Charbonnières-Les-Sapins is best known for Dino-Zoo: a wooded, hilly park provides the setting for a sculpture trail and several prehistoric attractions. The Église paroissiale de la Nativité-de-Notre-Dame offers a different theme. The park, prehistoric attractions and parish church provide different starting points for planning your trip.
Dino-Zoo between Park and Prehistory
Dino-Zoo has been located in a 15-hectare wooded, hilly park since 1992. At the edge of the park stands a château, a distinctive residence. The park landscape provides the setting for the attraction, while the château serves as a separate architectural landmark within it. The visitor entrance is at 1 rue de la préhistoire in Charbonnières-Les-Sapins. Check the entrance details before your visit, as they may change.
From the Sculpture Trail to Other Attractions
The 2.5-kilometre Parcours dinosaures trail winds through a natural wooded setting, with 80 life-size dinosaur sculptures along the route. Completing the full trail takes approximately one to one and a half hours. This gives you both a specific distance and an approximate time frame for planning this part of Dino-Zoo.
Megalodon River offers a different kind of experience: this 80-metre water attraction is designed for families. Its route slopes gently and ends by passing through the jaws of a prehistoric shark. Dino-Galopant offers a short ride on a dinosaur figure shaped like a Triceratops or Diplodocus. At Aerodactylus, visitors board and pedal to rise into the air. Arbreville features slides and balance courses.
The park therefore helps you answer two different questions when making your choice: how much time would you like to set aside for a complete route, and what type of activity interests you? The approximate duration helps with the first consideration; the water attraction, short ride on a figure, pedalling and balance courses illustrate the different formats.
Parish Church and Architectural History
The Église paroissiale de la Nativité-de-Notre-Dame was built from 1766 to 1768. Its maître-autel ensemble, or high altar ensemble, is dated to around 1830 or 1840. The construction period and the high altar ensemble therefore represent different historical reference points within the same church. For travellers interested in architectural history, the church building is a point of interest in its own right; those interested in its furnishings can also take in the high altar ensemble, which dates from later. This gives cultural history a distinct place alongside Dino-Zoo’s prehistoric focus.
Gouffre de Poudrey as a Geographical Reference Point
Dino-Zoo is 5 kilometres from Gouffre de Poudrey and offers attractions and activities related to prehistory. If you are considering the Gouffre when choosing your destination, this distance provides a specific geographical reference to another named site within the prehistoric theme.
Discover more destinations: By, Granges-Narboz, La Cluse-et-Mijoux, Saint-Point-Lac, Dampierre-les-Bois, Pierrefontaine-les-Varans, Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne, Les Auxons.
For the broader travel overview: Doubs.
