28 Best Sights in Denmark

This peaceful, leafy cemetery in the heart of Nørrebro is the final resting place of numerous great Danes, including Søren Kierkegaard (whose last name actually means "cemetery"), Hans Christian Andersen, and physicist Niels Bohr. In summer the cemetery takes on a cheerful, city-park air as picnicking families, young couples, and sunbathers relax on the sloping lawns amid the dearly departed.

This library, community center, and cultural space is a true display of Danish, democratic architecture. Since it opened in 2015 it's become a fixture in the city, attracting young families with its in- and outdoor playgrounds, youngsters with its cultural offerings, the startup scene with its coworking spaces, and bookworms with its library. The many terraces offer great views of the harbor, and from here you can take a leisurely stroll through Aarhus Ø, an artificial island that's home to harbor baths and stunning residential buildings.

Herds of deer roam freely in the verdant, 2,500-acre Dyrehaven. Once the favored hunting grounds of Danish royals, today the park has become a cherished weekend oasis for Copenhageners. Hiking and biking trails traverse the park, and lush fields beckon nature-seekers and families with picnic baskets. The deer are everywhere; in the less-trafficked regions of the park you may find yourself surrounded by an entire herd of deer delicately stepping through the fields. The park's centerpiece is the copper-top, 17th-century Eremitagen, formerly a royal hunting lodge. It is closed to the public but is sometimes rented for private events. Dyrehaven is a retreat for hikers and bikers, but you can also go in for the royal treatment and enjoy it from the high seat of a horse-drawn carriage. The carriages gather at the park entrance near the station.

Islands Brygge's main claim to fame is its harbor bath, which draws visitors from all over the city on summer days. The bath consists of five pools that are filled with water from the harbor and several jumping boards. In the winter there’s a club for ice swimmers, complete with a sauna.

Samsø’s northern peninsula is home to two stunning natural areas, Ballebjerg (on the west coast of the island) and Issehoved, the island’s northernmost point. The round, sloping hills are a joy to walk in, and from the top of them you can see Jutland, Zealand, and several small islands. There’s a beautiful beach at Issehoved, while Ballebjerg---which is the island’s highest point---is one of the most beautiful sunset spots in Denmark. Amenities: none. Best for: sunset, walking.

The first settlers in the Tórshavn area, believed to be Irish monks, settled on the southernmost tip of the island at Streymoy, just 10 km (6 miles) outside of the capital. Although the cathedral, built around 1300, remains unfinished, it's still the largest medieval structure on the islands. Next door is one of the world's oldest inhabited wooden houses, the Roykstovan farmhouse, which dates to the 11th century and has been occupied by the same family since 1550.

Aarhus's historic heart is a jumble of quaint, cobblestoned streets, cute cafés, and colorful houses. Spend at least one day strolling through Graven, Volden, Klostergade, Badstuegade, Borggade, and Rosensgade, whiling away hours at the many coffee shops, designer boutiques, and restaurants in the area.

The island of Møn is most famous for its dramatic chalk cliffs, known in Danish as Møns Klint. Circled by a beech forest, the milky-white bluffs plunge 400 feet to a small, craggy beach with jade-green waters—accessible by more than 500 steps. Fossils on the beach suggest that the cliffs are 70 million years old. The cliffs attract tens of thousands of visitors each year, who come for the views and to be close to nature.

Visit on a sunny day if you can, and park at the top of the cliff and walk down.

This pretty harborfront neighborhood, whose name means "new harbor," is perhaps the most photographed location in Copenhagen. It was built 300 years ago to attract traffic and commerce to the city center. Until 1970, the area was a favorite haunt of sailors. Though restaurants, boutiques, and antiques stores now outnumber tattoo parlors, many old buildings have been well preserved and retain the harbor's authentic 18th-century maritime character. You can even see a fleet of old-time sailing ships from the quay. Hans Christian Andersen lived at various times in Nyhavn houses at numbers 18, 20, and 67.

Even more famed than the area's sand-buried church is the west coast's dramatic Råbjerg Mile, a protected desert-like migrating dune that moves about 50 feet a year. You can reach it on foot from the Kandestederne.

This cultural and culinary hub used to be an artificial island home to a historical shipyard, but the island has been annexed with the rest of Amager, and the shipping industry is long gone. Instead, Refshaleøen’s former factories are being turned into art galleries, not-so-micro-breweries, busy beach bars, music venues, and gourmet restaurants. It's the perfect place to while away an afternoon and evening.

A postcard favorite, this rocky promontory dividing the harbor has been the home of the Faroese parliament for more than 1,000 years. It also hosts a bundle of red sod-roofed cottages built in the 16th and 17th centuries that are cute enough to pinch. The prime minister's office is in the last building, but the marks of Viking chieftains long gone are still visible in the rocks to practiced eyes. A guide is recommended.

It might be one of Copenhagen’s shortest streets, but Værnedamsvej is also one of the most charming. The mix of cafés (Granola is a beloved institution), cheese and flower shops, bookshops, wine bars, bistros, and designer boutiques gives the street a Parisian feel, and it’s lovely from early morning to late night.

The residents of Klampenborg are lucky enough to have this pleasant beach nearby. In summer this luck may seem double-edged, when scores of city-weary sunseekers pile out at the Klampenborg S-train station and head for the sand. The Danes have a perfect word for this: they call Bellevue a fluepapir (flypaper) beach. Bellevue is still an appealing seaside spot to soak up some rays. Amenities: lifeguards, showers, toilets. Best for: partiers, swimming.

This masterpiece of fantasy and architecture is Europe's oldest stock exchange. Børsen was built between 1619 and 1640, with the majority of the construction in the 1620s. Christian IV commissioned the building in large part because he wanted to make Denmark the economic superpower and crossroads of Europe. Rumor has it that, when it was being built, he was the one who twisted the dragons' tails on the spire that tops the building. When it opened, it was used as a medieval market, filled with shopping stalls. Though parts of Børsen still operate as a stock exchange, the bulk of the building houses the chamber of commerce, and the interior isn't open to the public except on special occasions such as Culture Night, held in mid-October. Across the canal, look for a square, modern building: the Nationalbanken (Denmark's central bank), designed by the famed Danish designer and architect Arne Jacobsen.

Trees, flowers, ponds, sculptures, and the spectacular 19th-century Palmehuset (Palm House) of tropical and subtropical plants blanket the garden's 25-plus acres. There's also an observatory and a geological museum. Take time to explore the gardens and watch the pensioners feed the birds. Some have been coming here so long that the birds actually land on their fingers.

In the 19th century, the tiny island of Fanø (30 km [19 miles] northwest of Ribe—plus a 12-minute ferry from Esbjerg) had an enormous shipbuilding industry and a fleet second only to Copenhagen's. The shipping industry deteriorated, but the maritime heritage remains. Today Fanø is a summer oasis for legions of Danes and other northern Europeans. Silky sand beaches unfold along the west coast, buffered by windswept dunes and green reeds. Cars are allowed on the beach, and it's well worth taking a ride along the flat sandy coast between the ferry port in Nordby, Fanø's capital, and the traditional town of Sønderho, 13 km (8 miles) to the south. Spinning along the white sandy expanse is like crossing a desert; only the dark blue sea off in the distance reminds you of your island whereabouts. The beach is so level and wide that the military used to train here. In the off-season, when summer visitors have returned home, the Fanø shore becomes a tranquil retreat, hauntingly silent save for the rustle of reeds and the far-off squawk of a bird.

Free tours of the Folketinget, the Danish Parliament, are given on weekends, holidays, and certain other days. A full list of the days the grand parliament building accepts visitors is on its website. You can sign up for a tour in advance or pick up a ticket when they are distributed at 10 am on tour days. You can also visit the tower and see the view for free most days.

Not far from the Little Mermaid, this fountain illustrates another dramatic myth. The goddess Gefion was promised as much of Sweden as she could plow in a night. The story goes that she changed her sons into oxen and used them to portion off what is now the island of Zealand.