HomeItalyCastelnuovo del GardaTheme ParksGardaland

GardalandCastelnuovo del Garda, Italy

Gardaland is an Italian theme park resort on Lake Garda featuring thrill coasters, family rides, dark rides, and themed areas.

Opened19 July 1975 OperatorMerlin Entertainments OwnerMerlin Entertainments Size520,000 m2 (resort complex) Visitors3,000,000 annual
© Daniel Reust / CC BY-SA 4.0

Located on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy, between Peschiera and Lazise, Gardaland Resort offers a major Mediterranean amusement destination. Conceived in the early 1970s by Verona entrepreneur Livio Furini after visiting Disneyland, the amusement park officially opened on July 19, 1975. Today, the complex covers 520,000 square meters, with the core theme park occupying 200,000 square meters. British entertainment company Merlin Entertainments has owned and operated the park since October 2006.

The resort is laid out into various attraction zones and themed areas, including the remodelled Dragon Empire. Visitors can experience famous roller coasters such as Raptor, Shaman, Blue Tornado, Mammut, and Oblivion: The Black Hole, alongside dark rides like I corsari and Jumanji - The Adventure, plus water attractions such as Jungle Rapids, Fuga Da Atlantide, and the 6,000-square-meter Animal Treasure Island water dark ride. The resort complex also encompasses Gardaland Sea-Life aquarium and Europe's first Legoland Waterpark.

Welcoming three million annual visitors, Gardaland stands as the seventh most visited theme park in Europe. It caters to a wide audience, with historic demographics showing two-thirds of guests are families with children and one-third are thrill-seekers aged 15 to 25. About a third of attendees travel internationally to visit the park, making it ideal for both quick resort stops and multi-day vacations supported by three themed on-site resort hotels.

01 Signature rides & attractions

The park’s headline rides across its themed areas. Confirm heights and any single-rider lines on the day.

Coaster
Oblivion: The Black Hole
A major roller coaster attraction that opened at the park on March 28, 2015.
2015
Dark ride
Jumanji - The Adventure
The world's first theme park attraction based on the Jumanji film franchise, featuring a massive animatronic figure.
2022
Family
Jumanji - The Labyrinth
A walkthrough attraction featuring a mirror maze and a jungle maze inspired by the Jumanji franchise.
2023
Dark ride
Animal Treasure Island
A 6,000-square-meter water dark ride based on an original intellectual property registered by Merlin Entertainments.
2025
Coaster
Raptor
One of Gardaland's major signature roller coasters.
Coaster
Blue Tornado
A long-standing major thrill ride introduced during the park's early expansion era.
Coaster
Mammut
A prominent roller coaster attraction operating inside the park.
Water
Jungle Rapids
A signature water attraction introduced during the park's expansion in the late 20th century.
Water
Fuga Da Atlantide
A major water-based attraction operating within the park.

Compiled from Wikipedia · a full ride-by-ride list per themed area is on the way.

Park map

The free OpenStreetMap layer below shows the park and its surroundings — entrances, themed areas, car parks and access roads. Zoom in for detail; the official ride-by-ride park plan is linked below.

45.45722 · 10.71083

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL, free). Official park maps are copyrighted — we link to them.

02 Tickets & prices

Ticket prices for Gardaland change by date and season, and the park sells single-day, multi-day and annual passes — buying online in advance is almost always cheaper than at the gate, and popular dates can sell out. Check the official site for live pricing before you travel.

We deliberately don’t list prices that change daily — the ticket button leads to live, up-to-date pricing.

03 Where to stay

On-site and resort hotels put you right at the gates — often with early park access — turning the visit into an easy two- or three-day trip.

Gardaland Hotel
Various / Jumanji

Features 247 rooms including 36 themed rooms, two bars, two onsite restaurants, and Blue Lagoon pool area.

Gardaland Adventure Hotel
Arctic, Arabian, Jungle, Wild West

Opened in 2016 across 15,000 square meters with 100 themed rooms and the Egyptian-themed Tutankhamon Restaurant.

Gardaland Magic Hotel
Enchanted Forest, Magic Ice Castle, Great Wizard

A four-star themed resort hotel offering 128 rooms designed around a magical enchanted kingdom concept.

04 Themed areas

Each area has its own theming — architecture, food and rides. Half the fun is simply walking through.

Dragon Empire

Good to know

  • The resort complex includes a separate Sea Life aquarium and Europe's first Legoland Waterpark.
  • Approximately one-third of all park visitors travel from international destinations.
  • Two-thirds of visitors are families with children, while one-third are thrill seekers aged 15 to 25.