Magical Tivoli Gardens in Winter, Copenhagen

As soon as we walked through the gates of Tivoli Gardens, it felt as though we were entering a magical winter wonderland. Glittering lights led us down a path past nordic houses filled with sweets and winter goodies, tall Oriental-looking buildings looked looked down on us and a huge wooden reindeer stood majestically stood next to us. And that was just the start of the experience which took us far away from the streets of Copenhagen into a fairytale kingdom.

Opening way back in 1843, Tivoli Gardens is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world and it is clearly doing something right. It is Copenhagen’s most visited attraction and the place was bustling when we got there at around 3pm, just before it got dark. Among the many rides in the complex, is one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the world (although as my husband pointed out, for him, that was probably a reason not to go on it). But, it doesn’t just have rides, there is an aquarium, live performances are held at a theatre, there are Christmas lighting shows and cute areas for children to explore like these little houses.

And there was no shortage of Christmas trees…

We started by going on some of the more sedate children’s rides. The carousel and a mini train – which went down well with my daughter. 
Although we didn’t manage to see Santa Claus (he was visiting Tivoli) we did sit on one of his ‘sleighs’.

We wandered through the many food and drink stalls, picking up some popcorn and pancakes on the way with some Glogg (mulled wine) to wash it down. My husband was very impressed that he got a proper ceramic mug with the hot drink in which he could take home as a momento.

We passed some rather scary fairground rides, the air filled with the sound of screams. It took me back to my teen days when getting scared on such rides was a thrill and delight. My three-year-old daughter insisted that she wanted to go on them but we managed to find some more age-appropriate rides, like a ride called the Nautilus and a big wheel which gave some spectacular views of the amusement park.

With the night getting colder, we decided it was time to leave after spending a good few hours at Tivoli Gardens and having a wonderful time there. We could easily have stayed for longer, got some dinner at one of the 43 restaurants, and explored further as there is so much to do there and experience. But we came away having had a truly magical time and Mrs T absolutely loved the experience!

The people of Copenhagen are very lucky to have Tivoli on their doorstep. With its central location (it’s close to the City Hall and train station), it is a charming, magical place to visit for all ages, any time of the year although we found ‘Christmas at Tivoli’ was particularly special. Walt Disney modelled his own theme parks on Tivoli but there’s no doubt the Copenhagen amusement park is the original fairytale playground and so very Scandinavian.

Tickets to visit Tivoli cost 99DK (£9.50) Monday – Thursday. Under 8s go free. Rides are extra and you can purchase vouchers to use – most of the children’s rides we went on cost around £2.50. There is the option to purchase a multi-ride wristband for unlimited use on the rides which costs 209DK (£20).

Tivoli Gardens opens 11am to 11pm Sunday – Thursday and 11am – Midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Check its website for more information.

*Disclosure: we were very kindly given free admission to Tivoli Gardens but, as ever, all opinions are honest and my own.

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