Tivoli Gardens

Before you is the main gate of Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world still in operation. It opened on 15 August 1843 and, ever since, it has been far more than a fairground to Copenhageners: it is a garden, a concert venue and a ritual of summer, Halloween and Christmas.

1A park on the ramparts

Its founder was Georg Carstensen, an entrepreneur born in Algiers, the son of a Danish diplomat. He obtained a five-year licence from King Christian VIII and a plot of land by the Vesterport gate, on the open ground in front of the fortifications. The lake inside the park is a remnant of the old city moat.

Carstensen is said to have won the king over with an unbeatable argument: ‘When the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics.’

None of Carstensen’s wooden buildings survive, but the park still holds some old gems: the Pantomime Theatre of 1874, whose curtain opens like a peacock’s tail, and the Rutschebanen, a wooden roller coaster from 1914 that is still running.

Walt Disney visited, and Tivoli is often said to have been one of his inspirations. Hans Christian Andersen came here in its very first year, and his tale ‘The Nightingale’, from 1843, is often linked to the park’s oriental atmosphere.

2What to look out for

• The main gate, with its arch and dome, lit up by thousands of bulbs at night.
• The arcaded buildings on either side of the entrance.
• The Central Station right opposite: Tivoli was born on the outskirts and now sits in the very centre.