🇩🇰 Denmark: 15 unique experiences for an unforgettable trip
People who say Kandy Navia is boring seem to have never been to this part of the world. We have already offered options for what to do in Sweden and Norway. Next up is fabulous Denmark! And it’s not just about the main children’s writer Andersen.
LEGO, the July procession of Santa Claus and the Faroe Islands with stunning nature – we have collected the best activities that you can do in the kingdom.
Go to the Santa Claus Congress
A few minutes north of Copenhagen is the Bakken amusement park. It is there that the World Santa Claus Congress takes place every summer. Since 1957, in July, the main New Year's characters from different countries come to Denmark to march in a solemn parade and delight the audience.
During the procession, grandfathers not only take photos with everyone, but also discuss professional things – how much they can weigh and what size chimneys should be. In addition to outdoor entertaining activities, Santas also participate in various competitions with each other.
Ride the Danish metro
Have you ever dreamed of feeling like a machinist? Every Danish metro passenger has this opportunity. It was opened in Copenhagen in 2002, so it is considered one of the youngest and most modern in Europe.
The Copenhagen subway is fully automated, meaning there is no driver's cab in the leading car. So every passenger has the opportunity to take a seat in front. And given the fact that out of 22 stations, nine are underground, and 12 are on the ground and on overpasses, an unforgettable experience is guaranteed.
By the way, the final station is called “Lufthaun”. If you are flying to Denmark by plane, then there is an exit to Terminal 3 of Kastrup Airport. Very comfortably! Please note that the local metro operates 24 hours a day!
Try smorrebred
The calling card and the king of Danish cuisine is translated as “named bread” (SMØR – butter, BRØD – bread). Any Dane will not allow this dish to be called an ordinary sandwich. Everything here is scientific – a multi-story building in which the ingredients are placed strictly in a certain order, and the bread must be rye.
Products for cooking can be bought in a regular supermarket, but it is difficult to find them outside the country. For locals, all these “exotic”, from the point of view of foreigners, marinades and sauces are ordinary products of daily consumption. The taste of the finished dish is so special that you will have to go to Denmark to get it.
There are many variations of smorrebred, but the classic one is the one with fish – herring, trout and salmon. The Danes love their sandwich so much that they eat it for both lunch and dinner. Despite the ease of preparation, smorrebred can be found in many restaurants. There are even establishments that specialize only in them.
Visit LEGO Park
Everyone knows LEGO, but only a few know that the birthplace of the famous designer is Denmark. In the small town of Billund, which is located 270 kilometers from Copenhagen, the world's largest Legoland is located. It was built back in 1968 from more than 46 million LEGO bricks of various sizes. The area of the park occupies approximately 100 thousand m2.
There are ten similar parks in the world, but it is the Danish one that offers visitors the most entertainment – from getting to know the world’s main attractions to a children’s driving school. There are a total of eight zones in the park, each of which has its own specifics and is equipped in accordance with thematic focus: World of Miniatures, World of Duplo, World of Imagination, Legoredo City, Land of Pirates, Kingdom of Knights, World of Adventures, Lego City.
The cheapest day ticket for one adult in Tartu starts from DKK 329, approximately $40.
By the way, there is also a hotel on the territory of the park, in which children's rooms are stylized according to different LEGO themes.
Visit Christiania
Houses are covered with several layers of graffiti, and informals walk the streets? Welcome to Christiania! The main hippie place not only in Copenhagen, but throughout Denmark. In a separate quarter of the capital, freedom in its purest form is concentrated, on the territory of which about a thousand people permanently reside. Everything is possible here except… hard drugs, cars, theft, firearms and taking photographs on the street.
A separate world with its own infrastructure – there is a sauna, a beauty salon, a first-aid post, public toilets, blacksmiths, carpentry and plumbing workshops that sell their products even in other EU countries. Despite the relatively small area of the district, it also has its own theater troupe, music studio, art workshops, cinema and several concert venues! In addition, for almost 40 years in Christiania there has been a football club , Christiania Sports Club, which plays in the sixth division of the Danish championship.
True, you won’t be able to show your friends a photo from your phone where you were; there is a ban on photo and video shooting.
Escape to the ends of the world
The Faroe Islands are a group of islands between Scotland and Iceland. They are part of the Danish Kingdom. Most people have not even heard of them, but football fans probably know, because the islands’ team, despite the population of 50 thousand people, plays in qualifying matches for the European and World Championships.
There are harp seal rookeries, houses with grass on the roofs, sheep, of which there are one and a half times more people than people, and no trees – where else will you see this?
- Gastronomy tour with Michelin guide – the most stellar restaurants in the world
- Parks made from children's construction sets: a review of all the Legolands on the planet
- The most unusual aquariums in the world
- 10 cities with the best public transport systems in the world
Since the Faroe Islands are not part of the Schengen zone, you will have to apply for a national visa to the Faroe Islands at the Danish consulate. You can get there by direct plane from Copenhagen (Copenhagen – Vágar), which flies several times a day. The flight will take about two hours. The second option is by sea. True, in this case the journey will take two days.
Visit the Carlsberg Brewery Museum
Especially if you love this drink – it’s a sacred thing. The products of this company are called the living beer of the North.
The plant itself in Copenhagen now serves only as a museum. But what! In the premises you can see equipment for making beer: brewing kettles, barrels and steam engines, laboratory equipment and a malthouse.
Tourists also have the opportunity to ride a horse: they carry barrels of beer and visitors. You can also look at the vintage cars that transported beer, workshops for the production of barrels, a collection of 10 thousand bottles of beer from all over the world, and taste craft varieties of the drink in the bar. It will not be boring!
Please note that the museum is closed for renovations until the fall of 2023.
Visit the Andersen House Museum
The Snow Queen, the Little Mermaid, Kai and Gerda, Thumbelina, Ole Lukoje, the Ugly Duckling – when visiting the Kingdom of Denmark in their homeland in the city of Odense (150 km from Copenhagen), tourists are pleased to see one of the most important storytellers – Hans Christian Andersen. Museum workers managed to preserve collections of paintings, manuscripts, drawings and personal belongings of the famous children's writer
The house-museum was recreated with maximum precision. Inside there are collections of paintings, manuscripts, drawings and personal belongings of the famous children's writer. The creators of the museum also updated the area around it: they restored the cobblestone pavement, restored the squat houses, and some buildings were specially transported here from other places.
Visit a huge aquarium
See sharks up close without diving? This can easily be done if you go to the town of Greno, which is 125 kilometers from the capital. Here, on the shores of the sea strait between Denmark and Sweden, the Kattegat public aquarium is home to more than 250 species of marine animals, including sharks, sea lions and seals, jellyfish and crabs.
The main exhibit of the museum is a large pool with sharks, which visitors can observe very closely. The bravest ones can choose diving with sharks. Admission for an adult will cost 180 DKK ≈ $26.
Take a walk through the park of singing trees
If you are in the north of the country, be sure to visit the city of Olberg. There is a unique park of singing trees here. It was founded in 1987 when British musician Cliff Richard planted a tree and invited other performers who visited Aalborg to do the same.
As a result, there are now more than 76 trees growing in the park. Near each there is a button, clicking on which will start playing the music of the singer who planted the plant. The event was attended by such stars as Elton John, Sting, Kylie Minogue, Tom Jones, Take That, Beyoncé, Bryan Adams and others.
We have named the most basic activities with which you should start getting acquainted with amazing Denmark. In addition to completing this list, do not forget to also go to the sea. Moreover, in this country, no matter where you are coming from, you can get to it in less than an hour.