Take a trip to France for a theme park like no other, says Esther Halligan

Futuroscope is a theme park with a difference — the rides are shows too, awakening all your senses on this sprawling French site, which boasts futuristic-style architecture.

- BY ESTHER HALLIGAN

Think 4D and IMAX motion simulators, and terrifying rides combined with huge screens, so the tornado chaser takes you right into the eye of a (digital) storm.

I booked a two-night break with my 11-year-old son, Otto, and we were keen to try an alternative type of terror. The park is in southwest France, a few miles from Poitiers, and also includes a “digital” water park.

Arriving at the theme park, we picked up translation headsets first - the screens that accompany almost every ride have commentaries. We ventured into The Time Machine and sat on a moving conveyor, facing the 4D film with the Raving Rabbids, feeling the wind and travelling into a snapshot of the future.

Most kids will recognise the Rabbids from the video-game series, and they are a huge feature of the park - naughty rabbit-like creatures scream and gibber at you from screens around the site.

Next up was the €20million attraction, Destination Mars. We become astronauts at the space training centre, before bracing ourselves for a shuttle ride into orbit. The roller-coaster carriages spin you senseless and launch you down an indoor, vertical free-fall drop, right at the end. Looking back on the Earth, as we hurtled away, added a great touch.

I staggered out, dazed, and Otto dragged me to one of the omnipresent burger stands. A huge theatre with a 4D nature documentary didn't just provide respite from the adrenaline adventures. The screen rolls under your feet as you fly over mountains and immerse yourself in life under the sea.