5 Best Theme Parks In Europe, Tried And Tested (2026 Guide)

Looking for the best theme parks in Europe for families in 2026? From classic Disney magic in Paris to fairy-tale charm in Efteling and rollercoaster thrills in Spain, Europe is blessed with incredible and immersive theme park experiences. These 5 European theme parks make for unforgettable European holidays for kids and adults alike.

When you’re travelling with kids you have to make sure that everyone is happy and that everyone’s needs are met. And because our boys love theme parks too, it’s a no brainer that we spend a lot of time exploring them as a family…..in between the days we are exploring the cultural attractions that most fill my cup.

But which European theme park is best? What are the top theme parks in Europe for adults and kids alike?

We’ve had a family discussion about the dozens of theme parks in Europe that we’ve visited before I sat down to write this post, and narrowed down our family favourites to a top five list. All of these European amusement parks have been tried, tested, and loved by us.

QUICK BOOKING BOX:
🏰 Book tickets for Disneyland Paris
🎢Book tickets for Efteling
🎡 Book tickets for Portaventura
🧱Book tickets for Legoland Billund
🎠 Book tickets for Parc Asterix

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We think these are the five best theme parks in Europe:

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Quick Comparison Table

Theme Park	Country	Best For….	Highlights	Bookmark Tickets
Disneyland Paris	France	All ages and Disney fans	Classic rides, character meets, themed food	Check availability
Efteling	Netherlands	Families and thrill seekers	Fairytale forest, laid back atmosphere, manageable queues	Book Now
PortAventura	Spain	Thrill rides and all-round fun	Shambhala and the nearby water park	Link to book
Legoland Billund	Denmark	LEGO lovers and younger kids	Interactive builds, miniland and LEGO!	Check availability
Parc Asterix	France	Older kids and thrill seekers	Great rollercoasters and reasonably priced themed food	Link to book

Disneyland Paris (France)

Disneyland Paris is pure magic. There’s no feeling quite like walking down Main Street towards the castle, hand in hand with your kids, and Disney music playing in the background. We are definitely a Disney family, so it makes sense that Disneyland Paris would be our number 1 European theme park.

Top Tips For Visiting Disneyland Paris at Halloween

The cast members are great, there are plenty of characters around the park if you like meet and greets (which we definitely do!) It’s the atmosphere and the theming that makes Disneyland Paris special to us. Especially if you visit during a seasonal event like Halloween or Christmas (we love Disneyland Paris at Christmas, because despite being bitterly cold, the park is particularly atmospheric).

If you’re looking for big adrenaline rides then Disneyland Paris might not be your first choice, but it does have some bigger rides that we love, including the classics of Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. Having ridden these rides on 3 continents, I think the Big Thunder Mountain in Paris is the best one!

The Ultimate Disneyland Paris Packing List Our Tried and Tested Packing Guide

If you’re travelling with kids then experiencing the Disney magic is a no brainer: both my boys immediately said that it was the best theme park in Europe! And its a great family park because there are rides for all ages: even babies being carried can ride on ‘It’s a Small World’. Our boys have been visiting Disneyland Paris since before their first birthday, and although the experience is different at each age, it’s always equally wonderful.

Best Attractions at Disneyland Paris

Sleeping Beauty Castle & La Tanière du Dragon – iconic castle and dragon lair beneath it (this is the only Disney castle in the world with its own dragon)
Pirates of the Caribbean – A great version of the classic Disney boat adventure
Big Thunder Mountain – A thrilling mine‑train coaster around the mountains: this is a long ride and my favourite version of this.
Hyperspace Mountain – Star Wars‑themed indoor coaster: My boys favourite ride!
It’s a Small World – The beloved family boat ride through global scenes. Ride once and sing the song all day!

I’ve written so many posts about Disneyland Paris, so if you’re thinking of visiting you’ll be spoilt for choice of articles to read!

Read more: We love Disneyland Paris so much that we have a dedicated Disneyland Paris hub packed full of helpful articles. Visit our Disneyland Paris Guide Hub here.

🎫 Book your tickets here: Disneyland Paris tickets via Klook
🎁 Use the discount code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off all ticket price

Efteling (The Netherlands)

If Disney is about fairytales you know, Efteling is about the ones you’ve never heard of. This Dutch park is enchanting, quirky, and incredibly family-friendly. Teens will love rollercoasters like Baron 1898, while younger kids will be blown away by the Fairytale Forest. I’m in my 40s, and I first went to Efteling when I was a preschooler: so being able to take my own boys to the Fairytale Forest (and to see the talking tree I loved as a child) was such a ‘pinch me’ moment for me.

What I love about Efteling is that it has something for everyone: big thrill rides, smaller family rides, shows, playgrounds….it’s a perfectly thought-out park. And as an added bonus, the crowd levels and queue times are much more manageable than in other parks.

We’ve visited Efteling a few times as a family, but our most memorable trip was at Christmas, when the whole park turned into a winter wonderland.

There were fire pits to roast marshmallows on, snow slides and ice skating rinks, and it had such a wonderful, festive feel! We visited as an extended family, and it was one of the best Christmases we ever had with the boys and my late-mum, so for that reason, Efteling will always have a very very special place in my heart.

Best Attractions at Efteling

Symbolica – An immersive palace dark ride, and the boys favourite ride
Baron 1898 – vertical drop dive coaster (this one isn’t for the faint hearted!)
Droomvlucht (Dream Flight) – fairy‑tale airborne dark ride
Fairytale Forest – An enchanting storybook walk with scenes & characters. Honestly, even as an adult this is still my absolute Efteling highlight
Python – classic roller coaster with loops

Book your tickets here: Efteling tickets via Klook
🎁Use the discount code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off all ticket prices

Portaventura (Spain)

Located just outside Barcelona, PortAventura is an absolutely epic theme park that is owned and operated by Universal Studios. This is definitely a great place for thrill seekers, and a theme park we like so much that we’ve visited three times! Europe’s tallest rollercoaster (Shambhala!) is an absolutely must-ride attraction.

This is an amazing park for kids and adults alike BUT I will say that unlike Efteling and Disneyland Paris, Portaventura isn’t a natural fit for toddlers. We went for the first time when our youngest was a toddler in a buggy and found that, due to height restrictions, he couldn’t ride half of the rights in the Sesame Street area that is aimed at the smaller/younger guests. The rides in this section of the park are awesome: but maybe wait until your youngest child is around 4/5 years old to really make the most of the park.

Another huge benefit of visiting PortAventura that’s worth mentioning? It’s in sunny Spain, where the climate means sunshine most of the year. It also has a sister water park right next door, which is one of the best water parks we’ve ever visited, so if you’re looking for a bit of something for everyone then there are few better spots!

Best Attractions at PortAventura

Shambhala – one of Europe’s tallest coasters with big airtime. I rode this as a single rider and left the boys with their less adventurous daddy!
Furius Baco – high‑speed launch coaster over 130 km/h
Dragon Khan – iconic multi‑inversion steel coaster
Grand Canyon Rapids – wet, twisting rapids adventure
Hurakan Condor – towering drop tower ride

Book your tickets here: Portaventura tickets via Klook
🎁 Use the discount code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off all ticket prices

Legoland Billund (Denmark)

The original LEGOLAND and still the best and is right up there as our 4th best theme park in Europe. Our kids couldn’t get enough of the interactive rides, building zones, and the incredible Miniland models in Legoland Billund.

Standing outside Legoland Billund in Winter

If your children love LEGO, this is the ultimate destination. When people tell you this is the best Legoland Park they’re not lying (and I’m about to say the same thing too!)

What we all really loved about Legoland Billund is that it’s a theme park for Lego lovers: the attention to detail with the builds, the rides, the theming is unprecedented. There is a Lego Pirates ride that is constructed to be identical to the Lego Pirate series from the late 80s/early 90s: If you’re a Lego fan that finds this stuff as exciting as we did, there’s no better theme park to visit!

Legoland isn’t generally the place for adrenaline junkies: but there are a couple of pretty good bigger rides for older kids/teens/adults. We particularly loved the robotic arm where you can programme your own coaster and then ride it, meaning you can make it as violent as you want (and believe me, my boys did!)

Best Attractions At Legoland Billund

Polar X‑Plorer – family coaster with polar theme
Dragen (The Dragon) – classic family coaster inside medieval castle
Flying Eagle (Flyvende Ørn) – scenic family coaster
X‑Treme Racers – wild mouse style coaster (we loved this ride so much that we rode it 5 times back-to-back!)
Pirate Land Playground – large interactive pirate ship play area (new and highly engaging for kids)

Book your tickets here: Legoland Billund tickets
🎁 I recommend booking a ticket and hotel package for the most convenient option if you’re travelling to Billund specifically to visit the Legoland resort

Parc Asterix (France)

Perhaps because we just got back from Parc Asterix, so it’s fresh in their heads, but the boys had nothing but praise for Paris’s second theme park. And they’re so keen to go back again already!

Our Parc Asterix Review! The Ultimate Family Guide to Park Asterix Rides, Food, and Tips.

This French park is themed around the famous Astérix comics, and it’s brilliant for slightly older kids and teens. The rollercoasters are excellent, the shows are hilarious, and we were especially impressed by the food options (our kids loved the huge buffet!).

We went on a weekend day in the middle of the school holidays and despite this peak travel date, the crowd levels were surprisingly low. We also found the ticket prices really affordable too. If you’re an adrenaline junkie looking for huge rides AND you want a theme park that will appeal to younger members of the family too then the balance here is excellent and make it well worth visiting.

Best Attractions In Parc Asterix

Toutatis – record‑breaking launched coaster (tallest & fastest in France)
Tonnerre 2 Zeus – classic wooden coaster (don’t let this one fool you – it was so bumpy I still don’t think my spine has recovered!)
OzIris – inverted coaster with intense loops
Romus et Rapidus – scenic river rapids ride. You will get seriously wet, the boys loved this and it’s perfect for hot days!
Goudurix – multi‑loop steel coaster adventure

Book your tickets here: Parc Asterix tickets via Klook
🎁 Use the discount code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off all ticket prices

Notable Mentions For The Best Theme Park in Europe

While these are our top 5 best theme parks in Europe, Europe has so many other theme parks worth visiting. Some of these we’ve visited and some of them we haven’t visited yet, so perhaps when we do we’ll need to reassess our list:

Futuroscope (France) – a futuristic park focused on technology and imagination

Europa-Park (Germany) – consistently voted the best theme park in Europe. (We would love to visit this park but we haven’t managed too…..yet….

Tivoli Gardens (Denmark) – charming and historic, right in the heart of Copenhagen.

Gardaland (Italy) – lakeside fun with a mix of rides for all ages.

Final Thoughts

Theme parks in Europe are about so much more than rides — they’re immersive adventures full of memories waiting to be made. Whether your family loves adrenaline-packed rollercoasters, fairytales, or creative play, there’s a park for you.

We’ve loved visiting all of these and honestly can’t wait to go back. Have you visited any of these theme parks? Which one is your favorite? I’d love it if you shared your experiences and opinions below!

So where to next? You can check out our rankings of the best theme parks in Japan below:
The Best Theme Parks in Japan for Kids (Ranked for 2026!)

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5 Best Theme Parks In Europe, Tried And Tested (2026 Guide)

Quick Comparison Table