Bakken

Bakken in Dyrehaven, north of Copenhagen, is the world's oldest operating amusement park — established in 1583, which makes it nearly 260 years older than Tivoli. It sits inside the royal deer park, a forest that still contains several hundred deer, and the combination of funfair rides and ancient woodland is particular to this place.

Bakken is rougher and more working-class in character than Tivoli, with older rides, cheaper food, and a more raucous atmosphere. It is free to enter; you pay per ride. The Dyrehaven forest around it is excellent for walking — the Hermitage royal hunting lodge from 1736 sits in the middle of the park. To get there, take the S-train to Klampenborg and walk through the forest. A spring ritual: Copenhageners ride to Bakken on bicycles on the Thursday before Good Friday.

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Bakken opened in 1583 — more than 250 years before Tivoli — making it the oldest amusement park in the world still in operation. It was originally built around a natural spring whose waters were claimed to have medicinal properties; the amusements grew up to serve the visitors who came to take the waters. The spring stopped flowing in the 19th century but the park outlasted it by several centuries.

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