Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [95]
The enormous City of Science and Industry, at the northern end of Parc de la Villette, has all sorts of hi-tech exhibits that are particularly well suited for children. You could easily spend a day here with the kids in tow.
Free attractions include the Carrefour Numérique (level -1; noon-7.45pm Tue, to 6.45pm Wed-Sun) internet centre; Médiathèque (levels 0 & -1; noon-7.45pm Tue, to 6.45pm Wed-Sun), with multimedia exhibits dealing with childhood, the history of science and health; Cité des Métiers (level -1; 10am-6pm Tue-Fri, noon-6pm Sat), with information about trades, professions and employment; and a small Aquarium (level -2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sat, to 7pm Sun).
A free and extremely useful map/brochure (in English) called The Keys to the Cité is available from the circular information counter at the main entrance to the complex.
The huge, rather confusingly laid-out Explora (levels 1 & 2; adult/7-25yr €8/6, with Planetarium €11/9, under 7yr free), the heart of the exhibitions at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, looks at everything from space exploration and automobile technology to genetics and sound. Tickets are valid for a full day and allow you to enter and exit at will.
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TRANSPORT: LA VILLETTE
Bus Porte de la Villette for 75 to Buttes-Chaumont, Canal St-Martin, République, Centre Pompidou, Marais, rue des Archives, Hôtel de Ville & Châtelet
Metro Botzaris, Buttes-Chaumont, Porte de Pantin, Porte de la Villette
Boat Canauxrama Bassin de la Villette stop (13 quai de la Loire) for canal boat to Port de Plaisance de Paris-Arsenal (12e) south of place de la Bastille & Paris Canal Croisières stop (19–21 quai de la Loire) for boat to quai Anatole France (7e) near the Musée d’Orsay
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The Planétarium (level 1; 11am-4pm Tue-Fri, to 5pm Sat & Sun) has six shows a day on the hour (except at 1pm) on a screen measuring 1000 sq metres. Children under three are not admitted.
The highlight of the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie is the brilliant Cité des Enfants (Children’s Village; level 0), with imaginative, hands-on demonstrations of basic scientific principles in two sections: for two- to seven-year-olds, and for five- to 12-year-olds. In the first, kids can explore, among other things, the conduct of water (waterproof ponchos provided), a building site and a maze. The second allows children to build toy houses with industrial robots, and stage news broadcasts in a TV studio; this being Paris a very popular and successful exhibition in 2008 was one called Zizi Sexual – love and sex explained to pre-teens. A third section has a special exhibition called Ombres et Lumières (Shadows and Light) devoted largely to the five-to-12 age group.
Visits to Cité des Enfants lasting 1½ hours begin four times a day: at 9.45am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.15pm on Tuesday to Friday and at 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm and 4.30pm on Saturday and Sunday. Each child (€6) must be accompanied by an adult (maximum two per family). During school holidays, book two or three days in advance by phone or via the internet.
The Cinaxe ( 01 42 09 85 83, reservations 01 40 05 12 12; admission €5.40, if holding another ticket to Cité des Sciences €4.80; screenings 11am-12.45pm & 2-5pm Tue-Sun), a cinema with hydraulic seating for 60 people, moves in synchronisation with the action on the screen. It’s across the walkway from the southwestern side of the Cité des Sciences. Shows begin every 15 minutes.
The Géode ( 01 40 05 79 99, reservations 08 92 68 45 40; www.lageode.fr in French; 26 av Corentin Cariou; 19e, adult/senior & 3-25yr €9/5.50, 3-D film €11.50/9.50; 10.30am-6.30pm Tue-Sat, to 8.30pm Sun) is a 36m-high sphere with a mirrorlike surface of thousands of polished, stainless-steel triangles, and is one of Paris’ architectural calling cards. Inside, high-resolution, 70mm films (45 minutes each) on topics such as virtual reality, special effects and nature are projected onto a 180-degree screen to surround