Nationalmuseet

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Lonely Planet review

If you want to learn more about Danish history and culture, you couldn't do better than spending an afternoon at Nationalmuseet, opposite the western entrance to Slotsholmen.

The National Museum has first claims on virtually every antiquity found on Danish soil. These range from the Upper Palaeolithic period to the 1840s and include Stone Age tools, Viking weaponry and impressive Bronze Age, Iron Age and rune-stone collections. Don't miss the exhibition of bronze lurs, some of which date back 3000 years and are still capable of blowing a tune, and the finely crafted 3500-year-old Sun Chariot, unearthed in a Zealand field a century ago. There are sections related to the Norsemen and Inuit of Greenland, collections of 18th-century Danish furniture and a 'Please Touch' exhibition for sight-impaired visitors.

The museum also has an excellent toy museum, a brilliant hands-on children's section, a fine collection of Greek, Roman and medieval coins, and a Classical Antiquities section complete with Egyptian mummies. There's a café as well as a gift shop on the premises.