Things to do in Denmark
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Gæstgivergården
A pub-like atmosphere with everything from burgers and salads to traditional Danish fare, including some good-value specials. There’s often live music on Friday and Saurday nights.
reviewed
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Famo
This authentic Italian is usually crowded to the gunwales with enthusiastic foodie locals enjoying a fixed menu that might include wild mushroom risotto, squash puree and long-cooked tomato sauces with fresh, homemade pastas.
reviewed
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Fischer
Set in a converted workers’ bar, neighbourly Fischer serves Italian soul food such as freshly made linguini with aglio e olio (pasta with garlic, olive oil and chilli). That it’s all seriously good isn’t surprising considering owner and head chef David Fischer worked the kitchen at Rome’s Michelin-starred La Pergola.
reviewed
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Oscar
Oscar is a stylish, easy-going spot where you'll find gay men and their female friends having a bite to eat. It's an airy space, with room to breathe and substantial meals during the day (generally pasta and soup dishes). Oscar can seem so low-key in daylight hours that you may not realise it's a 'gay' place till you spy portraits of Oscar Wilde on the wall.
reviewed
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Alberto K
The modern Italian cuisine served here is a match for the panoramic view at this 20th-floor hotel restaurant, which is really saying something. The menu blends locally sourced game and fish with Italian ingredients – the venison with aged balsamic, pimento and a roast garlic and potato terrine being a good example. The restaurant has a well-established, international wine cellar.
reviewed
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Oranje
Specialties aboard the 100-year-old flower-decked sailing ship Oranje, one of Funen’s best restaurants, are mainly fish-based, for example fish soup (78kr), although there are a few meat choices such as pork medallions. The food is fresh and the ambience charming. On-board tables are made from old ships’ hatches, with plastic ones on land for those without sea legs.
reviewed
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Rasmus Oubæk
Rasmus Oubæk is one of Denmark’s top chefs but he quit the high stress, low profit world of Michelin-starred dining a while back to open this elegant little traditional French place in the city’s royal quarter. We wouldn’t ordinarily recommend that you try out-and-out French bistro cooking in Copenhagen, but Oubæk’s food is just so good – he does dishes such as duck confit and steak tartar better than most French chefs could ever dream of.
reviewed
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David's Café
David ’ s Café David’s is decorated with modern artwork and has a shining tiled floor and high glass ceiling. It serves sandwiches, salads and quiches, and coffee in cute multicoloured glasses. There’s a sunny garden out the back. In July, it opens on Friday and Saturday evening. Free wi-fi.
reviewed
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Elmelunde Kirke
One of Denmark’s oldest stone churches, Elmelunde Kirke dates back to 1080. The vaults were painted by the ‘Elmelunde master’. His awesome frescoes span everything from the Creation to Christ in judgement. There’s a splendid serpent in the Garden of Eden, with a snakelike body and human head; Herod’s soldiers dressed in medieval armour; a devil leading the damned into the monstrous mouth of hell; and several hunting scenes, reminders of the shortness of human life. Go and gape. There’s a service held each Sunday, after which the church is closed.
reviewed
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GeoCenter Møns Klint
The brand-new high-tech GeoCenter Møns Klint, located at Store Klint, is a place of wonders. Imaginative displays (in Danish, German and English) explain how the cliffs were formed, show off an orderly fossil collection and bring alien-looking Cretaceous sea creatures to life. Kids absolutely love the inventive hands-on nature centre. There are also roaming experts to answer any questions. Upstairs is a flash-looking café, selling coffee, cakes and open sandwiches. Access for people in wheelchairs is excellent.
reviewed
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Bryghuset Møn
There’s a café inside Luffes Gård courtyard, serving burgers, omelettes, quiches and sandwiches, and a few fishy and steaky mains at night, but the chief draw is beer brewed in Stege’s microbrewery. Go right through the courtyard to admire its shining copper vats.
reviewed
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Vikingemuseet Ladby
Denmark’s only Viking Age ship grave, also known as Ladbyskibet, is a captivating site. At the time of writing, it was being beefed up by Vikingemuseet Ladby, a new museum that will display finds from the grave, currently held in the National Museum in Copenhagen. It will no doubt provide fascinating background, but the main event will always be the Ladby ship itself, resting in its reconstructed burial mound a short walk from the museum.
reviewed
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Bryghuset
This is one of the most popular dining and drinking options on the island, known throughout Denmark for its excellent beers brewed on the premises. If you haven’t already eaten, it also serves decent, hearty pub grub. A sampler of all three of its beers (a pilsner, an ale and a stout) costs 40kr.
reviewed
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Nexø Museum
In a picturesque 1796 sandstone building, the mildly diverting Nexø Museum features intriguing exhibits on Nexø’s history with a maritime theme. There are also elaborate reconstructions of fishermen’s dwellings.
reviewed
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Røgeriet i Svaneke
You’ll find a huge selection of excellent, smoked fare at the long counter here, including wonderful smørrebrød, great trout, salmon, herring, shrimp, fried fish cakes and tasty frikadeller (Danish meat balls). Accompany it with remoulade and chips then wash it all down with the local ale. Choose to eat inside with a view of the massive, blackened doors of the smoking ovens or at the outdoor picnic tables overlooking the old cannons. It’s by the water at the end of Fiskergade, north of the town centre.
reviewed
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Valdemars Slot
One of Christian IV’s lavish palaces, Valdemars Slot was built for his son Valdemar Christian in 1644. Valdemar never actually lived here –he died on a Polish battlefield at the age of 34 – and the castle itself was badly damaged in the Danish-Swedish wars. It was gifted to the naval hero Niels Juel, who transformed it into the baroque mansion you see today. His descendants still live here, but parts of the building are open to the public. There’s no admission charge to the grounds or sandy beach, just outside the southern gate. In May and June, watch out for the thousands of tiny frogs overrunning the estate. The café here is a toast, ice-cream and apple pie servery.…
reviewed
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Hjejlen
The Hjejlen, the world’s oldest operating paddle steamer, has been faithfully plying the waters of the Lake District since it was first launched in 1861. These days the boat shuttles tourists from Silkeborg to the foot of Himmelbjerget during the summer season (10am and 2pm daily, July to mid-August). The operators have other boats regularly plying the same route during this period, and from May to September. The route (adult one way/return 75/105kr, 1¼ hours) takes in a wealth of river and lake scenery and is one of the most popular outings in the Lake District.
reviewed
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Jailhouse CPH
This two-storey, jail-themed restaurant-bar is one of the most popular venues on the Copenhagen gay scene.
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Stege Kirke
It looks as though a demented nine-year-old has been let loose inside Stege Kirke, built in the 13th century by one of the powerful Hvide family. Walls and ceiling are covered in endearingly naive 14th- and 15th-century frescoes in red and black paint: monkey-like faces sprout from branches, a hunter chases unidentifiable animals, and a sorrowful man is covered in big red blobs…measles?
reviewed
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Tivoli
There are three entrances to Tivoli: the main one on Vesterbrogade, another opposite the main entrance to the Central Station and one on HC Andersens Blvd opposite Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. You pay both for entrance and then again for whatever rides you choose thereafter (usually around 25kr each), although a multiride ticket covers all the rides, among them the Star Flyer, reputedly the world’s tallest carousel. There are also plenty of free shows, including the Saturday-night fireworks (on show from mid-June to mid-August), the nightly laser show spectacular and the live band at Plænen every Friday at 10pm from mid-April to late September. Check the website for…
reviewed
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Brandts Klædefabrik
The former textile mill on Brandts Passage has been converted into a sprawling cultural centre and cinema, Brandts Klædefabrik, with a photography museum, modern art gallery and exhibition tracing the history of the Danish media. Bright and capacious, it holds around 25 changing exhibitions annually by artists from all over the world. People aged under 18 are admitted free.
reviewed
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Danmarks Jernbanemuseum
Clamber aboard a diverting collection of 19th-century locomotives at Danmarks Jernbanemuseum, just behind the train station. The museum has about two dozen engines and wagons, including double-decker carriages and the Royal Saloon Car belonging to Christian IX, fully kitted out with everything a king might need – even a writing desk. There’s also a huge collection of Märklin model trains, and a separate exhibition about Denmark’s ferries. Audiovisual explanations are in English, German and Danish.
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Helligåndsklostret
An alley between the Aalborg Historiske Museum and post office leads to the rambling Helligåndsklostret, which dates from 1431 and is home to some fascinating frescoes. The interior can only be visited on a guided tour arranged through the tourist office.
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Dexter’s Jazzhus
The only dedicated jazz venue outside Copenhagen.
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Pingvin Tapas & Vincafé
Definitely one of our favourites and it seems we’re not alone. This warm restaurant-bar offers a brilliant selection of 30 ‘tapas’ (it’s not so much a place to order dishes to share among a group, but more an individual tasting-plate approach). Make your selection and sit back to enjoy taste sensations such as figs wrapped in Parma ham, smoked duck breast on coleslaw or prawns cooked with sun-dried tomatoes and chilli. There’s a superb wine list, plus lunch-friendly one-stop dishes such as soup, sandwiches and burgers.
reviewed