Things to Do in Denmark: City Guides & Audio Tours

Denmark is a country of islands, coasts and cultivated lowlands, shaped by centuries of seafaring, farming, trade and political change. From Viking history and medieval churches to modern cities and maritime landscapes, there are many things to do in Denmark—and Neywo offers free audio guides for 15 cities, with 1,058 narrated places in total.

What to see and do in Denmark

Explore Denmark’s Viking and medieval history

Denmark’s history is closely connected with the sea. Its unified kingdom emerged in the eighth century as a maritime power competing for control of the Baltic. Danish Vikings were accomplished sailors who also farmed, fished and traded, travelling widely across Europe and beyond.

The Jelling stones are among the most important places for understanding this early history. These runestones are associated with Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth, and the larger stone is popularly known as Denmark’s baptismal certificate. It records an important stage in the formation of the Danish kingdom.

The country’s medieval heritage can also be seen in its churches and cathedrals. Romanesque churches appeared during the Middle Ages, followed by Gothic churches and cathedrals. Many older churches still contain frescos, offering a glimpse of the religious and artistic world of medieval Denmark.

Visit Copenhagen and Zealand

Copenhagen lies on Zealand, Denmark’s largest and most populated island. Around two fifths of the country’s people live there, making the island a central place to experience Denmark’s urban life, institutions and history.

The capital is part of the Capital Region, where Neywo also covers Copenhagen, Dragør, Elsinore, Hillerød and Klampenborg. Together, these destinations present different sides of the region, from the capital’s institutions and monuments to historic towns, fortifications and royal architecture.

Elsinore is home to Kronborg Castle, while Hillerød offers Frederiksborg Castle Church and the Det Nationalhistoriske Museum. Dragør’s narrated places include Kongelund Fort, Dragør Fort, Danmarks Lodsmuseum and Amagermuseet. In Klampenborg, the highlights include Garderhøj Fort, Charlottenlund Palace, Bernstorff Palace and Museum Ordrupgaard.

Roskilde, listed separately from the regional pages, is another important destination on Zealand. Its narrated places include Roskilde Cathedral, the Viking Ship Museum, Rockmuseet and Cathedral Square.

Discover the central Danish cities

The landscape of Denmark is largely flat and arable, with sandy shores, forests and coasts rather than dramatic mountain ranges. The Central Denmark region offers several ways to explore this balance between urban culture, industrial history and the countryside.

Aarhus is one of the country’s richest destinations for museums and historic places. Neywo’s narrated highlights include The Old Town, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Moesgaard Museum and Aarhus Cathedral.

Further across the region, Brædstrup and Horsens reveal layers of industrial and social history. Brædstrup’s narrated places include Horsens Statsfængsel, Horsens Art Museum, Danish Industrial Museum and Horsens museum. Horsens itself features the Danish Industrial Museum, Horsens Statsfængsel, Horsens Art Museum and Horsens museum.

Juelsminde connects the region with local heritage and traditional landscapes. Its narrated places include Uldum Mølle, Danmarks Ferguson Museum, Glud Museum and Hjortsvang Museum.

See the heritage of Southern Denmark

The Southern Denmark region includes cities where fortifications, museums and historic buildings trace Denmark’s changing relationship with industry, defence and culture.

In Fredericia, Neywo covers Det Hvide Vandtårn, Den tapre Landsoldat, Fredericia and Den Historiske Miniby. Kolding’s highlights include Koldinghus, Harteværket, Trapholt and Kommandocentralen.

Odense is associated with a major figure in Danish literature: Hans Christian Andersen. The city’s narrated places include St. Canute’s Cathedral, Lindved, Lumby Mølle and Hans Christian Andersen’s Childhood Home.

Vejle offers access to places connected with Denmark’s earlier history and transport networks. Its highlights include Jelling Church, Ravning Bridge, Bindeballe Station and Museum Give.

Experience Denmark’s coasts, islands and countryside

Water is one of the defining features of Denmark. The country occupies the northern Jutland peninsula and an archipelago between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Much of the land consists of low, cultivated terrain surrounded by coasts, while forests, heathlands and sandy shores add variety to the landscape.

Gudhjem, on Bornholm, is one of the destinations that brings this island character into focus. Its narrated places include Hammershus, NaturBornholm, Bornholm Art Museum and Kongemindet.

Denmark’s natural landscape has been heavily shaped by people. Much of its original temperate forest was cleared or fragmented to make room for agriculture, contributing to the spread of heathlands and damaging sand drifts. Today, second-growth woodland remains, and forests still cover part of the country. The scenery is defined less by elevation than by the close meeting of fields, forests, islands and sea.

Understand modern Danish society

Denmark combines a constitutional monarchy with a single-chamber parliament, the Folketing. Its economy joins a free market with extensive welfare provision and strong worker protection, an approach often called the Nordic Model.

The Constitution of 1849 ended absolute monarchy. Earlier, Denmark had joined Norway and Sweden in the Kalmar Union; later wars and the Second Schleswig War brought territorial losses, including Schleswig and Holstein. These changes contributed to a stronger sense of belonging to a smaller, more unified country.

Danish culture shares deep roots with Sweden and Norway but has its own language, institutions and traditions. Danish is the de facto national language of Denmark. Christianity remains the dominant religion, and the Church of Denmark is Protestant and Lutheran. At the same time, Danish society is broadly described as progressive, egalitarian and socially liberal. Denmark was the first country to legally recognise same-sex partnerships.

Explore Denmark with Neywo’s free audio guides

Neywo covers 15 cities in Denmark with 27 walking tours and 1,058 narrated places in total. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Download the app and explore at your own pace: each story plays as you reach the place, so you can understand what you are seeing without joining a group or following a schedule.