 of them in France itself. This one is a good choice for fans of Astérix if Disneyland doesn’t rock your boat. Interestingly, this park has the biggest wooden roller-coaster of Europe.
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Nigoland: The theme for the last park in the list is, wait for it, hedgehog. Located in Aube, the park has the usual rides, nothing out of the ordinary except the Grizzli ride which looks scarier than it actually is.