Denmark’s capital Copenhagen is a charming city steeped in history, a fact magnificently reflected in its abundant historical architecture, like the majestic Town Hall Square, which is dominated by the nearly 120 year-old Copenhagen Town Hall, with its magnificent Italian Renaissance and medieval Danish architecture.
Nearby, stands as fun-park and arguably Copenhagen’s most popular attraction. Built in 1843, Tivoli amusement park is Europe’s oldest and features a medieval-style castle which was the inspiration for today’s Disney theme parks. The old-school fun-park attractions include a roller coaster, elaborately decorated carousels, halls of mirrors and pantomime shows, while every year in December Tivoli is transformed into a glittering Christmas wonderland.
Copenhagen’s oldest structure, the historic Kastellet is a meticulously preserved complex originally built in 1625 which is also open to highly-recommended tours. Kastellet is also home to The Little Mermaid a 1913 bronze sculpture and official city emblem, which is based on a fairy tale by renowned Danish writer H.C. Andersen.
The Round Tower (Rundetårn) is a 36-metre-high observatory in built in 1642, which today houses a small collection of artefacts connected with the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Visitors can climb a spiral ramp to the top platform for the spectacular views, then tread across a glass floor that offers spine-tingling view some 25 metres down into the castle’s core.
A quintessential example of the renowned Danish engineering prowess, the Oresund Bridge is an 8-km. long, multi-modal structure spanning the
Oresund Strait, between Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden. Fist opened in 2000, the combination rail-/roadway handles 17,000 vehicles every day, and is especially impressive when viewed from passenger aircraft on final approach to the city’s main airport.
Denmark is also home to LEGO, so it comes as no surprise that there is an attraction dedicated to the iconic building-block toy system, Legoland Billund. Located in central Denmark, this ‘mini-me’ city features displays of world famous buildings and iconic locales made entirely of LEGO blocks, rendered in impressively detailed miniature and comprising more than 50 million individual LEGO bricks.
Located near the town of Helsingor on the shores of the Oresund Strait, Kronborg Castle is a UN World Heritage site and has long been considered one of the most important castles in Northern Europe–for historical as well as literary provenance. Dating back to the late 1500’s, the imposing edifice is not only widely regarded as one of the world’s best examples of Renaissance architecture, it also has a place in literature as the setting of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, having been given the name Elsinore in the Brad’s epic tragedy.
Denmark’s Wadden Sea National Park is home to Mando Island–a charming coastal island community which lies just off the southwest coast of Jutland. The diminutive, 7-and-a-half square-kilometre island has less than 100 permanent inhabitants, and visiting here is a must for those wishing to escape the hustle-bustle of modern life, with picturesque beaches and quaint restaurants and cafes offering ultra-localised traditional home cooking.
Norseman history geeks, don your horned helmets and get ready for a visit to the Viking Ship Museum in the city of Roskilde, just west of the capital. This fascinating curation features a number of interactive exhibits–including those created specifically for young visitors. Arguably most interesting are displays actual Viking ship ruins that were discovered in Roskilde Fjord, as well as the on-site boat yard where visitors can watch as skilled craftsmen demonstrate ancient shipbuilding techniques.
