Guide to Top Factory Tours in Europe for Families, Part II

Part I of this article described tours of the factories that make the foods for which Europe is famous. Part II will explore tours open to visitors interested in the manufacture of other defining European products from perfume to the alphorn, clogs and even the Airbus.

Transportation
Most exciting of all in the realm of transportation related factory tours is the opportunity to tour one of two airplane factories manufacturing the giant Airbus The Airbus Factory in Blagnac-Toulouse is Europe's largest aeronautical plant. One tour lets visitors watch the assembly of the A380 and another the final assembly line of the long-haul A330, A340, A340-500/600 aircraft. Tours are booked and operated by Taxiways.

Airplanes

Airbus, France

Airbus Factory
Village Aéroconstellation
Rue Frantz Joseph Strauss
31700 Blagnac
To book a tour, contact Taxiway: Tel. 00 33 (0)5 34 39 42 00
Email: reservation@taxiway.fr
Tours are 1 ½ hours each. Tours are usually conducted in French, sometimes in English.

Reservation is required and must be made at least 48 working hours in advance of tour for non-E.U. citizens. To book a tour, the following information is required: name, maiden name, date and place of birth, nationality and phone number. E.U. citizens must present an I.C. or passport before starting the tour; non- E.U. citizens must present passports.

Admission for adults is 14 € for the Airbus A380 Tour, 9,5 € for the Airbus 330/340; 11 € and 8 €, respectively for teenagers and students, and free for children under 6.

Airbus, Germany

There is also a 2 ½ hour Airbus factory in Finkenwerder, Germany that offers guided tours of the structural and final assembly of the A318, A319 and A321 aircraft. These tours are booked through and operated by Globetrotter Travel Agency.