In this episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish uses Denmark’s two most famous amusement parks—Tivoli Gardens in central Copenhagen and Bakken north of the city—to illustrate contrasting facets of Danish culture, history, and class. She describes Tivoli as a sleek, high‑end, tourist‑friendly venue with meticulously maintained gardens, seasonal décor, upscale restaurants, and a lineup of concerts and rides, noting its high admission fees and recent ambitions such as a potential Michelin‑star restaurant. In contrast, Bakken is presented as Denmark’s world‑oldest park (dating to 1532), with a rustic, home‑grown atmosphere, free entry, a historic wooden roller coaster, and a surrounding oak forest where deer roam. Mellish highlights how the parks reflect class divisions—Tivoli aligning with a confident, polished national image, and Bakken embodying a more working‑class, “hygge” vibe—while also noting Danish egalitarian self‑perception. She contrasts the parks’ fauna (peacocks at Tivoli versus deer at Bakken) as symbols of trust, and provides practical details such as pricing, seasonal events, and visitor recommendations (Tivoli for short‑term tourists, Bakken for a leisurely nature experience). The episode concludes with a promotional plug for her live presentations and books, and social‑media links.
Chapters
Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. It's spring in Denmark. The sunny days are longer, the daisies are popping up through the grass, and the sidewalk cafes are full again, even if you have to sit there with a blanket, which many cafes provide. And Denmark's amusement parks are opening up for the summer. Denmark has several amusement parks, including the original Legoland, but the ones I know best are the ones in Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens and Bakken. Tivoli and Bakken show 2 different sides of the Danish character. Tivoli is the sleek, confident, high-end image that Denmark likes to present to the world. It has exquisite flower gardens, fancy restaurants, and a theater that brings in famous performers from all over the world. On the other hand, Bakken is more homey, more quirky. A little bit shabby and a bit more hyggelig, under my own definition of hygge, which is unambitious enjoyment. The differences between the 2 parks also illustrates the class differences in Denmark, even though Danes like to pretend that there are no class differences in egalitarian Denmark. Bakken is clearly the more working class of the 2 and opens every year with a huge convoy of Thousands of motorcycles roaring through the city. It happens every April. I hear this huge mechanical growl in the distance, and then I realize, ah, Bakken is opening today. When you arrive at Bakken, you're greeted by higgledy-piggledy old wooden houses in various stages of repair, home to arcade games or fast food vendors serving hot dogs or shawarma. Or restaurants with all-you-can-eat pork chops. Bakken's rickety wooden roller coaster has been around since 1932, and it seems like a good way to take your life in your hands. For the less adventurous or foolhardy, Bakken offers the tiny Ladybug roller coaster, which is the very first carnival ride for generations of Danish children. Bakken is old. In fact, it calls itself the world's oldest amusement park. It dates back to 1532, even before this area was the king's deer hunting grounds. Those hunting grounds are still there— a huge forest of giant oak trees right outside of Bakken, where you can picnic today and still see deer peeping out from behind the trees. The Danish royal family does still occasionally hunt there. But they only shoot selected deer, usually older ones whose days are numbered anyway. Royal or not, if someone was visiting Denmark for only one day, I would send them to Tivoli Gardens, not to Bakken. Tivoli in downtown Copenhagen is a great, non-disappointing tourist attraction. Tivoli is beautiful, and it's clear that an army of gardeners, architects, and set decorators work very hard to make sure it stays that way. Tivoli actually redecorates itself several times per year. There is Easter Tivoli, Summer Tivoli, Halloween Tivoli, and Christmas Tivoli. Each new season means new shops, new food, sometimes new rides. Fall is the annual giant pumpkin contest. I like that one. Winter means Santa and traditional Danish Christmas treats. And summer means Friday rock concerts on the big grassy field at the center— concerts that are extremely popular with Danish teenagers. Tivoli is not just for tourists. Many Copenhagen locals get an annual pass. Now, Tivoli is a very ambitious enterprise. It's always introducing exciting new carnival rides, and it was recently reported that the amusement park was looking to add a Michelin-star restaurant. Its current restaurants vary in quality, although they don't vary much in price. They're all really expensive. And while Buchen has its forest of deer— natural deer, just living in the forest and reproducing as deer do— Tivoli has peacocks. Real peacocks. Beautiful peacocks with their big peacock tails, just randomly walking around the grounds. This, to me, has always seemed like a great example of Danish trust. If you had those peacocks walking around in New York City, where I used to live, someone would take them home the very first day and make them into peacock soup. Tivoli isn't free, of course. Adults pay 145 Danish crowns, about $21 US, just to enter the park. Rides not included. That's just to walk through the door. A pass to enter and go on all the rides for the day will set you back 429 Danish crowns, or about $60. Admission to Bakken, on the other hand, is entirely free. You can just roll up on any spring or summer day, on your motorcycle or on the bus, with your picnic lunch if you like. Put a blanket down under the oak trees in the forest, and before you buy a ticket to the carnival rides, Enjoy the most beautiful seasons of nature in Denmark. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Book me, Kay Xander Mellish, for a live or virtual presentation at events.howtoliveindenmark.com, or buy our How to Live in Denmark books at books.howtoliveindenmark.com. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. We do it all. No TikTok yet, though. See you next time.
