Denmark Itinerary

Copenhagen is a nice place to base yourselves. There’s always more to see in this enjoyable city.
If you’re into history— be sure to take the 30-minute train to Roskilde to see the medieval city center, the Viking Ship Museum and Roskilde Cathedral, where all of Denmark’s monarchs are interred.
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen has the largest Viking ship anywhere on display along with amazing Viking artifacts.

Odense Station has left luggage boxes, Prices range from 30 to 80 DKK per day depending on size. Pay by credit card.

But as much as I love Odense and Ribe I think you should go to Aarhus. It has

• a cathedral as nice as Ribe's
• "The Old Town", a collection of old houses from different areas of Denmark from different periods, arranged in clusters with houses from same period, so you can walk around in neighbourhood from a specific period.
• AROS if you are into art (I'm not)

If you like "The Old Town", you might also like "Frilandsmuseet" near Copenhagen. Same concept, but more focused on rural buildings. And Odense has "The Funen Village" but it might be too far for a day trip.

I agree with the posters above.

Copenhagen is a good base. It has a lot to offer in itself, and there are many good and easy day trips you can go on. Also for history interested.

Ribe is a nice, historic, but also small town of less than 10,000 people. It's the sort of place to visit during peak summer, but still it does not have as much to offer for multiple days (unless you were to explore the nature of the Wadden Sea, probably a car would be required).

Aarhus on the other hand is a nice, modestly sized city. When I read your post, I too thought about Aarhus as a good option for you. So I think that is a good alternative, and something worth to consider. If it has interest to you, I can also recommend Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus, with exhibitions about life from the stone age to medieval times - mostly about pre-historic times.

If it works better for your itinerary, Odense is doable as a day trip from Copenhagen. It's about a 90 minute one way train ride.

We stayed 2 overnights in Odense giving us a full day to visit Odense's Living History Village - Funen. The town also has a compact historic center, HC Andersen sites, a good museum.

If you like living history museums, there is also a fine one outside Copenhagen - easy public transport. Open Air Museum – Frilandsmuseet. I'm an open air/living history fan, but even I would say it isn't "necessary" to visit both Funen and Frilandsmuseet. Frilandsmuseet is bigger.

Kronborg Castle is well worth a day trip from Copenhagen - historic city center and fine Maritime Museum as well as the castle.

I wish I had brushed up on my Danish and Scandinavian history before our visit to Frederiksborg Castle and museum. Extensive, impressive, but I would have enjoyed more with an AI notion of historical chronology in mind.

Have a great trip!

Here is my trip report for my family of 6 from 2023. 15 days, flying into Stockholm and departing from Copenhagen. We kept it simple staying in central Stockhom (Gamla Stan), Cabin on Visingsö, then a hostel in Copenhagen and doing day trips for everywhere else.

DJ

Lots of excellent info here! Just want to echo kenko with a shout-out for amazing Roskilde! The ship museum alone is worth the trip. The (very Goth) cathedral is the icing on the magical cake.

Aarhus is also a fab city, with an international student vibe and lots of laid-back charm. I have not done any tourist stuff there, so can’t give any recommendations. I have always just hung out with family. But I can vouch for the fact that it’s a welcoming, vibey place.

You can easily fill 5 days in Copenhagen with a few day trips. In addition to the usual tourist stops, you may enjoy the tour of Copenhagen City Hall. We always recommend the Cisterns in Søndermarken, an underground art exhibit space that is unique.

For a day trip, we also really liked the Viking Ship Museum and cathedral in Roskilde.

Aarhus is very nice too. In addition to the places already mentioned, there is a small Occupation Museum we found fascinating.

To me, being in a smaller town is the advantage of stopping in Odense and then Ribe.

Another recommendation for the Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus. It's a bit outside the city, so you might need a car (we had one). Also, Den Gamble Bey. Between those two museums, you can fill the better part of two days in Aarhus and there is more that is worth your time. I don't think three days would be too much (but two days would be acceptable).

Den Gamble Bey

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you mean "Den Gamle By" (= "The Old Town") - see link in my post above.