
If you thought Disney sets the benchmark in world class theme parks, think again, as one attraction in Romania puts a much darker spin on a family day out - because it's entirely underground.

Situated in a salt mine which at its deepest part is 400ft below the Earth's surface, the Rudolf Mine has been transformed into a lively tourist hotspot that draws in around 600,000 visitors a year.

At 137ft deep, 196ft wide and 262ft long, the Rudolf Mine in Romania is home to miniature golf, bowling lanes, an 180-seat amphitheatre and a boating lake.

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Situated 400 feet below the Earth's surface an old salt mine has been turned into a breathtaking attraction that draws in around 600,000 visitors a year

The popular attraction has a children's playground and an impressive fairground with rides such as a carousel and big wheel (pictured)

At 137ft deep, 196ft wide and 262ft long, the Rudolf Mine in Romania is home to miniature golf, bowling lanes, an 180-seat amphitheatre and a boating lake

The popular attraction also has a children's playground and an impressive fairground with rides such as a carousel and big wheel.

Accessible via a labyrinth of elevators and stairs, visitors can also take in the stunning array of stalactites dangling from the ceiling, which grow at rate of one inch every year.

After that time they typically drop off when they reach of length of around nine feet.

Accessible via a labyrinth of elevators and stairs, visitors can also take in the stunning array of stalactites dangling from the ceiling, which grow at rate of one inch every year

In medieval times, men dug the mines to harvest medicinal salt, and it was later used a bomb shelter but today the mine is proving incredibly popular with the Romanian public

Experts claim that micro-climate in the mine offers health benefits especially for people with respiratory difficulties and has a constant temperature of around 12 degrees

While it is possible that the mines near the city of Turda (marked on the map) were first dug during Roman occupation, it is thought that they were founded shortly before 1075 after engineers stumbled across evidence of medieval tunnels in 1876

In medieval times, men excavated the mines to harvest medicinal salt, and it was later used a bomb shelter but today the mine is proving incredibly popular with the Romanian public and in-the-know tourists.

Experts claim that the micro-climate in the mine offers health benefits especially for people with respiratory difficulties and has a constant temperature of around 12 degrees.

The mine is made up of a series of rooms including an octagonal room, which houses a winch called the crivac.

Over the years the mine has had many uses. Between 1948 and 1992 the Franz Josef Gallery was used to store cheese. Now it is a large recreational complex and other chambers have been transformed too

The deepest mine is 393 ft (120 metres) deep and while labourers previously chipped away at the salt before pulling it to the surface, now people can enjoy a ride on a ferris wheel or play mini golf in the most spectacular surroundings

The crivac was driven by horses to pull salt from the Rudolf mine to the surface. It is the only one of its kind in Europe.

A horizontal 3,008 ft ‘Franz Josef Gallery’ is also situated inside and was created to make transporting salt to the surface cheaper.

The mine’s website claims: ‘Exposure to salt mine microclimate has beneficial effects on the airways of people with occupational risk factors, or environmental - emissions, gas, tobacco, etc - thereby reducing morbidity.’

The mine’s website claims: ‘Exposure to salt mine micro-climate has beneficial effects on the airways of people with occupational risk factors, or environmental - emissions, gas, tobacco, etc - thereby reducing morbidity.’

Stalactites usually grow an inch a year, and after that time they typically drop off when they reach of length of around nine feet