Parc Asterix

Parc Asterix opened in 1989, three years before Disneyland Paris, built around Goscinny and Uderzo's comic about a Gaulish village holding out against Rome, and it has stayed distinctly French in a market Disney otherwise dominates. The park is laid out in themed zones running through history: the Gaulish village, the Roman empire, Greece, the Vikings, and a street covering centuries of Paris. Its reputation rests on the roller coasters, several of which are among the more intense in Europe, including a wooden coaster and a launched multi-inversion ride. Dolphin shows ended in 2021, when the park closed its dolphinarium.

History

The park was funded largely by Barclays with 20 other investors, among them the Compagnie Générale des Eaux and the Picardy region, cost 850 million francs and created 1,200 jobs; its site was chosen for its links to the A1 motorway and Paris, and it opened on 30 April 1989 after two years of work. When Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 its attendance fell by 30%, but it soon settled at around 2 million visitors a year. It answered Halloween with a Festival of the Druids in 2005, opened for the Christmas holidays from 2007, closed its dolphinarium in January 2021 to concentrate on rides and shows, and opened the launched coaster Toutatis in 2023, when it welcomed more than 2.8 million visitors (Wikipedia, Parc Astérix).

Highlights

• The Gaulish village - the comic's setting built at scale.
• The historical zones - Roman, Greek, Viking and Parisian themed areas.
• The coasters - several rides among Europe's more intense.
• The comic characters - Asterix and Obelix through the park.

When to go

April to October, with the park closed for much of the winter apart from a Christmas season. Weekdays outside French school holidays have the shortest queues.

Practical notes

Queues in French school holidays are very long. The park closes for months in winter. Familiarity with the comic adds a lot; without it the theming means less. Access without a car means a shuttle bus.

Nearby

Chantilly lies northwest; Paris is south.

Key facts