1812 – d. 1857), obtained a five-year charter to create Tivoli by telling King Christian VIII that "when the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics".

The monarch granted Carstensen use of roughly 15 acres (61,000 m2) of the fortified glacis outside Vesterport (the West Gate) for an annual rent.

From its beginning Tivoli included a variety of attractions: buildings in the exotic style of an imaginary Orient: a theatre, band stands, restaurants and cafés, flower gardens, and mechanical amusement rides such as a merry-go-round and a primitive scenic railway.

On certain evenings, specially designed fireworks could be seen reflected in Tivoli's lake, a remnant of the moat surrounding the city fortifications.

This tradition, dependent on the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, has been kept alive; it portrays the characters Cassander (the old father), Columbine (his beautiful daughter), Harlequin (her lover), and, especially popular with the youngest spectators, the stupid servant Pierrot.

Georg Carstensen said in 1844: "Tivoli will never, so to speak, be finished", a sentiment echoed just over a century later when Walt Disney said of his own Tivoli-inspired theme park, "Disneyland will never be completed.

In 2017, Tivoli Gardens added an optional virtual reality experience to the ride, simulating a flight through ancient China, along with encounters with dragons and demons.

260 feet (80 metres) high and built by the Austria-based Australian company Funtime, it offers panoramic views of the city.

Besides the rides, Tivoli Gardens also serve as a venue for various performing arts & as an active part of the cultural scene in Copenhagen.

It is a toy-like historicist built in Chinese style and noted for its mechanical front curtain that takes five men to operate and unfolds like a peacock's tail.

As indicated by the name, it is primarily a scene for pantomime theatre in the classical Italian commedia dell'arte tradition, which is performed daily with a live pit orchestra.

Besides this original function, the theatre leads a second life as a venue for ballet and modern dance, performing works by choreographers such as August Bournonville, Dinna Bjørn, Louise Midjord and Paul James Rooney.

During the warmer summer months, Tivoli also features a live music series dubbed Fredagsrock (Friday Rock), which in the past has featured Roxette, the Smashing Pumpkins, Sting, the Beach Boys, Pet Shop Boys, Kanye West and 5 Seconds of Summer, and also popular Danish acts such as TV-2, Nephew, Hanne Boel, Raveonettes and Thomas Helmig.