Our Parc Asterix Review! The Ultimate Family Guide to Park Asterix Rides, Food, and Tips.

Our Parc Asterix Review! The Ultimate Family Guide to Park Asterix: Rides, Food, and Tips.

As part of our summer road trip to France, we made our first stop in Parc Asterix. And I knew I would have to write a Parc Asterix review on our return because there aren’t a huge number of good family guides to this park.

If you’re not familiar with Parc Asterix, you need to know that this is a theme park themed around the Asterix comic books and characters that are so popular in France (and that you can find on Netflix!)

Our Parc Asterix Review! The Ultimate Family Guide to Park Asterix Rides, Food, and Tips.

We’re big theme park lovers, and we usually stop at Disneyland Paris at the start of our annual summer holiday road trip. But this trip we chose Parc Asterix for two reasons. Firstly, we were trying to stick to a budget, and while a one night stay in Disneyland Paris was coming in at £900, our one night stay in Parc Asterix cost just £210 for a family of four. Secondly, we’ve been to Disneyland Paris A LOT and we wanted to try something different. Having driven past the sign for Parc Asterix a dozen times and said ‘we must go there one day’ we decided that one day would be this summer!

So what did we think of Parc Asterix? Is Parc Asterix a good theme park for kids? Here’s our complete family guide to Parc Asterix and Parc Asterix review to help you decide if it’s the right theme park for you!

  1. Where Is Parc Asterix and How to Get There
  2. Parc Asterix Tickets and Booking Tips
  3. Parc Asterix Rides and Attractions
  4. Food and Drink in Parc Asterix
    1. Popular Restaurants in Parc Astérix
  5. Tips For Visiting Parc Asterix
    1. 1. Arrive Early
    2. 2. Download the Official App
    3. 3. Consider the “Filotomatix” Pass
    4. 4. Plan Your Meals
    5. 5. Bring Snacks & Water
  6. Is Parc Asterix Worth It? Our Honest Verdict
  7. Further Reading

Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!

Where Is Parc Asterix and How to Get There

You’ll find Parc Asterix around 35km north of Paris. Park Asterix is as close to Paris as Disneyland Paris, but Disneyland Paris is located to the south of the city. Because it’s to the North of the city, if you’re driving to Parc Asterix from the UK it is the easiest and most straightforward drive! There are no cities to navigate, and you’ll do the whole journey on pretty much one motorway.

Outside the Thor Ride in Parc Asterix

We chose to drive, because we were on a larger road trip to the South of France (and because if you’re a family of four then driving is much cheaper than buying four plane tickets!)

To drive to Parc Asterix from the Calais ferry or Eurotunnel terminal takes around 2 hours 15 minutes. You’ll go on only 2 main routes: the A26 and the A1. Parc Asterix has its own exit off the A1 (you can actually see the park from the motorway) which is located between junction 7 and junction 8.

If you’re flying into Paris to visit Parc Asterix, or if you want to visit Parc Asterix as part of a wider trip to Paris then the easiest way to get to the park is to take the bus. There is a direct shuttle bus (called the Shuttle Roissy) that will take you from Charles de Gaulle airport to the Parc Asterix entrance.

Standing in Parc Asterix

Parc Asterix Tickets and Booking Tips

The easiest way to buy Parc Asterix tickets is via Klook. We LOVE Klook for all of our ticketing (especially in Asia and for theme parks) because they offer instant confirmation, the tickets are delivered straight to your phone, and their prices are usually the most competitive on the market too.

Tickets prices are: Adult £ 49.45 Child (3-11) £ 46.85.
Children over the age of 11 pay adult prices and children under 3 can enter the park for free.

👉Click here to check availability and buy Parc Asterix tickets
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK for a 5% discount, making tickets even cheaper!

Alternatively, if you want to book a package that includes park tickets and a hotel room then you can check out the very affordable packages on the Parc Asterix website. That’s what we did in this instance, because we needed somewhere to sleep before we continued out road trip to the South of France the next day anyway!

Viking area in Parc Asterix

Parc Asterix Rides and Attractions

Parc Asterix really does have something for everyone. The park has around 50 different attractions (as well as shows) and is themed across six distinct areas that all relate to the Parc Asterix comics and cartoons. These are Gaul, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, Egypt, the Vikings, and ‘Through Time’.

In the Gaul Village in Park Asterix

Where Parc Asterix differs from Disneyland Paris (if that’s your preferred Paris theme park)is that it has a LOT more big theme parks – thing Alton Towers levels attractions perfect for older kids and teens. The best rides for older kids (and thrill seeking adults) not to miss are:

  • OzIris – An inverted roller coaster themed around Egyptian mythology, with five loops and speeds up to 90 km/h. Smooth, intense, and one of the park’s biggest highlights.
  • Tonnerre 2 Zeus – The park’s legendary wooden coaster, recently retracked and smoother than ever. Known for airtime, speed (up to 83 km/h), and a very “classic” thrill ride feel.
  • Goudurix – A steel coaster with SEVEN inversions (loops, corkscrews, and a butterfly element). It’s intense and has a bit of a reputation as a rough ride, but teens usually love the challenge.
  • Pegase Express – A family coaster with a twist: it has a surprise backward section, making it a fun thrill without being too extreme.
  • Discobélix – A giant spinning disc ride that swings and spins you high into the air. It’s exciting without being too terrifying, great for teens who like fast motion.
  • Le Grand Splatch – A classic water ride with a big splashdown. Not the scariest, but definitely fun, especially on a hot day.
  • Hydre de Lerne – A twisting, high-speed ride with spinning cars that teens often find hilarious (and a little dizzying).
  • La Trace du Hourra – A bobsled-style coaster where cars race down a winding track. Not huge on inversions, but it’s very fast and feels unique

But it’s not all big rides. If you’re travelling with younger kids then they will LOVE Gaul: This was our youngest’s favourite part of the park by far. This has lots of lovely little rides for kids (with no queues), it’s also where you can meet Asterix and the rest of the villagers, and it has some of the best and most well thought out play areas of any theme park i’ve ever seen!

Our youngest is 130cm tall, and he could ride everything he wanted to in the park. It was a great day for him as well as our pre-teen. This is a theme park that definitely works for everyone!

Food and Drink in Parc Asterix

One of the biggest surprises at Parc Astérix was how much we enjoyed the food. Theme park dining can often be hit-and-miss, but here we found both the quality and value to be really good compared to other European parks. In fact, I would go back again just for the chance to eat the desserts in the buffet restaurant!

Circus themed buffet in Parc Asterix

I will say that while food was good value, we found drinks to be pretty pricey. So we were very glad that we had our water bottles in our backpack!

Here’s a quick break down of the best restaurants in Parc Asterix. I’ll clearly let you guys know which ones we’ve tried, and which ones we admired from outside!

🍴 Le Cirque – This is the park’s all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, and it was easily one of our favourites. We stopped here for lunch and ate far too much because everything we so good. There’s a great choice for both adults and kids, including hot dishes, salads, desserts, and plenty of variety for picky eaters. You can find nuggets and chips but you can also find freshly grilled salmon and the most magnificent cheese board.

It’s also excellent value for money, especially if you’re spending the whole day in the park and want a big meal to keep you going. Because we ate here, we didn’t need or want another big meal all day!

🍴 Le Relais Gaulois – Another buffet-style option with a focus on hearty, traditional French fare. It’s popular with families thanks to the wide selection and the chance for everyone to eat what they like. We thought this looked good from the outside, but my boys didn’t fancy the dishes on the menu.

🍴 Pizzeria di Roma – A casual spot serving pizzas, pasta, and salads — perfect if you’re after a quick but filling lunch that still feels a little different from standard theme park food.

🍴 Au P’tit Creux – Found in the Egyptian area, this is one of the quick service restaurants we tried. The portions were generous, the service was fast, and we were impressed by how tasty everything was. Perfect for grabbing dinner before heading back to the rides. Because we had had such a big lunch, Mike and I only ordered kids meals, and even they were so generous that we didn’t eat them all (we were full!)

🍴 Fast Food Options – Across the park you’ll also find plenty of kiosks serving sandwiches, hot dogs, crêpes, and snacks, ice creams and all that other good theme park stuff. You don’t have to spend a fortune on giving your kids a tasty treat or two here!

Tips For Visiting Parc Asterix

To make the most of your day at Parc Astérix, a little planning goes a long way. Because we’re so used to stopping at Disneyland Paris when we drive through France, it was actually nice and fun to have something different that we could research. The boys poured over the park map and watched SO MUCH Youtube before we hit the road.

Meeting characters in Parc Asterix

Here are our tried-and-tested tips to help you enjoy the park stress-free.

1. Arrive Early

The gates open well before the rides start, and arriving early means you’ll beat the queues at the most popular attractions like Tonnerre 2 ZeusOzIris, and the Goudurix roller coaster. We got on Toutatis AND Goudurix within half an hour of being in the park: the queues were considerably longer later in the day!

Families with younger kids will also find the quieter first hour perfect for exploring the themed zones at a gentler pace.

2. Download the Official App

The Parc Astérix app is a lifesaver. It shows live queue times, interactive maps, and even show schedules. We used it throughout the day to plan which rides to do next and avoid wasting time standing in long lines. We also used it to book and pay for our restaurant in advance: this gives you a small discount too.

3. Consider the “Filotomatix” Pass

This is Parc Astérix’s version of a fast pass. It isn’t necessary for every family, but if you’re visiting during school holidays or weekends when the park is busiest, it can save a lot of waiting time — especially for thrill rides.

We had queued for around 40 minutes for Tonnerre 2 Zeus when our youngest needed the loo and couldn’t wait: so he had to use the queue. I carried on and rode with our oldest, then Mike got 2 fast passes so he and little legs could ride without having to do the whole queue again.

In Parc Asterix

4. Plan Your Meals

Buffet restaurants like Le Cirque and Le Relais Gaulois are very popular, and they can get crowded around peak lunch hours (12:00–14:00). If you want to eat there, try to book in advance online (this is what we did) or go early/late to avoid queues. For quick service, eating in off-peak times (before 12 or after 2pm) is the easiest way to find a table.

5. Bring Snacks & Water

While food prices are reasonable, it’s always handy to bring a few snacks for kids to keep them going in the queues. I’ve also already mentioned that we found the drinks to be pretty expensive at 5-6 euros a pop. Water fountains are dotted around the park — bring refillable bottles to save money and stay hydrated.

Is Parc Asterix Worth It? Our Honest Verdict

Honestly? Yes! Parc Asterix is well worth visiting! The theming, the quality of the rides, and even the food were all exceptional. We loved every minute of our time in the park. If you’re a roller coaster junkie, or if you’re travelling with older kids or teens then you’re going to LOVE this park.

Play area in Parc Asterix

But (isn’t there always a but) we did all miss the magic of being in Disneyland Paris. It has great theming, but Asterix isn’t Mickey Mouse, and you just don’t get that happy feeling that we (as Disney Fans) get when we walk down main street. Don’t let that put you off though! We’re still vey glad we went, and we would definitely visit Parc Asterix again. But next time, we’ll be planning a double feature where we visit Parc Asterix AND Disneyland Paris in the same trip!

Further Reading

Parc Asterix isn’t the only theme park we’ve visited in Europe! We love slow travel, but we’re also theme park junkies (it’s OK to like both things at the same time!) You can read some of our other theme park tips and reviews below:

🎡 Legoland Windsor Versus Legoland Billund: Which Is The Best Park?
🕍 Disneyland Paris on a Budget: Family Friendly Money Saving Tips
🎠 One Day Itinerary For Disneyland Paris: Maximise The Fun

Advert for Klook affiliate programme

WANT MORE POSTS LIKE THIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX? HIT SUBSCRIBE BELOW

✓ Subscribed

Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!

Similar Posts

4 Comments

  1. A brilliant family guide to Parc Astérix. The detailed review covers everything from attractions to dining, making it easy to plan a stress-free day out.

Leave a Reply