Futuroscope and Puy du Fou - tips/tricks/advice etc?

[redskyatnight]

We're off to France in the summer holidays and planning to visit both Futuroscope and Puy du Fou with our two DC (ages 9 and 7).

We've not been to either place before so really interested in any advice from anyone who's been - what are the best/worst thing for these ages? Any advice re navigating the parks/practical things etc?

Many thanks.

puy du fou is great. my kids moaned about going, but it was the highlight of the holiday. doing the park and then the evening stuff in one day would be very tiering - we only managed the day. the shows are really good - make sure you do them all. we didn't bother with the translation equipment and don't feel i missed that much. we went in august and it was packed, mainly with french people, but it was doable.

we prebooked tickets, but i'm not sure this really helped in any way.

Puy de Fou -
if you pre-book tickets online two days before you get a small (10% I think) discount. If you are doing just one day - arrive early so that you can fit everything in.

I wouldn't bother with the cinéscénie (night show) as it will add costs and will make for a tiring day (also although it is spectacular it does go on a bit!)

Take a picnic - you can leave it in the car and walk back to get it (or lug it round if you want). Try and eat lunch either earlier (12 noon or after 2pm) - there will be more picnic tables available as the French are pretty rigid with meal times.

Don't miss the Gladiator show - but don't worry about the queues - you will get a seat so don't feel you have to stand around for an hour to make sure of a place.

Take a pen and make sure you get a timetable for the day's shows (they can change daily) Some shows are on twice so you can decide in what order to do things - a pen helps! Take a camera, suntan lotion and plenty of water. Make sure you take hats for kids - the coliseum can get roasting.

The ice creams, soft drinks etc... are reasonably priced but the meals are a bit overpriced and very uninspiring.

When you arrive you will go through the 19th century France area - this is where the shops are - leave that til the end of the day (the shops have some great toys/souvenirs) which you won't want to lug around all day and you may miss earlier shows if you are shopping.

There are plenty of toilets so don't worry (most are unisex).

If either of your DCs are sensitive (don't like manequins, bangs, gunfire, puppets, cries etc...)maybe avoid the Chemin de la mémoire (DD was terrified and still wouldn't go in again - she's 15!!) It's only a tiny portion of the park and dedicated to the victims of the Wars of the Vendee - but it is a bit scary if you are not prepared for it.

Have a great time - you will really enjoy it. Finally don't bother with the English audio translation - it isn't particuarly good (or accurate) and you can get the gist of the story without the commentary.

Futuroscope - I've never been but DD has been twice (both times school trips when she was 8 and then 10) - it's OK but not as good as PdeF (according to DD) It's expensive for what it is and a lot of the stuff is aimed at adults (older children) rather than kids.

Happy Holidays

Mine hated the Chemin, too, for the same reasons. We did the Gladiator show and the Viking one twice each as the kids loved them so much. They weren't so impressed with the musketeers one. You need to plan as the shows are quite soon after each other and several minutes walk apart - you'll be lucky to fit everything in one day, especially if you just want to spend some time wandering around. If you want to eat in a restaurant there, book ahead, we found the ones we wanted very busy.

Puy du Fou, go early and be prepared to walk and walk . Is Chemin the one where you go down in the room in the dark like a lift ? If so dd was just 7 and cried throughout , but there was no easy escape :(

Great summary br peppersquint.

For futuroscope - which my girls love - wear comfortable shoes (that goes for the puy du fou as well). You will need the translators but they are better than the puy du fou. The fodd choices are actually pretty good but you can take a picnic. Don't miss Arthur and the Vienne show (which sounds really boring but it is our favourite).

We went to Puy de Fou in 2009 so it may have changed but the bird show was amazing.

We don't speak more than basic French but managed to follow all the shows without translation.

Agree with everything pepper said :)

You can get mini radios which give translations of the commentaries.

As well as sun hats take light shirts to cover the thighs when sitting down. Even with lots of sun lotion, you are just outside for so long, and often sitting, my dc all burnt from knee to bottom of shorts.

Mine loved the night things, but we were staying in an on site hotel so had more than one day in the park.

Discourage your know it all children from loudly pointing out the French view of history as seen at Puy de Fou is not 100% accurate!

Thanks for all the hints! Very much appreciated.

I'm sensing a recurring theme that Puy du Fou gets very sunny - are there shady areas at all, or are some of the shows purely in the sun? (DH has the sort of skin that burns at the drop of the hat).

Don't recall any shade at the Amphitheatre, Vikings or the Castle . The birds of prey show was a bit more enclosed and the ye olde worlde activities and cafes were within wooded areas and many undercover .

They have now put up a shade thing in the ampitheatre. The muskateers show is indoors. Birds, vikings and lance show all have no shade.

If you have a choice on which day to go then I would keep an eye on the weather forecast and go on an overcast day (if there are any).

Futuroscope is mostly indoors for the shows.

One other tip for the Puy du fou, the first show is usually at 10:35 so aim to arrive at about 10am to give you time to get your bearings.

We live in the area and go to each about once a year so don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.

Is it worth going to Futurescope just for the evening show? We're staying in Poitiers as a stop over for a night

I would not book Puy de Fou in advance and then you can go on a day that is not too hot. Get to each show in plenty of time, there is some action before each main show, sort of scene setting, villagers mingling around etc