Lights of Tivoli Gardens

It's time for part two of my Tivoli Gardens photos. (I have other topics I want to cover, but I have to keep my promise to finish these photos first.) I returned to the park in the evening after a walk around Copenhagen, which I'll include midway through the post.

Approaching this entrance in the evening, with the Danish flag waving in the breeze, was an experience I never expected to have.

Tivoli has a different feeling from any other park I've visited. There's no music blaring through the park—just occasional screams from the rides, the chattering of visitors, and the bell toll of the Copenhagen City Hall. It's quite calming as you walk through the park.

In the moment, I was more focused on the architecture of the park's buildings, but looking back at my photos, I realize I somewhat overlooked the remarkable landscaping.

Tivoli is the quintessential nighttime park, and its lighting influenced the spectacular parks at Coney Island and similar "electric parks" across America at the turn of the 1900s.

I took this picture while speeding past the Ballongyngen Ferris Wheel on Rutschebanen. All in all, I took more than a handful of rides on the world's second-oldest operating roller coaster.

I liked the way the light caught the ride as I walked through the Smögen area.

This statue is of Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and Tivoli's first music director. Listening to his early work, you can almost imagine what it was like to visit Tivoli in the 19th century.

The Pantomine Theater has a peacock-themed curtain, but here are the actual peacocks themselves.

They impart a certain dignity to the park. I took this picture as I was leaving, with the peacocks left to rule Tivoli for themselves.

I'm guessing these Art Deco light fixtures are quite old, but they are in practically brand-new condition.

I didn't want to start the post with Copenhagen sights right off the bat, so now let's take a walk around the city on a quiet afternoon. This is Nyboder, a housing project built by King Christian IV to accommodate the families of the Royal Danish Navy. These structures were mostly built between the 1630s-1750s.

Frederiks Kirke (Marble Church) was built between 1749 and 1894, with construction taking almost 150 years due to cost overruns and a change in direction.

Amalienborg Palace is the residence of the Danish royal family, originally built between 1750-1760. The royal family moved in after their original home, Christiansborg Palace, burned in 1794.

Nyhavn is a quaint harbor that is one of the most famous images of Copenhagen (along with the Little Mermaid statue, which I only saw from the water!)

This square is known as Kongens Nytorv and hosts a statue of King Christian V.

The 40-minute walk from my hotel to Tivoli was largely through narrow streets like this one, lined with omnipresent Copenhagen bicycles.

This is Christiansborg Palace, the third version of the building. It was built between 1907-1928 and today houses the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Supreme Court.

The Royal Reception Rooms are open for touring. 

From royal opulence back to a concrete mountain! Now evening has come at Tivoli, and many people have already left for the day.

Given that it was a weekday in May, there were not many people at the park, as you can see by the half-empty train in this picture.

Reflections of Tivoli are something special.

The pagoda is especially dazzling in the evening. Although the park closed before darkness completely fell, I was still happy to have a look at the lights.

The pagoda is maintained in immaculate condition.

There is a walkthrough haunted house in this building, but I wasn't aware of the fact until I got home. Originally inaugurated in 1893 as Denmark’s first Museum of Decorative Art, today the structure is called Tivoli Castle.

The Nimb Hotel dazzles at night.

The entrance to Tivoli at night is one of the most iconic sights of any amusement park.

Tik Tak is an extreme spinning ride, and it has a stunning light package. Each of the cars has a set of headlights, which dance all over the ceiling as the seats rock back and forth.

It isn't hard to imagine Walt Disney walking through Tivoli at night and formulating his idea of what a great amusement park should look like.

A canopy of grown-in trees is a great asset to any park, and at Tivoli, it blends wonderfully with the park's lighting.

Even after the park closed, people lingered on the lagoon bridge for pictures.

It was sad to finally leave, but my time at Tivoli was everything I could've asked for. It was a blessing to have time to enjoy the park over the course of two days while in Copenhagen.

Getting back to my hotel from the park was a bit of a challenge. Unfortunately, the subway was closed, so I had to find the stop for the buses running in place of the subway.

The bus stop was right in front of Tivoli Castle, which has a spectacular sign.

I hope you enjoyed this post, even if it was a little scattered. Soon, I will feature two of the other amusement parks I visited after my study abroad trip, including Bakken, which is just north of Copenhagen and the oldest amusement park in the world!