France's Côte d'Azur has opened its first new waterpark in nearly 30 years, with the Splashworld

Provence theme park breaking several regional and European records upon launch.

Including the tallest free-fall waterslide in Europe, as well as the region’s longest largest racing slide, longest toboggan slide, largest surf simulator and longest lazy river, the Polin-supplied waterpark in Avignon Monteux offers 50,000sq m (538,100sq ft) of space with 15 different attractions.

Phase one of the development opened its doors in August, with a second phase – to include a 950sq m (10,225sq ft) wave pool, which will sit by a large surf pool – coming in 2016.

In addition to the waterpark, a free-to-access area of Splashworld includes a Bali-themed restaurant with resident and guest DJs. Man-made private beaches have also been created, along with a retail store, three food outlets and a 100,000sq m (1.1 million square foot) lake area for swimming, canoeing, pedal boating, fishing, bird watching and jogging along a fitness trail.

The park operates a cashless payment system and a Splash Pass – to provide fast-pass access to the park’s slides. The outdoor park attraction can accommodate 8,000 people simultaneously and will be open for the French summer months through the year, dependent on weather.