Denmark Itinerary for 7 days exploring beyond Copenhagen, by a local

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Everyone knows Copenhagen, and the more tourists I meet, the more I can see, that very often it is the only place, where people go in Denmark. Either way, Denmark has a lot more to offer than its capital, even though it is definitely worth it to visit Copenhagen. I have been living in Denmark for 6 years now, and I discovered so many special places here. So, let’s start with this Denmark Itinerary for 7 days (beyond Copenhagen) with the best things to do in Denmark.

When is the best time to visit Denmark?

The best time to visit Denmark highly depends on your taste and interests. I would say that the summer (from May to August) is great for road trips, and outdoor activities, but it is also the hottest time, meaning it can get to 30 degrees Celsius.

September is less touristy so I would say is an excellent time to visit, if you would like to avoid crowds.

For coziness, November and December are nice because there are a lot of Christmas markets around Denmark. It always depends on your Denmark travel itinerary as well.

Recommended: Best places to spend Christmas in Europe


Getting around Denmark

The best way to get around Denmark, especially in order to visit all of these cities beyond Copenhagen is by renting a car. It is the easiest way to stop along the way, and explore all the off-the-beaten-path places in Denmark.

Having a car will make an unforgettable Denmark Vacation especially if you are planning to visit Northern Denmark.

Outside Northern Denmark, it is doable to use trains and buses as methods of transportation.

7 days in Denmark Itinerary 2023 with the best places to visit in Denmark (Beyond Copenhagen)

Day 1 – Roskilde and Odense

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Roskilde is a town located half an hour from Copenhagen. For Danish people, it is known mostly for the local festival, which the stars like Eminem, Pink and others attend, that takes place every first week in July (when most of Denmark is on holiday).

For tourists, there is a different attraction. There’s enough for about half a day’s time, but it is still worth a visit.

Roskilde cathedral is the place where kings and queens and basically all the royal Danish family are buried when they die. The cathedral here is really breathtaking.

As a bonus, it is possible to see the combs with kings, which is super interesting. Overall Roskilde cathedral offers about 1000 years of Danish history from pagans to Christians.

Roskilde might be a good starting point for the day, so after visiting the cathedral, catch the train and move to the next stop, Odense. Odense is the birthplace of author Hans Christian Andersen – or as most people know him, the guy who wrote a little mermaid or ugly duckling.

Odense is quite a big city, but if you are here for the main attraction such as the childhood place of the writer and the historic center and his museum, another half a day is also quite enough. But to be honest, Odense is quite a nice city.

You can visit all the historic sites simply by following the steps that are on the sidewalk. They are called H.C. Andersen steps and it is made so he would guide you through the town.

Odense Pro Tips: For sci-fi fans, Odense has a brand-new museum with a history of sci-fi. In the exhibition, you can meet aliens, and robots but also watch a part of sci-fi from 50s. The entry fee is not too high (just about 100 dkk) and I spend there two hours.

Another tip would be to come to Odense for their flower festival which happens in the middle of August. The city is filled with flowers and statues made from flowers. This festival is all around the city center and it definitely brings extra sparkle to the town.

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Day 2 – Egeskov castle

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This time I would take my time and don’t rush like the previous day. This day is about taking a day trip.

Take a train to a little village called Egeskov. They have perhaps the most beautiful castle in Denmark with gorgeous gardens around.

The castle is located about a half an hour train drive from Odense. However, there is a twist – the castle is self is about 2 km from the train stop.

There is either bus, but it doesn’t come that regularly. If it is sunny enough you can also walk there – it is not too bad, and it took me about half an hour to get to the castle.

Otherwise, there are taxi services usually ready close to the train stop.

When you get to the place, the cashier might ask you if you want to go just to the gardens or to the castle as well. Go for both, it is worth it.

And then straight head to the castle, it is quite a small one and there are a lot of things to explore. Besides from the castle, you will have a good view of the gardens.

Gardens should be naturally the next stop. Except for the various flowers, you will get to see a lot of birds around. The ducks are quite normal for the lake that is around the castle, but there are also peacocks walking around.

This trip is actually meant for the whole day as the gardens are quite big and you can grab a bite inside of the interior of the castle.  After that head back to Odense, the trains come every half an hour.

Alternative to Egeskov castle:

About an hour from Odense is Svandeborg. The town itself isn’t too exciting, but it has a ferry to the Danish most beautiful island – Aero.

Aero is quite a big island, but at the same time, you can totally explore the highlights during a day trip. You can visit the Aero museum to get to know how people are living on an island that seems to be quite far from all the other Danish towns.

I recommend you to walk on the beach. The coast itself will offer you a small hike on the local dunes plus during the walk to the beach you will get to see cozy little houses.

Danes are using them just for the summertime. And if you are visiting during the summer, do not forget to take a swimwear so you can take a dip in the cold Baltic sea.

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Day 3 – Esbjerg

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On the third day move to the hometown of Aragorn. Yes, that is right, Viggo Mortensen is half Danish and he used to live in Esbjerg.

The town itself has quite a nice historical center – but to be honest, it is not too special from what you have seen in Odense. So sure, spend time here, but be aware that there is more to it.

After a cozy time in the city center, take a bus to the most famous sculpture in Esbjerg. The four men stare at the sea. The sculptures are really big, so you can see them from quite far away.

Here you have another opportunity to spend some time on the beach, but if that is not interesting, then across the road there is a museum of the fishery.

Expect to see there everything about fishing from the Viking age to the secrets of today’s fishing. But there is more to it. They have seals. Not stuffed, quite alive, and curious about visitors. Great attraction especially if you are traveling with kids.

Day 4 – Ribe

Let’s take another day trip. This time to a little historical town called Ribe. Ribe has the oldest cathedral in northern Europe.

In the cathedral, you will get to see the whole exhibition on Ribe’s history and why it is so important for Denmark. Also, feel free to climb to the tower and see Denmark from above. You will get to see how flat it is.

After visiting the cathedral spend some time in the town. There is one of the oldest houses in northern Europe that you can see, a monastery and you can even visit a Viking museum here.

Alternative day trips:

From Esbjerg, you can catch a ferry to a Danish island called Fano. Besides Fano’s cozy little houses close to the sea, you can also see their actual bunkers from the second world war.

There is nothing harmful in the area, so you can even go through them. Later on, when chilling on the beach, you might even spot wild seals.

Another day trip idea, which you might approve especially if you are traveling with children – catch a bus from Esbjerg to the oldest Legoland in the world.

Billund – the town where the theme park is – is the birthplace of this popular toy. You can spend a whole day here enjoying the local attractions, most of them are for adults. But be prepared to pay high prices.

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Day 5 – The northern part of Denmark

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Start your day early and head to the north. If you have a car (which I recommend especially for this part of the trip) it will take about 3 hours to get there. The place you should look for is called Skagen and it is known for the watches that they make there but also for being the place where two seas meet.

This is the beach where you can see the Baltic sea and the North Sea merging into one. It is located about 5 km from the Skagen itself. At some point, you will need to trade a car for either the buses that they are offering here or go on your own foot.

The beach is really nice, and I would recommend to a spend a night in Skagen and watching the sundown here.

If you are looking for a fun place in Skagen, definitely visit a local brewery, where they offer their own beer, good music, and delicious food.

Read on: A Travel Guide for Venice, Italy

Day 6 – Moving to the south of Denmark again

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If you head early in the morning, you can visit the Rujberg Knude Lighthouse, which is just about an hour from Skagen. You will get to see a little desert and a lighthouse in the middle of it, located just about thirty meters from the sea. Walks around there are just amazing but just be prepared because it is a very windy place.

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When you feel like you have enough of this view, you should head south to the city called Aarhus. I recommend getting settled there for a little bit.

Aarhus is the second biggest city in Denmark and has a lot to offer. I recommend. that you start by taking a walk around the docks.

It has great architecture around. If that is not enough, catch a city bus and head to the beach, you can see there the Aarhus eternity bridge which is a very calm place that is far away from most of the tourists.

Not far from there, there is an animal garden, where you can freely walk around deers. Upon your arrival, you can even buy a snack for them and feed them.

After that, I would call it a day, relax so you can prepare yourself for the last day of your 7 day Denmark Itinerary.

Day 7 (Last day of your Denmark Itinerary) – Cultural day in Aarhus

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On your last day, try to get as much from the Danish culture as possible. Aarhus is a great place for that.

Start by going to the museum of modern Art. They have 5 floors filled with fabulous modern art.

If you don’t think this is for you, their rainbow view is certainly for everyone – it is the only view I have ever heard that is filled with colors like this.

After that, if you are interested in old Denmark, head to Gamle by – it is a museum neighborhood designed the way that it would show you how Danes lived 200 years ago. And you find here everything – from how the farms used to work to the fishery and so on.
As a bonus, you can visit here a poster museum. This is especially amusing if you are into old classy posters.

The last attraction of the day should probably be the local botanic gardens. They have massive rooms filled with flowers from different continents and it is actually free to visit. At some point, you will reach the place where will be not only tropical flowers but also you can see butterflies all around you.

Read more: A perfect weekend in Copenhagen

After visiting Aarhus, I would say that you have seen all the Danish highlights. In Aarhus, you can hop on a ferry back to Copenhagen and either enjoy the capital or catch a flight to somewhere else.

Denmark has a lot to offer. I hope that this Denmark Itinerary has inspired you to visit Denmark beyond Copenhagen. If you would like to still, visit Copenhagen, here are 25 unique things to do in Copenhagen.

This is a guest post by Albi from the blog Ginger around the globe

Author’s bio: I’m Albi, originally from Czech Republic but for the last 6 years I have been living in Denmark, where I study. Traveling is my big passion, and I love roaming solo. I traveled through 25 countries so far and I’m starting to write about it on my blog. I specialize in Scandinavia and living abroad.

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2 thoughts on “Denmark Itinerary for 7 days exploring beyond Copenhagen, by a local”

  1. Pingback: 3 Days in Iceland itinerary: Best of Iceland in only 3 days! - Dreams in Heels - Travel and Lifestyle Blog by a Latina Abroad

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