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Eight Days in Denmark

Posted by (St. Paul, MN) on

My wife and I will be in Denmark May 27-June 4. We have tentatively planned to go to Aarhus for the first three days then spend the next five in Copenhagen. We are open to suggestions about our time in Denmark. We want to experience smaller cities/towns/villages and realize we are currently planning to be in the two largest cities. Our thinking is that the three hour train ride to Aarhus will give us a sense of the countryside. Our time in Aarhus and the Old Town will give us a new experience. Our time in Copenhagen will include a day in Roskilde and perhaps some other location sbesides enjoying Copenhagen.

Here are a few of questions:
1. Is it worth it to go to Aarhus or is there somewhere closer that will give us a complementary experience to Copenhagen?
2. We are not "night people," so should we stay in Roskilde, a smaller more intimate setting, and train in to Copenhagen most days to see the sights or is it more advantageous to simple locate in Copenhagen and train out to places like Roskilde?
3. What other places would be worth visiting or staying at for a few days? I know RS is high on Aeroskobing, but that seems a bit far and too quiet for a more complete experience of Denmark's various settings.
4. In an earlier post we asked about E-biking and still wonder what place may be good for that. We know that Drager is real close to Copenhagen and on the water. Would biking around there offer an enjoyable, more leisurely location for biking? What other location would you recommend?

Posted by
107 posts

Are you including your arrival and departure days in the 8 days you will spend in Denmark? If so, then I would concentrate on Copenhagen and day trips from there, rather than take the time to travel to/from Aarhus. Aarhus is great, but you’ll want at least two days to see Aarhus, plus 3-4 hours travel time each way. And if you are interested in smaller towns, you may want to save that for another trip. Also, while Copenhagen is the biggest city in Denmark, it is not as huge and busy as other capital cities.

Taking three day trips would break up the city time too. Roskilde (Viking Ship Museum and Cathedral), Hillerød (Frederiksborg Castle), and Helsingør (Kronborg Castle and the Maritime Museum) are all within an hour’s train ride from Copenhagen.

Helsingør is an option for an overnight, it is a lovely, smaller town. Over 2 days, you could stop at Louisiana Museum of Art on the way up, then see Kronborg Castle and the Maritime Museum while in Helsingør.

I don’t have e-biking experience. But the island of Møns would be a great place to experience the countryside and small towns of Denmark and do some biking and spend a night or two. It is best to rent a car to get there. Denmark is an easy place to drive a rental car.

Dragør is a cute town, but very small and involves taking the metro to the airport and then the bus.

Posted by
55 posts

Barb, thank you for your insights. It gives us much to consider.

Posted by
303 posts

You’re running into a lack of time. I get it, don’t we all wish we could have longer vacations?

Your initial thought about time allocation between Copenhagen and Aarhus makes a lot of sense, if you were to focus on cities. I think Aarhus is a great destination and well worth the trip from Copenhagen. But I think your itinerary will get too rushed if you want to visit both Copenhagen, Aarhus and smaller towns.

2:

Roskilde is a nice town with a pleasant atmosphere (maybe except Sundays, depending on the perceiving eyes, as this is when most shops are closed). Having lived there myself, I think it is a shame that most visitors only see the cathedral and the viking ship museum before they rush back to Copenhagen.

But if Copenhagen is your main destination, you’ll probably prefer to stay there. That would be my choice and recommendation, anyway, as I don’t like to spend too much time of my vacation on commuting. But the real world is nuanced. If your hotel choice in Copenhagen is in a location where it will take you 15 minutes to reach the centre by the metro, then the 25 minute train ride from Roskilde to the centre of Copenhagen is not bad in comparison (just a bit more expensive).

4:

Dragør is pleasant, but would not be at the top of my list.

There is a lot of inspiration to be found regarding bicycle routes from Visit Copenhagen, Visit North Zealand, Visit Fjordlandet and Visit Aarhus (and probably many more).

2-wheel bicycles can be brought free of charge on Copenhagen’s S-train network. You have to pay to bring it on the metro and most other trains (though currently, on a trial basis, it’s free on DSB’s regional trains except during rush hours).

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the national road safety rules for bicyclists, to keep you and everyone else safe. Look out for the specific rules for hand signals and how to perform a left turn.

Posted by
55 posts

Dear Broccoli,
Thanks for your information and recommendations. The bike websites are particularly helpful. We will probably stay in Aarhus and Copenhagen and visit Roskilde one of our days in Copenhagen. Yes, time is always an issue. We feel good about our decisions knowing we are also spending weeks elsewhere in Europe. We don't feel rushed because as people in our 70s we are quite interested in simply walking around, enjoying the community and finding quaint places to eat and visit. Thanks again. Your words help confirm our decisions.

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