The Cité de l'Espace, an ideal visit for all the family

The Cité de l'Espace is not just for space enthusiasts. It's an unusual park that's well worth a visit in Toulouse. The 4,000m² site is huge and very well designed. The visit is so complete that you could devote an entire weekend to it with your family. If you don't have enough time, you can of course do most of it in one day.

The park is made up of several buildings surrounded by a large garden: the planetarium and stellarium, the terradome, the central building with the permanent exhibitions, as well as open-air exhibitions and part of the mir station and the Ariane 5 rocket, and so on. All of this, complemented by beautiful gardens with play structures for children!

If you're visiting the Cité de l'Espace as a family, we recommend starting with a session at the Stellarium, the park's small planetarium. It's the perfect introduction for the little ones, who can marvel at the films reserved for young audiences.

Then it's on to the moon walk simulator to experience the thrill of space! Young and old alike can sit in replicas of spacesuits and be amazed: an ingenious system lets you feel the absence of gravity!

Even if the wait can be long, the experience is well worth the diversions! There's also a rotating seat next to it, so you can feel the loss of balance and your bearings.

Continue your exploration with the launch station! With the help of numerous models, this stage explains all the technical and scientific innovations that have made space travel possible.

You can even relive the last few minutes before a rocket takes off via the screens: thrills guaranteed!

L'Astralia, a more recent building, transports visitors into outer space thanks to the large-format images in the Imax theatre and the large planetarium!

The new planetarium offers spectacular films for all ages, projected onto a dome 20 metres in diameter. So make yourself comfortable and enjoy the journey to the solar system!

The huge Imax screen, 21 metres long and 17 metres high, is just as impressive! Thanks to polarised glasses, you'll find yourself immersed in large-format 3D images: hang on!

After these thrilling experiences, head for the pretty gardens surrounding the Space City. Here you can discover life-size replicas of the Ariane V rocket, the Mir station and a Soyuz capsule.

On the day, check your visit plan to find out about the day's events and get your children involved in the outdoor activities. The rocket workshop, for example, is an exciting way for children to learn all about propulsion using everyday objects (plastic bottles, bicycle pumps, etc.). It's participative, playful and fun!

You can opt for accommodation close to the Cité de l'Espace to make the most of your day. There are several hotels of different categories in the vicinity of the park, offering family rooms for up to 4 people.

The Cité de l'Espace offers several options for eating out: a restaurant with a children's menu, two snack bars and several foodtrucks depending on the time of year. If you prefer to bring your own picnic, two picnic areas are available in the gardens (sheltered in case of rain).