Paris has the world class Asterix amusement park. In the park beautiful and green setting 35 km north of Paris, seven adventure areas, 27 attractions and 6 shows are waiting to thrill, excite and entertain the visitor. The Asterix amusement park has plenty to present to the young children like quite a few merry-go-rounds and a dolphin theater. It also has a very diverse set of attractions for adults.

Parc Astérix offers its visitors an excellent mixture of rides, shows, and cartoon characters. Rides vary from genuine heart-stoppers, to far more sedate affairs suitable for younger children. Themed areas include a Gaul village, Roman and Greek zones, and an old style Paris Boulevard full of street entertainers. Live shows are staged throughout the day, with everything from comedy to performing dolphins. The lovable cartoon characters that give the park its theme keep popping up wherever one goes.

Many attractions are designed after the famous Astérix comic strips by Goscinni and Uderzo. Asterix and Obelix, his friend, are two brave “Gaulois" (the French ancestors), resisting the Roman army.

The Asterix Park also leads one in a distracting way through history. On the left picture, one can attend an 18th century fight show between French Mousquetaires (these French soldiers made famous by Alexandre Dumas’s novels). The “Tonnerre de Zeus" was the new event of 1997. This magnificent wooden roller coaster takes one 30 meters off the ground over the treetops of the Gallic forest. It’s a frantic 1200 meter race with top speeds of over 80 km/h and spectacular twists and turns.

The Romans have their own area of the park complete with a magnificent amphitheatre with great outdoor shows, and a huge pool with a dolphin and sea lion show. One can get an general idea of the whole park on the ‘Spies of Caesar’ ride, a leisurely pedal around a track built high above all the attractions.

There are rides to suit all ages. Tinies have their own little fairground and gentle water rides through tableaux of Asterix stories. Slightly older children make for the bumper cars, side shows and the smaller rollercoaster’s. Christian loved the Oxygenarium. One is hoisted up a long ramp to go spinning down the ‘rapids’ in a circular life raft. Getting soaking wet is definitely part of the fun. Thrill-seeking teenagers can try the Towers of Zeus, Europe’s second biggest rollercoaster.

There are plenty of shows. One of them is a marvelously swashbuckling ‘Three Musketeers’ with sword play through the audience and daring leaps from balconies. Or one could try ‘The Great Mona Lisa Caper’, a stunt-filled chase featuring the theft from the Louvre of the world’s most famous painting.

Wild thrills, fun for all the family, breath-taking live shows, the most goulash of theme parks is offering one more than 60 attractions in the open air to live out adventures specially designed to satisfy all tastes. Be ready to be enthralled by joining some of the most amazing live shows. With ‘Main basse sur La Joconde’ or ‘Stars of the Empire’, thrills and spills are surefire. And to make one’s adventure last a little longer, savour the legendary hospitality of Parc Asterix’s very own hotel ‘L'Hôtel des Trois Hibous’ and take a well-earned rest in the heart of the forest.