We are not big fans of amusement parks and other commercial kids attractions - we live about ten miles from Disneyland and rarely go there. But we have discovered some children's attractions which harken back to a kinder and gentler time, or else give some historic or cultural insight to a place. Here is my list of places we have really enjoyed with our children - does anyone else have anything to add?

Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen - We were just there last month, and I was so impressed. While it does have its share of thrill rides, they are nicely landscaped and themed. The gardens are full of restaurants and musical venues. The lighting at night is enchanting. Many of the rides have a lot of charm - one depicts scenes from the Hans Christian Andersen stories; another allows children to ride on small replicas of old-fashioned cars. The merry go round has giraffes, camels, and other unique features. Also, a nice playground area with giant trampoline and slide.

Jardin d'Acclimation, Paris - Somewhat similar to the Tivoli on a smaller scale. It does not have many thrill rides, but more charming gentle rides, such as a boat through the garden, and a train ride to the closest Paris underground stop. Not so much emphasis on food as the Tivoli, even though this is Paris! There is a musuem of culture on the grounds. We had a wonderful day there.

Beaconscot, Beaconsfield, England (outside London) - I have written of this in another thread. It is a miniature reproduction of England in the 1930's - and it has been here since the 1930's!! Trains run throughout the park, and visitors observe various scenes as they walk through on outdoor paths. Most kids seem to want to go through at least twice to make sure they've seen everything. Ice cream is available midway through, and also a small playground, and ride-on train.

Longleat, Wiltshire, England - Although this is highly commercial, we love the longest hedge maze in the world, and the train ride with the charming period station.

Parco di Pinocchio, near Florence, Italy - We were not as impressed with this, perhaps because we are not so familiar with the Pinocchio stories, but we enjoyed the giant chess set and the play areas. Great place for children to run around

Gleneagles, Scotland - One of our favorite children's activities - the scaled down Land Rovers which children drive themselves (with A LOT of supervision) on a specially designed dirt course. Expensive -as is everything at Gleneagles!! Unique, if not charming or cultural.

Legolands - We have been to three of these, and although they have obvious commercial tie-ins, we find that they actually fire our children's imaginations in many ways. The ride areas are not substantially different in any of the parks, but the Miniland model city areas are fascinating to some kids, and each park has its own unique geographic specialty. We were just at the park in Denmark, and loved the Billund Airport model, as well as the depiction of the oil rig in the North Sea. The driving school in Denmark is especially good, as the kids get to drive their cars for a half hour or so - by appointment.

Puppet Theatres - We like to visit these in European cities, as again, they are something, that seems to be harder to come by, as children get wrapped up in electronic media. Ones we have visited - Little Angel Theatre and Puppet Theatre Barge in London, Puppet Theatre in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris, and surprisingly, Los Angeles has an excellent puppet theatre - Bob Baker Marionettes near downtown LA.

I would like to make it to Madurodam in The Hague, Netherlands, another miniature model city. Does anyone have anything to add? Anything in Asia? My sons are 8 and 10 now, so we still have a few years left to enjoy "childish things".