Parc Astérix – The Magic Land of the Ancient Gauls

About 30 km from Paris there is an interesting theme park Asterix, which is based on comic books telling about the adventures of the ancient inhabitants of France – the Gauls. One of their authors – artist Albert Uderzo himself proposed this project in 1981, but his proposal was suggested as untimely. The work was not started until mid-1987 and finished in April 1989.

The park enjoyed considerable popularity, but three years later the influx of guests dropped sharply. The reason was clear: in 1992, Disneyland opened near Paris, which was a strong competitor to the “Land of the Gauls”. Fortunately, the situation was changed, which was facilitated both by the opening of new exciting attractions and the release of full-length movies about the adventures of Asterix and Obelix.

Currently hosting about 1.85 million people annually, Asterix is considered the third most visited amusement park in France, behind only Disneyland and Futuroscope (Poitiers).

Attractions and performances

The whole territory of the park, which covers 33 hectares, is divided into thematic zones:

• Antique Street (here you can find services, ticket offices, restaurants, luggage storage);
• Egypt;
• Gaul;
• Ancient Greece;
• Vikings;
• Time Travel.

Each part, decorated according to its name, has all sorts of rides for adults and children of different ages (some rides have height restrictions).

Particularly popular attractions include:

• “Thunder. of Zeus“(Tonnere de Zeus)

One of Europe’s largest roller coasters made of wood. Visitors descend from a 30-meter height on a track with sharp ascents and descents, sudden twists and turns.

• La Galere.

A swing in the form of a spectacular flying ship that swings to great heights.

• Oxigenarium (Oxigenarium)

Visitors of this attraction take a seat in round inflatable vessels for 6 people. “Vessels” rise on an escalator to a height of 70 meters, and then go down the “mountain” river.

Asterix has a total of 39 different rides including 7 roller coasters and 5 water trails.

The park regularly hosts five different shows, the schedule of which is posted on the website. The dolphin show is particularly popular and always attracts a lot of people.

Work schedule

In 2017, Asterix Park will open on April 1 and will be open until November 5. The schedule is quite fluid, so before visiting it is advisable to check the calendar on the official website (working days are marked in blue).

On regular days, the park is open from 10:00 to 18:00. On selected weekends in July and August, opening hours are extended until 22:30.

Tickets

To enter the park you must buy a ticket, with which you can visit all the attractions (children under 3 years old are admitted free of charge).

If purchased at the Asterix box office, an adult ticket (12 years and up) costs 49€ and a child ticket (3-11 years) costs 41€. There is also a discounted family rate: if you buy at least five tickets, an adult ticket costs 45€ and a child ticket 36€.

Online tickets can also be purchased on the park’s official website. A regular offer is the so-called “Billet Fite” ticket (Billet Fite): if issued a week before you plan to visit the park, it costs only 41 € for adults and 38 € for children. The website also offers discounts and promotions that are valid for a certain period of time.

How to get to the park

You can get to Asterix in a number of ways, including:

Personal or rented car

Depart from the northern part of Paris (Porte de la Chapelle) on the A1 highway. Depending on the traffic situation, the journey will take 35-45 minutes. Don’t forget that you will have to pay a parking fee of 10€ in the parking lot near the park.

Official shuttle bus

On days the park is open, there is a bus to the park that leaves at 9:00 am from the Palais Royale-Louvre stop and departs back from Asterix in Paris at 18:30 (19:00 on weekends between June 15 and August 31)

Round trip ticket price for adults is 20€ and 16€ for children 3-11 years old.

To find the bus stop, take the metro (lines 1 or 7) to Palais-Royal station and then go down to the level where the Louvre stores are located. Once in the hall Charles V, take the escalator to the parking lot on level -3.

RER to Charles de Gaulle airport + buses

The pathway consists of two stages:

1. Take the city’s RER train to Aéroport Charles De Gaulle Terminal 1 (fare 10€).
2. When you get off at the station, go to the ticket office marked Parc Astérix, where you can buy tickets for both the bus and the park. After that you can go to the bus, which runs every 30 minutes (it stops running an hour after the park closes).

A round-trip bus ticket for adults costs 8,50€ and for children 3-11 years old 7,50€.

Asterix Park: tips for visiting

• Since the park is usually quite crowded, it’s best to visit on weekdays.
• To visit the most popular attractions you can use a little trick. As a rule, during lunch hours (12-14) locals go to restaurants and the queue is noticeably shorter. The number of people also decreases in the afternoon.
• If you want to see a performance, it is better to get a seat in advance. This is especially true for the popular dolphin show.
• Immediately upon arrival, you can buy souvenirs at the stores located near the entrance and then leave them in the free luggage room.