Futuroscope, or Parc du Futuroscope (), formerly known as Planète Futuroscope, is a French

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

based upon

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...

, cinematographic, and audiovisual techniques.Piriou, Jerome.
The Tourist Region: A Co-Construction of Tourism Stakeholders
'. United States, Wiley, 2019. 101. It has several 3D cinemas and a few 4D cinemas along with other attractions and shows, some of which are the only examples in the world. It is located in the department of Vienne,

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

, north of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, in the communes of

Chasseneuil-du-Poitou Chasseneuil-du-Poitou (, literally ''Chasseneuil of Poitou'') is a commune in the Vienne department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France. It lies 7 km north of the centre of Poitiers. Its inhabitants are called th ...

and Jaunay-Clan. The park had 1.83 million visitors in 2015. In total, 50 million visitors have been to the park since it opened in 1987.

History

* 1984: 11 December, first stone placed by René Monory, president of the general council of Vienne. * 1987: 31 May, opens to the public with ''Kinémax'', the ''Pavillon du Futuroscope'' and a play zone. * 1988: opening of the first ''Dynamique Cinéma'' - ''Monde des Enfants'' (the world of children) and the '' Showscan'' (the first part of the ''Pavillon de la Communication''). * 1989: the ''Cinéma en Relief'', the ''Cinéma 360°'' and the second part of the ''Pavillon de la Communication'' open, offering new spectacles to visitors. * 1990: opening of the '' Omnimax'' and the ''Gyrotour''. Futuroscope produces its first film in 360° about the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

1990 Tour de France The 1990 Tour de France was the 77th edition of the Tour de France, one of Cycle sport, cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between 30 June and 22 July 1990. The race consisted of 21 stages and a prologue. American Greg L ...

begins at the Futuroscope. * 1991: inauguration of ''Cinéautomate'' in spring. The park receives its one-millionth visitor. * 1992: the ''Tapis Magique'' (Magic Carpet) and the ''Paysages d’

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

'' (Landscapes of Europe, a tow boat ride) open. * 1993: inauguration of ''Solido''. * 1994: opening of ''Pavillon de la Vienne'', a second ''Dynamique Cinéma'' and the ''Aquascope''. * 1995: celebrating the centenary of cinema, inauguration of the ''Images Studio''. * 1996: the

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

3D opens and presents '' Guillaumet, les Ailes du Courage'' (the Wings of Courage), a 3D dramatic film in 3D directed by

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), ''The Bear (1988 film), ...

. The ''Showscan'' becomes the ''Cinéma Haute Résolution'' (High Resolution Cinema). * 1997: Futuroscope celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new evening spectacle, ''Le Lac aux Images'' (the Lake with Images). The ''Cinéautomate'' becomes ''Ciné-Jeu'' (Cinema Game) and ''Cyber Avenue'' opens up the Cyberworld to its visitors. The ''Pavillon de la Communication'' presents a film produced by Futuroscope called ''Les Autoroutes de l’Information'' (The Motorways of Information). * 1998: ''Cyber Avenue'' expands with ''Cybermédia'' offering 1600 m² (17,000 sq ft) of

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

and

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. ''Imagic'' opens, mixing image with illusion. The ''Dynamique Cinéma 2'' becomes ''Astratour'' with a film discovering

satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientif ...

, produced by Futuroscope. * 1999: opening of ''Images du Goût'' (Images of Taste) and ''The Workshop of Taste'' in the ''Pavillon du Futuroscope''. * 2000: opening of the

3D simulator: ''Le Défi d’Atlantis'' (Race for Atlantis). In June, the ''Gare

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

-Futuroscope'' (Futuroscope's

Station) opened with a walkway allowing visitors to reach the heart of the park directly from the station (80 mins from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...

). * 2001: the inauguration of the new attractions: ''CyberWorld, ''OceanOasis'', ''Superstition'' and ''Métropole Défi'' (Metropolis Challenge). On 18 April, Futuroscope welcomed its 25 millionth visitor. * 2002: opening of ''Destination Cosmos'', a new evening spectacle conceived by Yves Pépin: ''Le Miroir d’Uranie'' (the Mirror of Uranie) and two new films: ''Sur les traces du Panda'' ( China: The Panda Adventure) and ''Plongeurs sans Limite'' (Divers Without Limits). * 2003: opening of the attraction ''La Cité du Numérique'' (the Digital City); 2

films: '' Space Station 3D'' and ''Percussions du Monde'' ( Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey); 2 dynamique films: ''Les mélodies Aquatiques'' (Aquatic Melodies); and 2 new spectacles: ''Les Grandes Illusions'' (The Great Illusions), the ''Pavillon de la Créativité'' and an open air photograph exhibition. * 2004: the season begins with a festival of the best Imax films. Jacques Perrin produces an exclusive new film for ''Tapis Magique'', ''Voyageurs du Ciel et de la Mer'' (Travellers by Air and by Sea). ''Le Rêve d’Icare'' ( Adrenaline Rush) produces new sensations in the

Imax IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

cinema. * 2005: the arrival of many new attractions: ''Star du Futur !'' (Star of the Future!); ''La Légende de l'Étalon Noir'' ( The Young Black Stallion) in the ''Kinémax''; the dynamique film ''Péril sur Akryls'' (Danger on Akryls) in ''Dynamique 1'' and ''Les Yeux Grands Fermés'' (Journey into the Dark). On 27 April, the park welcomed its 30-millionth visitor, making it the second most visited theme park in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the fifth in

. * 2006: a new 3D film opens in ''

3D'', ''le Seigneur du Ring'' (Adventures in Animation 3D). This year, the Park is themed as the Year of the Robots, by opening on 5 April with ''Dances with Robots'' in the new ''House of the Robots''. A new evening spectacle entitled the ''Forest of the Dreams'' also forms part of the theme. * 2007: two new

films, ''Expédition Nil Bleu'' ( Mystery of the Nile), ''Sous les Mers du Monde 3D'' ( Deep Sea 3D), and a new version of the dynamic film ''La Vienne Dynamique''. * 2008: a new attraction based around the BBC's programme '' The Future is Wild'', a new Omnimax film (''Dinosaurs''), a new dynamic film (''Laponie Express''). On 10 July, the park welcomed its 35 millionth visitor. * 2015:

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

announced a partnership with Futuroscope and will produce a new show called 'La Forge aux étoiles' to replace the 'Lady O' evening show. The show will premier on 6 February 2016 and perform 250-300 shows a year. Futuroscope currently employs 600 people, including 400 temporary staff. Stages of the

cycle race have begun and ended at the park several times since its opening.

Architecture

The pavilions of Futuroscope are mainly constructed of metal and glass, and their design was led by architect Denis Laming. * 1987: Le Pavillon du Futuroscope, Le Kinémax * 1988: Le Cinéma Dynamique 1, Le Pavillon de la Communication * 1989: Le 360°, le Cinéma en Relief (the latter removed in 2004) * 1990: L’Omnimax, la Gyrotour * 1991: Le Cinéautomate * 1992: Le Tapis Magique * 1993: Le Solido ''(removed in 2017)'' * 1994: Le Pavillon de la Vienne, le Cinéma Dynamique 2, l’Aquascope * 1995: Images Studio * 1996: L’Imax 3D * 2000: L’Imax 3D Dynamique, TGV- Futuroscope station * 2002: Destination Cosmos ''(formerly Aquascope)'' * 2006: Le Pavillon des Robots ''(Dances with Robots)'' * 2008: Les Animaux du Futur ''(today: La Machine à Voyager dans le Temps)'' * 2020: Objectif Mars * 2022: Chasseur de tornades * 2024: Rename to Futuroscope expérience and opening of Aquascope (water Park)

Attractions

Restaurants and shops

The park has eight full-service restaurants and ten '' restaurations rapides'' (''Illico Resto''). There are eight shops, most of which are located at the entrance.

References

External links

{{commons category, Futuroscope
Official website
Buildings and structures in Vienne (department) Amusement parks in France Compagnie des Alpes Tourist attractions in Vienne (department) 1987 establishments in France Amusement parks opened in 1987 Cinemas in France