Futuroscope is the second most visited amusement park in France after Disneyland. This park, opened in 1987 in the vicinity of Poitiers, is unusual: there are no banal roller coasters, the main attractions are based on modern technology and affect the human senses.
Already the appearance of the buildings, erected mainly of metal and glass, is surprising: a huge sphere protrudes from the roof of the pavilion "Futuroscope", "Tapi-Majik" looks like a giant organs, "Cinemax" looks like grandiose crystals that have grown out of the ground... All around - futuristic-looking bridges, mechanisms, structures. The visitor is instantly tuned in to something extraordinary, and for good reason.
Several local cinemas show 3D films, but it's not just cinema: not only do viewers wear special glasses or helmets, but the chairs vibrate and sway in sync with what's happening on the screen. This creates an incredible effect: people feel like they are really dodging giant insects, racing in a racing car, flying above the ground with birds, swimming underwater with ichthyosaurs, jumping from a train at full speed. Not only children, but also adults at first instinctively close their hands, recoil or try to touch something.
For those who do not want to sit all day in the cinema halls (on the third or fourth film this entertainment may seem somewhat monotonous), there are other attractions. Dancing with Robots" is very popular: huge robots move chairs with strapped daredevils to the beat of the music at a height of seven metres, who set the level of load themselves - to spin smoothly or spin frantically. "Travelling in Darkness" shows the sighted how the blind perceive the world - through smells, sounds, touch. In the "Carbon-Free House" the visitor imagines how an environmentally friendly dwelling of the future will look like. And the most desperate ones drink champagne or fruit mineral water in the "Aerobar", dangling their feet in chairs at a height of almost 35 metres.
If children want to stretch out in the fresh air, they can explore the green maze, beat drums, ride on cars, shoot at each other from water cannons - on a hot day it is especially pleasant.
Every year one fifth of all the attractions are renewed, so you can come here regularly, there will always be something new. The problem for tourists is often the French language - all films are in it. It is understandable: 94 per cent of visitors are French. But many attractions do not require translation: you can climb the rope pyramid or ride around the lake on a huge tricycle without knowing French. As can admiring the fireworks of the water show, which starts at nightfall.
