GERMANY EUROPA-PARK DESTINATIONS


at the raggedy washing line hanging overhead, spoiling the pretty Italian scene. “Why would they think we want to see their Nonna’s big bloomers while we’re eating our bruschetta?” Snapping back to reality, I


“H


remember that I’m not actually in the narrow back streets of Rome at all, but in the Antica Roma restaurant of the Hotel Colossea


ow thoughtless,” I tut to myself, looking up


in Germany’s Europa-Park Theme Park & Resort. It’s one of five – soon to be


six – four-star themed hotels here, and it’s just this attention to small, atmosphere-setting details – up to and including Nonna’s knickers – that explains this theme park’s success. Although smaller in scale


than its Orlando counterparts, Europa-Park – a 45-minute transfer from Switzerland’s Basel


airport – still boasts more than 100 attractions, and has laid the foundations for an enormous water park, set to open in 2019. And a big part of its appeal is its history. Fittingly for a destination that trades in fantasy and make-believe, it has its own rags-to-riches tale to tell. From fairly humble beginnings


as stagecoach makers in the 18th century, founders the Mack


family graduated to carousels, before building their first wooden rollercoaster in 1921. When Franz Mack


subsequently opened the theme park in 1975, it was to a chorus of derision, so today’s success – around 5.6 million people visited in 2016 and the park has turned the neighbouring town of Rust, once a dirt-poor farming area, into an affluent place – is all the sweeter.


28 September 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 65


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80