If you're looking for the best theme parks in Europe, we can't blame you - rollercoasters, water rides, cotton candy and hotdogs make the perfect day out. Adrenaline junkies, start packing your bags - because once you’ve read this, you’ll be dying to get some thrills in the continent's greatest amusement parks...
Disneyland Paris/Walt Disney Studios
No list of amusement parks would be complete without including Disneyland Paris . This park is incredibly magical, even when you’re an adult!
And whilst you’re here, there are so many things you need to do.. Take a picture in front of sleeping beauty's castle, meet Mickey and the whole crew, watch an unforgettable firework and light show - and most importantly check out some crazy rides. Some of our favourites are Big Thunder Mountain, Indiana Jones and the new Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain (a new and improved version of Space Mountain).
If you want more thrill rides be sure to get tickets which allow you to enter both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studio Park where you can rock out on the Rock n Roll coaster or if you’re feeling brave, head to the Tower of terror and dive through the 13 floors of this haunted hotel. Just hop on the Eurostar and you'll be transported right outside the Disneyland gates.
Stay at for easy access to the park.
Parc Asterix
Located in France, Parc Asterix is based on the stories of Asterix, a very popular comic book cartoon in this country. This theme park is home of some wild roller coasters guaranteed to get your blood pumping. From inverted coasters to roller coasters with over seven loops, Parc Asterix has it all...And for those of you who love a little splash, you’ll definitely want to check out L’Oxygenarium, a really fun rapid. WARNING: you will get soaked!
The best thing about this place? It’s located under 2 hours train ride from our Paris hostel but also not far from our hostel in Bruges either (2.3 hours) - making it the perfect way to visit the medieval city and enjoy this amazing theme park at the same time.
Tickets are available here from €48.
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park on the outskirts of London has some incredible unique rides for extreme thrill seekers which will spin you around and throw you about. Are you liking what you’re hearing? Then carry on reading. Swarm, Nemesis, Colossus and Saw (watch video) are some of our all time favourites. Another unique ride is Derren Brown’s Ghost Train where you will come face to face with the demon as it rises from darkness.. We’d love to tell you more but it’s a secret so I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself...
Quick Tip: If you’re going during summer maybe think about using the fast track options as queues can get quite long but, if you don’t want to pay for fast track options make sure to head to the big rides such as Saw first as the queues will only get longer as the day goes on.
Stay in to be within an hour of the park.
Port Aventura World
Located in Barcelona, Port Aventura World is unarguably one of the best theme parks in Europe! With three separate locations: PortAventura Park, PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park and Ferrari Land, there’s something that will get even the hardiest adrenaline junkie's hearts beating a little faster.
Unlike most parks, PortAventura World is open until 12am and gets quieter during the evening meaning that you won’t have to queue for as long. This park has plenty of crazy rides such as Shambhala, a 200 ft hyper coaster, Dragon Khan, an 8 loop steel twister, Furius baco, Europe’s second fastest roller coaster and the newly built Red Force which is now Europe’s highest and fastest rollercoaster!
Port Aventura World is just over an hour way from Barcelona .
Tivoli Gardens
Also known as Denmark’s own Disneyland, Tivoli Gardens is the second oldest amusement park in the world, with rollercoasters up to 100 years old! Full of beautiful shops, wonderful restaurants and an incredible ambiance with flowerbeds and little waterways, this park is great even if you’re not an adventure seeker.
Although, if you do love to get that rush, make sure to get the unlimited ride option when buying your tickets because it’s definitely worth it and you’ll get to enjoy all the different rides that Tivoli Gardens has to offer. Trust me there are so many that you’ll need to spend at least two days here! Talking about rides, don’t forget to try out Vertigo, the wildest and fastest ride in Tivoli!
You can buy tickets in advance to Tivoli Gardens here .
Efteling
This cool fairy tale theme park had to be in our list, simply because the atmosphere is truly amazing. It has some epic rides, some cleverly designed themed villages - and you can even try some traditional Dutch pancakes! That’s not all though, Efteling has some cool dive coasters including the new Baron ride which is a must for any thrill seeker and a twin-racing coaster where you go head to head against another team of racers to slay the dragon!
Efteling can be reached from Rotterdam in just under two hours.