On our most recent summertime trip to Europe, we spent four days in Copenhagen, Denmark. While we were there, we had to spend an evening at the famous historical amusement park Tivoli Gardens. https://www.tivoli.dk/en Tivoli first opened in 1843, and its set right in the center of downtown Copenhagen, directly across from the central railway station. Before arriving there, I knew this, but it was still visually surprising to see the ornate gates and iron signage rising up from the perimeter of a busy urban square.
When we entered the gates, the first impression I had was a cacophony of visual imagery- banners and foods and rides all stacked haphazardly in a jumble of colors and signage. It was like entering a jewel-box. Everything felt enclosed, but then spacious once inside. Tivoli has a Victorian fairytale aesthetic, and there was beauty everywhere we turned- the colorful rides, the gardens spilling over with summer flowers, the illuminated fountains. We stayed five hours and it was enough to get an overview, but we will definitely return the next time we’re in Copenhagen!
I’m a huge carnival/ theme park enthusiast, and, especially in Europe, we try to take in all we can. This trip turned out to be kind of the theme park tour of Northern Europe, as we spent two days at the Efteling, outside Amsterdam, then Tivoli, and then Bakken, just a short train ride away. Bakken actually holds the distinction of being the world’s oldest amusement park, but that merits its own post! Tivoli, no slouch, is the third-oldest.
Some of our favorite rides and experiences:
At the back of the park rises a plaster mountain, Rutschebanen. https://www.tivoli.dk/en/rides/the-roller-coaster Built in 1914, it’s a wooden bobsled style coaster. Asher and I rode this one first and it was a lot of fun, flying up and down on steep little hills, chugging past polar bears in ice caves in the deep recesses of the “mountain”.
Near park close, Nate advised, “Wait for the back car. Just trust me on this.” I did and I caught air multiple times, hanging onto the bar with sweaty palms, and feeling like there was a real possibility that I might be launched into the darkness we were hurtling through, never to be seen again!
We rode a colorful dark ride inspired by the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen called Den Flyende Kuffert (“The Flying Trunk”). https://www.tivoli.dk/en/rides/the-flying-trunk It had visual similarities to Disney’s “It’s a Small World”, very Mary Blair.
The Galley Ships https://www.tivoli.dk/en/rides/the-galley-ships was a fun pirate themed variation on a Himalaya ride- Asher and I sat in individual little pirate ships that moved around in a circle, bobbing steeply up and down with a rolling motion like ocean waves.
After dark, the park became something truly magical as the lights glittered on. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. The Japanese Pagoda was illuminated in tiers of red lights, and beside it swooped the loop of the Demon rollercoaster. https://www.tivoli.dk/en/rides/the-demon All the thousands of lights were reflected in the black water of Tivoli’s lake, and in the trees there were strung large, geometric sculptures of dichrotic glass, gleaming with golden light. One of my personal favorite spots in the park was a garden that was a formal, geometric grid of bubbling, illuminated fountains, interspersed with beautiful drifts of flowers- clouds of snowy white poppies or anemones. There were glowing, animatronic dragonflies slowly fluttering their wings just above the water’s surface, and big banks of full-blown roses ringing the Swing Carousel. https://www.tivoli.dk/en/rides/the-swing-carousel It truly was breathtakingly beautiful!
There are food and drink options all over the park, and they are definitely higher quality than typical theme park fare, as well as plenty of little stands where you can have a drink or buy an ice cream. We had dinner at Gasoline Grill on the fly because we were pressed for time https://www.tivoli.dk/en/food-and-drinks/gasoline-grill While it was very tasty, I would have loved to explore the Tivoli Food Hall. The Japanese Pagoda even hosts fine-dining pop ups by Michelin-starred chefs…but that was not for this day.
Tivoli’s one drawback that we noticed was that there seemed to be fewer rides for really young children. Delphine, at the time of travel, was more than 36” tall, which gets her onto most family rides at home. At Tivoli, it seemed as though the family rides were just a bit faster, higher, and more intense. There were a number of things she wanted to ride but wasn’t tall enough, and at one point said sadly, “This is just a park for Mommy, Daddy and Asher. This is not a park for me.” Just a caveat if you are travelling with children younger than school-age. There was still plenty for her to ride and see, but I think if we returned even a year or two from now, her options would be significantly expanded.
We stayed right up until park close, wanting to soak up every last moment we could. I think we only scratched the surface. Tired as we were, our hotel, the Axel Guldmeden https://guldsmedenhotels.com/axel-guldsmeden-spa-hotel/ was just a short, pleasant stroll away. It was a memorable day, and I can’t wait to return!
Elsewhere Together 