Top 10 places to see in Denmark
Top 10 places to see in Denmark
Denmark is a small country. But you will be surprised by the number of gorgeous and well-kept small towns, islands, castles – and a few surprising natural wonders.
Here are our ten choices. One of them is not even in Denmark but we included it for a good reason:
SEE THE LOCATION OF EACH PLACE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST
1. Copenhagen
Undoubtedly, the capital is the starting point for visiting Denmark. If you only have a few days for Denmark then Copenhagen is where you should go. The urban area of Copenhagen has 1,5 million people and is Scandinavia’s largest city. It is packed with tourist attractions like the famous Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn and Amalienborg Palace. It is a safe, friendly, exciting but also expensive city and it will be a highlight of any visit to Europe.
2. The West Coast
If you like beautiful beaches and swimming in clean water the Danish West coast should not be missed. Summer in Denmark is much better than people think. The days are 15 hours long and the water temperature can get up to 20 or even 21 degrees celsius making it great for swimming on a hot day. Do not go the West coast in the winter, though. It will be dark, cold and boring.
3. Bornholm
The island of Bornholm really is the gem of the Baltic Sea. It is one of the most relaxed and beautiful places that you will ever visit. People completely fall in love with it. The landscape is very different from the rest of Denmark as this is a rocky island with a rugged coastline. It is literally packed with small but gorgeous tourist sights like round churches, fantastic beaches, well preserved old villages and natural parks.
How to get there: The easiest is to drive across the bridge to Sweden and then take a ferry from the town of Ystad. That will take you about three and a half hours in total. The cheapest way is, however, to buy a bus ticket with the Kombardo Express all the way from Copenhagen to Bornholm for as little as 20 USD. Getting around Bornholm can be done with public transportation but it is difficult getting to the small villages and you will not see as much as if you bring a car.
4. Schleswig, Germany
The town of Slesvig and the province that it belongs to has been part of Germany since 1864. But it was Danish for all the time that is accounted for before that. It contains so much Danish history that there is no other place you can go and learn so much about Denmark.
The 900-years-old and huge cathedral is breathtaking and so is the castle of Gottorp. Just outside of Slesvig you can visit the site where the biggest town in Scandinavia (Hedeby) was located in the Viking era. And right next to it is the 30 kilometers long earth and brick wall that was Denmark’s border to Germany basically from the 400s to1864.
How to get there: It takes 4 hours to drive by car from Copenhagen or you can get there by train from the Copenhagen central station in 3 hours. (Between 300 and 600 DKK each way).
5. Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle is located on a peninsula with stunning views across the water to Sweden and should not be missed. This is where Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” takes place and it has played a huge role in Danish history.
It takes about 50 minutes to get there by car and a bit longer by train because you have to walk 15 minutes from the train station in Helsingør to the castle.
6. Frederiksborg Palace
The Versailles of Scandinavia. Hands down the most luxurious and extravagant castle in Scandinavia. Located on a lake and absolutely loaded with paintings, artwork, carvings and gold.
How to get there: 40 minutes and a ten minutes walk from Copenhagen by train.
7. Ribe
Ribe is the best preserved Medieval town in Denmark. A small river passes through and the cathedral from the 12th century dominates the town.
How to get there: 3-4 hours by car or train
8. Møns Klint
Denmark does not have a lot of dramatic landscapes but at Møns Klint you will be awed by the steep chalk cliffs rising straight up from sea. Be prepared for a tough walk up and down the stairs. On the beach you can find petrified fossils of squid from 70 million years ago when the chalk was the sea bed. They are actually quite easy to find and it is a great activity with kids.
Getting to Møns Klint is only really possible by car and takes two hours from Copenhagen.
9. Raabjerg Mile
Raabjerg Mile is a huge moving sand dune. It is one kilometer wide and one kilometer long and 40 meters high. The dune moves 15 meters every year covering everything in its path. It is an impressive and quite unique sight and you will have a lot of fun climbing it.
It is about about a five hour drive from Copenhagen by either car or train. You will not regret going to this part of the country where the summer days are even longer and the beaches are great.
10. Anholt
Denmark has about 100 inhabited islands (and many hundred uninhabited islands). Our favourite small island is Anholt. The island is almost exactly the same shape as the old Twitter logo but that is not why we love it. It is the geography that sets it apart. One quarter of the island is elevated by a big hill that gives you a great view over the rest of the island. This is where people live. The other three quarters of the island to the East is a natural park where there are no houses.
Take the 9 km walk from along a beach with huge sand dunes of bright white sand and see the light house and the seal colony at the far tip of the island before you walk back to the West through the desert for a well-deserved dinner in the harbour area.
How to get there: You can either take a ferry for three hours from the town of Grenå (which is four hours from Copenhagen). Or you can fly 35 minutes from the airport in Roskilde using the company Copenhagen Air Taxi.
Well… Yes and no. The monarch actually has a lot of power according to our constitution. He decides who is member of the government. He decides when to hold elections and laws are only valid if he has signed them. In practice, he always does what the Parliament wants. But if one day, he would refuse to sign a law, we would not really know what to do as there would be no constitutional way to force him to do so. It would cause a major headache for the Danish political system.
