121 Best Sights in Denmark

The Dutch Renaissance Rosenborg Castle contains ballrooms, halls, and reception chambers, but for all of its grandeur, it has an intimacy that makes you think the king might return at any minute. Thousands of objects are displayed, including beer glasses, gilded clocks, golden swords, family portraits, a pearl-studded saddle, and gem-encrusted tables. The underground treasury contains the crown jewels. The castle's setting is equally welcoming. It's in the middle of King's Garden, amid lawns, park benches, and shady walking paths.

King Christian IV built Rosenborg Castle as a summer residence but loved it so much that he ended up living here until his death. In 1849, when the absolute monarchy was abolished, all the royal castles became state property except for Rosenborg, which is still passed down from monarch to monarch.

A hit from the day it opened in 2004, this museum displays the more than 8,000 artworks dating from 1770 to the present that make up its own, impressive collection, as well as internationally known visiting exhibits. There is a café, a museum shop, and a much-Instagrammed rooftop terrace in the form of a rainbow, an artwork by the Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.

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.

Perched atop the dramatic stretch of cliffs called Helligdomsklipperne is this light-filled museum with a permanent collection mostly focused on artists with a connection to Bornholm. Though the art is beautiful, the architecture and surroundings are as much of a reason to visit. Make sure to walk down to the coast after visiting the museum; the walk from the museum to Gudhjem is one of Bornholm’s most spectacular hikes. You can get aboard the lovely MS Thor, which cruises between Gudhjem and Helligdomsklipperne in the summer months, and sail back.

En route from Christianshavn to Refshaleøen is Copenhagen's legendary freetown Christiania, which was founded in 1971 when students occupied army barracks. It's now a peaceful community of nonconformists, consisting of 630 adults and 130 kids, where wall cartoons preach drugs and peace. There are a number of businesses here, including a bike shop, a smithy, a rock-music club, and several good organic eateries. When exploring Christiania, make sure to leave the central, busy part of the community to walk around on the idyllic, pedestrian paths that run through the forest, past the riding school, along the lake, and between the imaginative self-built houses. English-language tours are offered year-round on weekends at 3 pm (daily from July to September).  Many inhabitants are not fond of cameras, and picture taking is forbidden on Pusher Street.

A former water reservoir has been transformed into one of Copenhagen’s most popular venues for contemporary art. The exhibitions change and it can be difficult to find the entrance to the underground reservoir; check the website for information before you head out.

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.

There are castles, and then there are castles. With its Renaissance main building, impressive moat, delicate spires, gigantic garden, and even grander knight's hall, Egeskov is one of Europe's most extraordinary buildings. After losing yourself in the grand halls, leave time for tree-top walking and exploring the forest, as well as for perusing the exhibitions about classic cars, historic dresses, and airplanes. The castle is home to the yearly Heartland Festival, which brings together Denmark's creative elite for three days of contemporary art and music, intellectual debates, and fine dining.

Locals call it "mini Christiania” for good reason: there are several similarities between Copenhagen’s freetown and this harbor-front community centered around more than 100 self-constructed houses. Most of them are based on former fishermen’s sheds, but nowadays the community is home to freethinkers of all income levels. There’s a street-food market and a harbor bath close to the community’s imaginative houses, so set aside at least half a day for exploring the area.

Since opening in 2019, this forest tower has been one of the most popular day-trips from Copenhagen. The 45-meter (148-foot) tall spiraling wooden structure towers over the trees below, and it’s as much an architectural masterpiece as it is a way to experience nature from a new angle. It’s part of Camp Adventure, a nature camp with a climbing park and a café. The tower is open year-round.

Price discounts for the climbing park are available online; children younger than 15 also pay a lower rate for the climbing park.

Hillerød's Frederiksborg Castle is one of the most beautiful of the Danish royal family's many castles. Danish builder King Christian IV tore down a previous castle on the site and built this Dutch Renaissance version in the early 1600s. The building is enclosed by a moat, covers three islets, and is topped with dozens of gables, spires, and turrets. Devastated by a fire in 1859, the castle was reconstructed with the support of the Carlsberg Foundation and now includes Denmark's Nationalhistoriske Museum (National History Museum), which contains the country's best collection of portraits and historical paintings. It also has an activity area where kids can dress up as historical figures.

Don't miss the gorgeous castle chapel Slotskirke, with its lacy ornamentation: Danish monarchs were crowned here for more than 200 years, and the house organ dates from 1610. The Baroque Gardens, rebuilt according to J. C. Krieger's layout from 1725, include a series of wide waterfalls that make the neatly trimmed park a lovely place for a stroll. Don't miss the floral sculptures of the current royals' official monograms.

After a massive renovation, this landmark museum reopened in 2021. It is dedicated to the famous fairy-tale author Hans Christian Andersen. The museum tells the story of his life through thousands of items related to the Danish author, from his vintage travel suitcases to his top hat, handwritten manuscripts, and poetic paper cuttings, as well as through highly interactive, audiovisual components. The museum is designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and is one of Denmark's biggest. There's a café, a labyrinth garden, and a cultural center for children in the basement. Tickets must be booked in advance.

Hammerknuden, the northernmost tip of Bornholm, is home to the island’s most dramatic cliffs and some stunning coastal walks and also to northern Europe’s biggest fortress ruin, Hammershus. The medieval fortress is perched atop a windy cliff with views of the Baltic Sea, and it’s the perfect crowning of a walk around the coast. Close to the ruin you’ll find Opalsøen, a jade-green lake in a former granite quarry. It’s popular for swimming, and the brave try the 8-meter (26-foot) cliffside jump. Scale the steep hill behind the lake to access a heath-clad area where sheep graze between lighthouses. The top of the island offers stunning views of Hammershus and a beautiful walk around the tip of Bornholm and back into charming Sandvig.

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.

This museum is in the elegant, airy manor of Baroness Karen Blixen, who wrote Out of Africa under the pen name Isak Dinesen. The manor house, to which she returned in 1931 to write her most famous works, now displays Blixen's manuscripts, sketches, photographs, and memorabilia documenting her years in Africa. Leave time to wander around the gorgeous gardens, which also function as a bird sanctuary.

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.

Copenhagen’s former meatpacking district has transformed into a hipster neighborhood with galleries, coworking spaces, fashion boutiques, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and nightclubs. The area is small and easy to explore on foot. Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, V1 Gallery, and Fotografisk Center are some of the best galleries, and the pizzeria Mother, the gourmet restaurant Gorilla, the brewpub Warpigs, and the bustling, bistro-like wine bar Paté Paté are some of the best places to eat. After dark, Mesteren & Lærlingen draws a casual crowd with its strong drinks and happy DJs.

Kronborg Castle dominates the city of Helsingør. Built in the late 1500s, it's the inspiration for Elsinore castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet (1601). Shakespeare probably never saw the castle in person, but he managed to capture its spirit—it's a gloomy, chilly place, where it's clear that an ordinary person today lives much better than kings once did. The castle was built as a Renaissance tollbooth: from its cannon-studded bastions, forces collected a tariff from all ships crossing the sliver of water between Denmark and Sweden. Well worth seeing are the 200-foot-long dining hall and the dungeons, where there is a brooding statue of Holger Danske (Ogier the Dane). According to legend, the sleeping Viking chief will awaken to defend Denmark when it's in danger. (The largest Danish resistance group during World War II called itself Holger Danske.)

It might be tempting to spend the day in the sculpture garden, which is surrounded by forest and home to sculptures by Olafur Eliasson, Jeppe Hein, and Bjørn Nørgaard, but Aalborg’s museum of modern art has much more to offer. Wander through the airy, light-filled galleries and divide your time between the permanent and changing exhibitions and the building itself, an architectural masterpiece by Alvar Aalto. The café has an ambitious lunch menu and is a wonderful spot to stop for a light meal or a coffee. There's free admission to the sculpture garden, which is open 24/7, outside of the museum's opening hours.

Occupying a former textile factory, this four-story building is home to one of Denmark's best—and first—museums of art and visual culture, an educational center specializing in the same subjects, and an art bookstore with a wide range of books. National and international exhibits shown here vary widely, but there's a focus on photography and visual art.

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.

At Legoland just about everything is constructed from Lego bricks—more than 58 million of them. Among its incredible structures are scaled-down versions of cities and villages from around the world (Miniland), with working harbors and airports; the Statue of Liberty; a statue of Sitting Bull; Mt. Rushmore; a safari park; and Pirate Land. Some of the park's other attractions are more interactive than the impressive constructions. The Falck Fire Brigade, for example, allows a family or group to race eight mini fire engines. The Power Builder Robots allow children and adults to sit inside robots as they program their own ride.

Back in the Iron Age, Lejre was the capital of the Lejre Kingdom; some scholars believe it's mentioned in Beowulf. These days it's best known as the home of the 50-acre Lejre Forsøgscenter, a pioneer in the field of experimental archeology. In summer a handful of hardy Danish families live here under the observation of researchers; they go about their daily routine grinding grain, herding goats, and wearing furs and skins, providing a clearer picture of ancient ways of life. Visitors can experience a Stone Age camp, a Viking market, and 19th-century farmhouses, and there's a large children's area.

The must-see Louisiana is a modern-art museum with fresh, temporary exhibitions and an impressive permanent collection that includes Picasso, Giacometti, and Warhol. Even if you're not an art lover, it's well worth the 30-minute trip from Copenhagen to see this beautiful combination of a 19th-century villa and modern Danish architecture, with its large sculpture garden and dramatic view of the Øresund waters. There's a children's section as well, where kids can draw and paint under the supervision of museum staff. In late August the museum is home to a literature festival with visits from some of the literary world's biggest names.

Officially the Frederiks Kirke, this ponderous Baroque sanctuary of precious Norwegian marble was begun in 1749 and remained untouched from 1770 to 1874 due to budget constraints. It was finally completed and consecrated in 1894. Around the exterior are 16 statues of various religious leaders from Moses to Luther, and below them stand sculptures of outstanding Danish ministers and bishops. You can can scale 273 steps to the outdoor balcony on the top of the church for great views of the queen's palace and the Opera, across the canal. Afterward, continue along Bredgade to the exotic gilded onion domes of the Russisk Ortodoks Kirke (Russian Orthodox Church).

Just south of the city is Marselisborg Palace, the summer residence of the royal family. The changing of the guard takes place daily at noon when the king is here. When the royal family is away (generally in winter and spring), the grounds, including a sumptuous rose garden, are open to the public. It's worth checking out Marselisborg Beach and especially the Infinite Bridge, a circular bridge floating over the water during the summer (in winter, it's taken down), while in the area. You can get here on several buses from the city center.