A round trip through (little) Italy

Italy – for ages, this multi-faceted country situated between the Alps and the Mediterranean sea attracts and fascinates travellers with its typical Mediterranean atmosphere, unique buildings and culinary delicacies. In Germany’s biggest theme park, young and old globetrotters travel aboard eight Venetian gondolas, each designed for four passengers, through the new family attraction “Piccolo Mondo”. Here, the guests used to discover the Land of Cockaigne with “Ciao Bambini” until recently.

Now, the visitors travel on the unchanged track of the cult attraction through ten fascinating sceneries and discover the beautiful country Italy and its culture. In the station the travellers can already guess the destination of the trip as well as the famous companions they are going to encounter thanks to the numerous paintings. The diverting journey through Italy begins in an Italian wine cellar, where the dim light of the flambeaus and lanterns conveys a colourful and warm atmosphere. As the visitors’ eyes get used to the darkness, the rustic wine cellar ambience appears more clearly and reveals numerous barrels and bottles.

Many cultural highlights are part of the programme of this round trip: the cathedral of Florence, the famous Pisa tower or the baroque buildings of the renaissance are only a few examples. In Venice, there is a lot of animation: the gondolas ornamented with gold and Enzo in the role of a gondolier invite the visitors for a trip on the Canale Grande, with view on the Rialto Bridge. Sumptuous palaces, the Palazzi, mark out the cultural path of the travellers with lively and modern miniature paintings.

The holiday-makers encounter famous contemporaries represented as animal-figures during their visit to Italy. Besides the popular Italian tenor of the Milanese opera, the sculptor and architect Michelangelo is working hard to finish his world-famous David sculpture, while Leonardo da Vinci follows his passion for painting and creating.

All those who liked the former attraction “Ciao Bambini” will rejoice for the next stage. The very famous and beloved tunnel with the blinking red hearts was and still is a key element of the attraction. The legendary Love-Tunnel invites for a romantic ride with its new outfit and thousands of sparkling lights that adorn the arcades of the tunnel.

When the hunger for culture is finally satisfied, some optical delicacies await all the gourmets at the next stage. What would Italy be without spaghetti, gelati and carnival? Pigs are searching for truffles in the spaghetti forest, pizzas are hanging everywhere, ravioli-tiles cover the roofs and ice-cream cornets dance to the rhythm of the music – the visitors have reached a wonderful destination: Europa-Park’s fabulous interpretation of Italy, adapted to the little ones and featuring all of its cultural and culinary wealth.