Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie, Paris

First impressions? It’s a big ball. An enormous silver ball, like a ball-bearing for some extra-terrestrial pinball wizard. But at the Cité des Sciences, this is just the beginning. Step inside, and metal girders and weird walkways criss-cross over your head, turning the sphere into a fabulous, layered futuristic space.

There are five floors, including two special areas for children aged 2-7 and 5-12 years, with fun science and industry themed games, puzzles and activities. From water mills to mock construction sites, piston-powered windmills to mirror mazes, exercise bikes and stepping stones, the exhibits will keep the kids busy long after you’ve decided it’s time for a coffee.

The site regularly hosts temporary exhibitions and special events on great science and industrial topics. Previous displays have included: the designs of Leonardo da Vinci, an upside-down exhibition and a mathematical enquiry into shadow and light.

This site is playful, adventurous and incredibly fun to visit. Visitors are encouraged to touch and interact with the installations. For more grown-up fun, there is also a cinema and a library.

Check the Cité des Sciences website for their fab interactive map!

Braille text is available for visually-impaired visitors. French sign-language tours and activities are available. Videos are subtitled and sometimes signed for visitors with an auditory impairment. Most of the site’s theatres and cinemas have induction loops. Guides who communicate in touch-sign language are also available for visitors who have both visual and auditory impairments. The site is wheelchair-accessible.