Ruée Vers l'Or, Western-themed attraction in Ermenonville, France
Ruée Vers l'Or is a Western-themed attraction that recreates 19th-century gold prospecting adventures within a theme park, featuring mining villages and buildings styled after the American frontier. The area uses natural sand dunes to recreate an authentic desert landscape that resembles North America.
The attraction is part of France's oldest theme park, founded within natural sand formations of the Ermenonville forest north of Paris. It was created to bring the story and adventure of the 19th-century American Gold Rush to a European audience.
Daily performances feature actors dressed in period costumes who demonstrate how 19th-century gold prospectors worked and what difficulties they faced. These shows bring the harsh reality of the Gold Rush to life in a direct and tangible way.
The area is located about 45 minutes north of Paris and is open to visitors from April through November. Families should note that there are restrictions for younger children, and facilities are specifically accessible for people above a certain minimum height.
The park's sand dunes were formed through natural geological processes and spread across a large area that was not originally intended as a theme park. This unusual combination of genuine desert terrain and recreated Gold Rush scenes makes the location one of a kind in Europe.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
