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Parc Astérix

Plailly, France

“Powerful competition for Disneyland Paris”

Parc Astérix, a.k.a. the theme park we always see while driving to Disneyland. It opened in 1989 and it can be found approximately 35 kilometres north of Paris, close to the city’s main airport. Parc Astérix’ international popularity may seem limited, but the park is often filled to the brim during weekends and vacation periods. With its 8 roller coasters, 4 water rides, extensive entertainment options and 3 on-site hotels, Parc Astérix manages to attract over 2.8 million guests annually. Searching for a nice way to add some thrills to your Paris getaway? Or are you getting tired of visiting Disneyland Paris for the 20th time? Then definitely consider Parc Astérix as an alternative.

ROLLER COASTERS

Parc Astérix counts as France’s roller coaster capital and the latest highlight is called Toutatis. This Intamin multi-launch coaster is the park’s newest thrill and it’s integrated in a brand-new themed land called Festival de Toutatis. I love the area’s vibrant atmosphere and the ride doesn’t disappoint either. Toutatis is almost 1.1 kilometres long and 51 metres tall, making it one of France’s largest roller coasters. The layout features four accelerations, a backward spike, a beyond vertical drop and three inversions. I’m especially impressed by the ride’s intense airtime and the final inversion, which is traversed incredibly fast. Toutatis may not be Europe’s best roller coaster, but it sure can play with the big boys. Great addition for Parc Astérix.

Parc Astérix’ most beautiful area is the Egyptian-themed land, which is home to the wonderful OzIris. Two minutes full of g-forces and B&M goodness, that’s what OzIris is all about. This coaster is a surprisingly intense combination of powerful inversions and curves. Besides, OzIris’ layout features some unexpected elements and high speeds are maintained until the final brake run. Despite its slight rattle, OzIris counts as one of my favourite European roller coasters.

Another park icon is Tonnerre 2 Zeus, a new take on the original Tonnerre De Zeus coaster built by CCI. The ride was reopened in 2022, following a thorough re-tracking and the installation of new Timberliner trains. Despite its large renovation, Tonnerre 2 Zeus still provides a shaky ride experience. I usually don’t mind a good wooden coaster rattle, but Tonnerre 2 Zeus is downright rough. However, I wouldn’t call this a bad ride. I still love the ride’s great first drop and its twisty, surprisingly long layout.

Toutatis, OzIris and Tonnerre De Zeus may be considered as the eye-catchers, but Pégase Express also counts as one of Parc Astérix’ most popular coasters. Pégase Express can be considered as the European version of Dollywood’s Firechaser Express and it delivers just as much fun. The ride could use a little more theming, but the station and queue are simply stunning. It’s full of hilarious details and references to trains, so queueing for Pégase Express shouldn’t be too annoying.

And then there’s Goudurix. Warning: don’t be fooled by this roller coaster’s wonderful lakeside location. It looks great, but the ride is downright horrible. Goudurix belongs to the one percent roughest coasters I’ve ever ridden. Especially its first element is painful as hell. Roller Coaster Database defines this element as a Butterfly, but that sounds way too cute. By the way… the rest of the layout doesn’t perform much better, so definitely skip this ride if you want to avoid headaches.

The last noteworthy roller coaster is called La Trace du Hourra. This is one of the largest Mack Bobsled Coasters in the world. It’s 900 metres long and 31 metres tall, which is very impressive for this coaster type. Also impressive: the ride’s capacity. Bobsled coasters aren’t known for their huge throughput, but Trace du Hourra’s five trains guarantee a smoothly moving queue. Overall, this is an excellent family coaster and the theming is (as you’d expect from Parc Astérix) once again unique. The funny thing is that it’s themed to prehistorical caves and mammoths instead of Olympic bobsleighs. Nice touch.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Parc Astérix has a lot of attractions for the whole family. The park offers a few flat rides and especially the stunning Discobélix (a Disk’O coaster) is worth a ride. Besides, the park offers an attraction type that’s clearly missing at the nearby Disneyland Paris: water rides. Parc Astérix has a total of four water rides and they all perform well. I can certainly recommend a ride on Menhir Express during the hottest days of summer. This log flume is, as its name suggests, themed to menhirs and the layout is everything but ordinary. There’s a fair chance of getting soaked, so this might not be the ideal attraction for chilly days.

STAYING ON-SITE

Parc Astérix is known for its original theming. That’s not only noticeable in the park, but also in the resort hotels. The newest hotel is called Les Quais de Lutèce and it’s shaped as ancient Paris. With this new hotel, Parc Astérix proves that it’s playing with the big boys nowadays. Phantasialand and Europa-Park have stunning resort hotels, but Les Quais de Lutèce is on the same level. We obviously checked the room, but we also paid a visit to the terrace of the hotel’s cocktail bar. And I must say that the drinks were delicious and correctly priced. Approved by Glenn!

WORTH A VISIT?

I used to wonder how a theme park like Parc Astérix managed to survive. It is in direct proximity to Disneyland Paris and the park isn’t that well known to the international audience. However, Parc Astérix is definitely worth visiting and the French seem to love this place. It’s easy to tell why: the park offers a world-class B&M and a sensational Intamin launched coaster, they have a ton of cool water rides and there are quite a few shows. Furthermore, the park and its hotels are designed cleverly and if you look closely, you’ll find a lot of hilarious details. The park would definitely benefit from a new dark ride or a thrilling flat ride, but the current ride selection feels very complete nevertheless. Parc Astérix is undoubtedly one of my favourite European theme parks.

Did you ever get the chance to visit this wonderful French theme park? Would you rather pay a visit to Disneyland Paris or Parc Astérix? And would you consider staying at one of the resort’s hotels? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Parc Astérix during a visit in May 2024.