A festive visit to Parc Asterix

Who doesn’t like a little Christmas adventure? Last Friday, we set off to St Pancras International to catch the Eurostar for a cheeky trip to France to indulge in a little festive visit to Parc Asterix. If you haven’t heard of it (anyone else remember there being an Asterix the Gaul comic strip in a newspaper?), the park is about 30km north of Paris, and is themed around the world of Asterix and Obelix, back in 50BC when Gaul was occupied by the Romans - well, apart from one tiny village of Gauls who steadfastly held out against the mighty Roman legions, helped by the village druid, Getafix, and his magic potions. It’s a delightful story, and the characters are absolutely wonderful. Here’s how our snowy visit to deepest Gaul went down…

From the Gare du Nord, we took a taxi to the park, arriving in the leafy forest (it’s beautifully immersive - located in the heart of the Oise - Pays de France Regional Nature Park - you really do feel that you’ve travelled back in time), just in time for dinner at one of the three hotels on site (there are 450 hotel rooms in total).

Hotels at Parc Asterix

We had dinner at the 3* La Cité Suspendue. Themed upon a lost Celtic city, it’s a delightful space made up of three ‘hamlets’, the village of potters, the village of artists and the village of druids all linked by walkways on stilts in the forest. We were blown away by the beautifully decorated entrance space and restaurant (and of course, being France, the food is sensational too). The theming is just incredible.

Over the Christmas period, all three hotels are offering visitors a delightful Christmassy experience complete with all manner of treats and entertainment: festive buffets, shows and more (and again, this being France, the fun doesn’t stop until the early hours of the morning).

After dinner, we headed to our hotel, the newest hotel at the park, the utterly gorgeous Les Quais de Lutèce hôtel. This one is a 4* and themed around the ancient capital of Gaul, Lutetia, overlooking the River Seine. It was actually voted best themed hotel in the world in 2020, and I can totally see why. It’s utterly gorgeous - especially at night when the lights twinkle over the water, and the delightful, wonky buildings look so warm and welcoming.

Our room was cosy, beautifully finished and huge - all the rooms are designed for families, with a separate bedroom for the children, as well as handy separate bathroom. We loved all the design details: rough hewn walls, hanging lanterns, the incredible hammered brass sink… The bed was huge and very comfortable too and it helps that your view is a snowy forest.

Breakfast, served in the gorgeous themed restaurant is included in your stay and is super generous, with endless buffets rammed with pastries, pancakes, brioche, cereals, hot food, an omelette station… you can even have roast pork for breakfast if you want (well, this is 50BC after all).

The third hotel, Les Trois Hiboux hôtel, andother 3* is nestled deep in the forest and, chatting to other guests who stayed there and were absolutely blown away, apparently has the most incredible fireplace, perfect for warming up after a chilly day in the park.

About Parc Asterix

We were really impressed with the park itself, an easy walk from the hotel and beautifully decorated for the festive season. There are something like 45 attractions and shows altogether, staged across six worlds: Gaul, The Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, Vikings, Through Time and Egypt.

There’s a great range of rides and shows, so it’s perfect for everyone, with thrill rides like Goudurix, the crazy roller coaster with seven (!) loops - (you kind of feel like you don’t spend much time the right way up).

We also loved Pégase Express (we were taken by surprise by this one, it looks relatively tame, but a surprise twist left us both squealing like girls) and the absolutely incredible spinning DiscObélix.

Not super-scary, but not too tame either, we loved that there are lots of inbetweeny type family rides at the park too: bobsleigh-themed La Trace du Hourra, flying chairs, spinning cauldrons and more, plus loads of cute little attractions for little ones: little flying chairs, carousels and gentle boat rides too.

Christmas in Gaul

If you’re planning a festive visit to Parc Asterix, there are lots of special attractions and shows, including the winter sports village, Tous en Piste, a lovely covered space inspired by Santa’s toy factory boasting four sledging runs and two ice rinks: one for children (150m²) and one for adults (400m²).

There are also four lovely themed shows featuring all sorts of dancers, magicians and acrobats, including a Christmas show on ice at Tous en Piste; a fabulous Circus-themed show; an amazing magic show called Chronos, Magic and Illusion at the Panoramix Theatre, and the gorgeous Island of Wishes, a beautiful nocturnal show to round off the evening, with breathtaking illuminations, fireworks and pyrotechnic effects.

We loved the pretty Christmas market area, and the food stalls selling all sorts of deliciousness, from raclette to mulled wine and waffles! We also thought the gorgeous outdoor firepit areas were an inspired idea, where you can stop next to a crackling fire and have a quick warm up and a hot chocolate before hitting your next attraction.

I’m feeling so lovely and Christmassy now. I highly recommend a little winter break for some festive fun (and the sprinkling of snow helped as well!) and a stay in one of the beautifully themed on-site hotels for the full yuletide in Gaul experience (and that banging breakfast).

Getting there

If you’re at all worried about travelling at the moment, we felt safe and secure the whole time, with great attention to detail and 100% mask wearing the entire time in the park and on the Eurostar. You’ll need your French ‘sworn undertaking’ form, proof that you’ve filled in your passenger locator for your return journey (and booked your PCR tests) and your NHS Covid Pass to travel - it’s checked a lot.

Eurostar

We travelled in Eurostar’s Standard Premier service and were really impressed with the spacious carriage, comfy seats, and a delicious meal with wine, teas and coffees. Eurostar operates 9 trains a day from London St Pancras International to Paris Gare Du Nord with one-way fares starting from £39 (based on a return journey).

• All tickets are now flexible, with no exchange fee on changes up to 7days before departure
• Fastest London - Paris journey time is 2hr 15 minutes
• Eurostar tickets can be booked 180 days prior to the departure date
• Tickets are available from www.eurostar.com or 03432 186 186

Parc Asterix

Christmas in Gaul runs from 18th December until 2nd January. Tickets cost €45 for a single ticket or €43 (5 to 9 tickets) and €41 (10 to 15 tickets) for group purchases. We were also really impressed with the Filotomatix Skip-the-Line tickets (we literally walked straight on to every ride). For more information and bookings, head to parcasterix.fr

Many thanks to Charlotte and the lovely Parc Asterix team for their warm hospitality and to Eurostar for a faultless journey both ways.