JANUARY 2026

If you are a regular reader of the blog, you know I don’t visit themeparks often. However, in 2025 I managed to visit two I was really excited about: Legoland and Europa-park. My brother-in-law is a real themepark lover and his favorite theme park is Europa-park. He tries to squeeze in a visit every year and this time we tagged along. With our “local guide” we made the most out of a Christmas themed Europa-park. I was very impressed with all the Christmas decorations, I cannot imagine having to put up all the Christmas trees. The park becomes absolutely magical at night when all the trees light up. In my blogpost I will give you an impression on what Europa-park is like during Christmas!

Practical information Europa-park

Usually, the Europa-park Christmas decorations are up from the end of November until the beginning of January. I paid about € 60 for my entrance ticket, while Hugo’s ticket was € 40. It is cheaper if you buy your tickets online, than at the ticket office. The park is large enough for the tickets not to sell out, so there is no real rush in buying tickets. During winter the park opens from 11AM until & 7PM. At some days the park stays open later, this is announced on the day itself. Please check the official website for actual opening hours and ticket sales.

You can combine a visit to Europa-park with a visit to Rulantica, the swimming paradise, or a visit to the Europa-park hotel. We did a daytrip from Baden-Baden, but honestly could have stayed longer in the park.

Our experience at Europark

We managed to fit in quite a lot of activities in one day, especially because the queues at the toddler attractions are not very long. If you want to do a lot of rollercoasters, this adds waiting time during your day and you need to plan in advance. Europa-park is named after the Europaweiher lake, and they made Europe it’s theme. During your visit you will travel through amongst others Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. I especially loved the Greek, Swiss and German themes, as these were very well executed.

Europa-park also has a virtual line for popular attractions. You have to download the app and see which time slots for which attractions are on offer. This way Europa-park is able to spread people evenly through the park to keep the waiting lines short(est). We used this for the Voletarium, which is a higlight for many visitors. The Voletarium is a flying simulator in which you fly over many famous sights in Europe, such as Schloss Neuschanwstein, the Alps and Paris. Highly recommend doing this activity, especially if you love to travel 🙂

Another favorite attraction was the Volo da Vinci, where a cycle was hanging under a rail. During your ride you get really good views over the park. If you want to get a good overview over the park, there are several trains and monorails which take you along the park. The best views are from the Ferris Wheel, especially when the lights turn on in the evening. I didn’t get to experience the park with teenagers, but there are lots of rollercoasters, so it must be good for older kids as well. Hugo was four when we visited and he loved all the trains, Dino mates, the oldtimers, the Atlantis “shooting” game. Definitely a lot of fun for a four year old!

During the day there are some shows. We just did the light show at Europa-park dome, which was fun. Usually there is a fireworks show in the evening, but there were some technical difficulties at the day that we visited.

Overall, I really loved Europa-park. I loved the quality of the attractions, the Europe theme, the cleanliness of the park, the fact that there were no queues at the toilets and the high level of decorations. The only thing I liked less was the food. During the day there were giant food queues at the raclette and flammkuchen stands. We therefore ended up at the buffet restaurant, the food was served quick, taste was okay, but I just didn’t like the vibes of the restaurant. If you are willing to spend you can have a good fancy meal at Europa-park, but we preferred exploring all the attractions. Definitely recommend visiting Europa-park during Christmas, our Dutch treasure the Efteling can eat its heart out 😉