Vulcania park info, rides and attractions

Opened	20 February 2022
Season	April to November
Owner	Regional Council of Auvergne
Website	www.vulcania.com
Nearby	Le Pal (58 miles) Parc des Combes (98 miles) Jacquou Parc (115 miles) Walibi Rhône-Alpes (128 miles) Futuroscope (136 miles)

Vulcania

Vulcania is an educational theme park sited in the heart of the Chaîne des Puys near the centre of France. It offers visitors a variety of attractions and experiences themed around volcanoes and other similar natural phenomena.

The park, which describes itself as the "European park of Volcanism", was opened in 2002 and is largely centred around a huge concrete cone shaped building which extends several storeys below ground. The building houses many of Vulcania's larger big screen and simulator based attractions.

The most spectacular of these include Volcans sacrés (Sacred volcanoes), a trackless dark ride through the history of man's mystical relationship with volcanoes; Premier envol (First flight), a big screen flying theatre experience; and Abyss Explorer, a simulated submarine dive to the bottom of the ocean floor to discover the world of underwater volcanoes.

Outside the building is Namazu, Vulcania's Earthquake themed family launch rollercoaster which has become one of the most popular rides at the theme park since it was added in 2021.

Also on offer around the site are live workshops with Vulcania's in-house scientists, exhibitions, talks and shows, giant IMAX films and a Planetarium.

Vulcania is a cross between educational museum and theme park, and manages to balance the two well. It provides for a fantastic visitor experience, with a variety of different attractions to thrill, entertain and inform those who come to the park. While it is possible to rush through it and try out the major attractions within a few hours, there is enough here to fill an entire day at a relaxed pace. It does require a degree of tolerance for the subject matter however, and those with no interest in either science or volcanoes may find it a little hard going.