Knuthenborg Safari Park

Knuthenborg Safari Park is the largest safari park in northern Europe, spread across a historic manor estate on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark, about 5 kilometres north of Maribo near Bandholm. The park covers a total of 660 hectares, including a 400-hectare drive-through safari area where visitors travel among free-roaming animals in their own car. It is one of Lolland's major attractions, drawing more than 300,000 visitors a year. Beyond the classic safari drive, the estate packs in an unusual variety of experiences: a monkey forest, large enclosures for Siberian tigers and African bush elephants, a Dinosaur Forest with full-scale models, a Museum of Evolution displaying fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, an arboretum of rare trees, and the largest nature playground in Denmark. The grounds began life as an aristocratic manor park, and that heritage still shapes the sweeping, tree-lined landscape you drive through. Admission is 289 DKK for adults and 169 DKK for children, and the sheer size of the park means it easily fills a full day - allow around six hours to see it properly. Spring and summer are the best times to visit, and weekdays tend to be quieter than weekends. A local tip: park the car and visit the monkey area on foot, where the resident monkeys are known to climb onto the cars, and give yourself plenty of time to wander the walk-through sections rather than rushing the drive.