parc de la Villette, 19e, www.cite-sciences.fr  User-friendly science exhibits and a great day out that is a sure-fire hit with the kids. The state-of-the-art exhibition centre houses Explora, in which permanent displays unravel the wonders of light, sound, language, robotics and the natural world with the help of dozens of handson toys from computer games and videos to holograms. There is a planetarium, activity centre, library, aquarium and several restaurants.

The futuristic stainless steel Geode, a huge glittering sphere, encloses a 1,000 square-metre OMNIMAX cinema screen (for daily schedules, tel. 01 40 05 70 00), and is parked next to a retired French naval submarine, the Argonaut.