PortAventura Park

Listen for a moment before you walk any further. Somewhere ahead, a low mechanical rumble climbs and climbs. Then it breaks into a chorus of screams that rolls across the water. Closer by, you can hear gulls, the hiss of a fountain, and gravel crunching underfoot. The air carries pine resin, sun cream and frying churros. This is PortAventura Park, on the Costa Daurada of Catalonia. It sits between the towns of Vila-seca and Salou, a short walk from the Mediterranean.

The park opened in 1995. At the time, Spain had nothing quite like it. Planners chose this stretch of coast because it already drew families every summer. They wanted a destination where those families would stay for days. Over the years, partners came and went, and for a while the name carried the Universal brand. Today the resort has grown around the original park. There are hotels, a water park, and Ferrari Land, which opened next door in 2017.

The idea behind the park is simple, and it is a lovely one. You are not visiting a fairground. You are taking a journey. The park is divided into themed lands, and each one stands for a different corner of the world. Mediterrània, Far West, México, China, Polynesia, and the children's area of SésamoAventura are laid out in a loop. If you walk the full circuit, you travel around the globe, and you end where you began.

Most visitors begin in Mediterrània, and it is worth slowing down here. The buildings copy a small Catalan fishing village. Look at the pastel walls, the painted shutters and the clay roof tiles. Notice the boats tied up along the water. The designers wanted the first land to feel like home before the adventure starts. It is a quiet compliment to the coast outside the gates. The real fishing ports of this region sit only a few kilometres away.

Mediterrània also holds one of the park's fastest rides, Furius Baco. Its theme is Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. That makes sense in a region known for its vineyards and its sparkling wine. The ride does not climb a lift hill. Instead, it launches you forward from a standstill in a sudden burst of speed. If you stand near the station, watch the riders' faces at the moment of launch. Almost nobody manages to look calm.

From here the path leads into Polynesia. The light changes. Palm fronds and thatched roofs replace terracotta, and the planting grows dense and green. You may hear drums, and you will almost certainly hear splashing. Tutuki Splash is a water ride themed around a volcano. Its boats plunge down a steep drop into a pool, and the wave soaks anyone standing on the bridge. Many visitors stand there on purpose on a hot afternoon.

Next comes China, and on the skyline it is hard to miss. Two of the park's best-known roller coasters live here. The first is Dragon Khan, which opened with the park in 1995. It turns riders upside down eight times. For years it held the world record for the most inversions on a single roller coaster. Look up at its red track, which twists through loops and corkscrews above the walkways.

Here is a detail many first-time visitors miss. Watch Dragon Khan for a few minutes, and count the inversions yourself. The trains move so fast that most people lose count after four or five. Then look past it to the tall, pale track beside it. That is Shambhala, which opened in 2012. Its first hill rises about seventy-six metres. Shambhala has no loops at all. Its thrill is height, speed, and the light, floating feeling over each hill.

Shambhala's name comes from Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In those stories, Shambhala is a hidden kingdom of peace in the mountains. The ride's theming draws on Himalayan imagery, with prayer flags and stonework near the queue. It is a curious pairing. A place of calm in legend became the name of one of the tallest coasters in Europe. From the top, riders can see the sea on one side and the countryside on the other.

México feels warmer and dustier. The colours shift to ochre, turquoise and deep red. Stone carvings recall the ancient Maya, the civilisation that built pyramid cities across southern Mexico and Central America. Over the rooftops rises Hurakan Condor, a drop tower. Riders rise slowly, wait at the top, and then fall. Stand at the base and listen. There is always a short silence just before the drop, and then a single wave of sound.

Far West is perhaps the most complete stage set in the park. You walk down a frontier street with saloons, wooden boardwalks and painted signs. The buildings imitate an American town of the nineteenth century. Here you find Stampida, a wooden roller coaster with two trains that race each other side by side. Wooden track makes a deeper, rattling sound than steel. You can often hear Stampida before you see it.

One small surprise is the planting. The landscape designers used trees and shrubs to separate the lands, so you rarely see one world from inside another. Pay attention as you cross from one area to the next. The paving changes, the music changes, and even the litter bins change their design. These small shifts make the journey feel real. They also help you find your way without a map, once you learn the pattern.

And so the loop brings you back toward the water of Mediterrània. Take a moment here before you leave. Look across the lake and pick out the coasters on the skyline. Each track now belongs to a place you have walked through. As evening comes, the lights come on along the harbour, and the screams turn into laughter at the exit. Listen once more to that rumble on the lift hill... and then let the noise of the park fall behind you.