France Miniature - Good family fun time

Not too far from the famous Palace of Versailles in Paris is a wonderful outdoor park named "France Miniature" offering good family time.  The visit to this park can be combined with the visit to the Palace or its beautiful gardens.

The park contains 1/30 scale models of more than 150 landmarks of France in an open setting. The realistic setup of the park brings to life the beautiful architecture and culture of France.

All the monuments are arranged as per their locations in various regions of France. There is a variety in the monuments which includes villages, forts, towns, chateaux, amphitheaters, railway stations, stadiums, and so on. All the monuments have been re-created in great details.

A well paved paths takes you through the entire park and the path contains many interactive activities to keep everyone entertained while watching the landmarks.

The fountains of the miniature Palace of Versailles are controllable making it a real fun for the kids.

The park has its own Railway station and a miniature train system running through the park over models of real bridges.

There is more to this park than just monuments. It has good adventure rides for the kids and adults.

The park also has indoor attractions which kids will enjoy.

Visit this park to get a unique insight into beauty of whole of France.

Useful travel information about France Miniature:

It is easy to spend 4-5 hours in this park. Be prepared for a really long walk though as the park can be covered only by a walk.

It is located just 20 minutes drive from the Palace of Versailles. 

The map below shows the location of France Miniature. 

It is closed in Winters.
Please check their website for opening times as well as ticket rates - http://www.franceminiature.fr


© Paras Doshi, 2018.

Thomas and Friends in Pune

The small kids have a clear preference for toys based on gender. While, the girls prefer the dolls, the boys tend to like Cars or any mode of transportation. The Joshi's Museum of Miniature Railways will definitely appeal to boys, and surely give loads of fun to girls and elders alike.

Located in the heart of Kothrud, the Joshi's museum houses India's biggest miniature City, with a Railway Station, Roads, Flyovers, Mountain, Lake, Restaurants, Swimming Pool, Circus, TV Tower, Revolving restaurant, Hot Air Balloon, a Drive-In theatre and a night sky as it appeared when railways was first introduced in India. This is a remarkable effort which has been recognized by the Limca Book of records.

The museum is located in a one storey building which houses a toy store, its workshop where all the models are created and the area which houses the miniature city. The live train show is held every half an hour livening up the whole model city in the backdrop of the story of Bunty and Bubbly who get lost in the city and explore various parts of the city.

As the story progresses, the various types of trains in the city from age old, engine trains to the latest ICE trains come alive and wander through the city. The miniature cars and the bikes travel through the city. A building catches fire and an ambulance arrives to help. Many such situations are created and we are taken through the wonders of the creativity that made this miniature city possible.

The ground floor houses a real life minitaure airport with its main building, control tower, planes and helicopters, cars parked on the buildings and many more models related to an airport. Various train models from ICE train to Jungfrau train. If you happened to buy a Jungfrau miniature model on your trip to Switzerland, it was probably manufactured right here in Pune.

We got a chance to look at their workshop, also located at the ground floor and get a preview to their latest inventions in miniaturization.

The ground floor also houses the toy shop, which sells apart from model trains, cars and planes, an excellent collection of toys for the young people which you will not find in shopping malls.

If you want to take your kid to the real world of "Thomas and Friends", its right here.

Click below to view a small clip of the show.



Useful Travel Information for visiting Joshi's Miniature Railways Museum

Location:

Click here to see the map of the Museum

Ask for Karishma Society if you can't locate the place when you are near this area.

Charges:

For anyone above 3 years of age, the entry fee is Rs. 25. Its free for kids below 3 years.

Timings:

The musuem is open at different times throughout the week. On weekends, it is open from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. It is best to call and check the timings before visiting.

You easily spend about 1½ hour at the museum including the miniature city show.

Link:

http://www.minirailways.com