Tibidabo Amusement Park

The end of February 2009 saw the re-opening of the Amusement Park, up on top of Tibidabo which is the mountain at the back of Barcelona. The park has been going for a fair few years, but had seen a very big drop in visitors, partly because the park is a fair way away, and partly because the attractions in the park were...well, let's just say that for an amusement park, they were mild to say the least.



So the council decided to add a new attraction - much to the discontent of the locals and friends of Cosserolla Park (the woodland around the mountain) which aimed to pull back in the visitors to the amusement park. The result is the new rollercoaster of Tibidabo which at 718 metres, curls and winds its way around the park at speeds of 80kph, heights of up to 522 metres and gradient drops of 66%! The website of the Tibidabo fun park has a cool video of the start of the ride, which shows just how close to the trees you are. I'm a huge fan of rollercoasters, and it certainly looks cool, but at 25 Euros entrance to the park, that's hardly an "anti-crisis price" is it?

The park is split up into 6 different levels (you enter at the top, number 6) and there are the usual suspects for a fun fair with teacups, a big Ferris Wheel, halls of mirrors, puppet shows, dodgems, pirate ships and log flumes and top views of the city to boot.

I may well be proven wrong, but I just think if you want to go for some white-knuckle rides, you'd be better off heading to Port Aventura, which is a real Amusement Park (complete with huge queues for all the rides, overpriced food and drinks but sunshine!).

Getting to the Tibidabo Amusement park has allegendly been made easier by the Park owners. You can take public transport up to the Funicular, which has been doing double the amount of journeys since 2007 (according to TMB - the company who runs it). There's also the Tibibus leaving from Plaça Catalunya and taking you up to the park. Both tickets for the Funicular or the Tibibus are refunded with the entrance fee.

So, anyone reading been since the new roller-coaster is the star of the show? I'd be very keen to hear your comments! Let me know if it's worth it and any other info. Thanks!

For details on other sights and attractions in the city, see this Barcelona City Guide. And for accomodation in the city, try Apartments in Barcelona for a great alternative to a hotel.