Travel Guide: Aarhus, Denmark
In early summer, my husband and I re-visited Denmark. On previous trips we had visited the capital city, Copenhagen but this time we wanted to venture a bit further and explore a new region - Aarhus.
Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark and I have to say I really enjoyed our time there. We stayed there for three nights and I think for a city break this is the perfect amount of time.
One of the main reasons I wanted to visit the city was to see the ARoS Art museum alongside the rainbow coloured walkway, I came across it years ago online and had sparked my interest. The other main draw was the township open air museum Den Gamble By which I will detail in this guide. We split these main attractions up over two days and to be honest it was the right thing to do. You could in theory visit both on the same day but it would be rushed.
What to do in the city:
ARos Art Gallery
ARoS is one of the largest art museums in Northern Europe. If you love and appreciate art of any kind then you should make a visit.
As you approach the museum you will spot the rainbow coloured circular walkway on the roof, in fact you can spot the rainbow colours from many rooftops in Aarhus.
The walkway was designed by artist Olafur Eliasson and created an influx of visitors from all across Denmark.
The museum complex is huge and you should allow yourself a good few hours here, spread over five galleries and an entire floor dedicated to installation art (basement level) there is a lot to get through.
During our visit the ground floor was filled with bizarre art installations and sounds, with the centre of the room showing a screening of a short film and a space to sit down on beanbags and relax.
We started in the basement level and finished up in the multicoloured rainbow roof. The interior heart of the museum is also striking, the white curves reminded me the Guggenheim in New York.
My personal highlights were:
Ron Mueck – Boy (1999) the enormous life-like and hyper realistic sculpture of a sitting boy. Measuring 4.5 metres.
Storm Room (2009) which is an immersive room with multimedia around stormy, rainy weather. I felt like I was transported to the rainy season in Japan.
Andy Warhol, Marilyn (1967) the iconic collection of pop art showcasing Marilyn Monroe.
Practical information:
ARos is closed on Mondays however between Tuesday and Thursday they are open until 8pm.
Cost: Adult ticket £27 (Euros) or £22 if you are a student/under 31.
There is a restaurant and gift shop within the museum. We enjoyed lunch half way through the visit - I can recommend their Rye bread with chicken pâté and pickled cucumber.
Next to the ticket booth there is also a place to store luggage.
The Ice Berg apartments - Aarhus Ø
Isbjerget apartments - conveniently these were literally around the corner from our apartment. These very cool and distinctive apartments are right on the waterfront and very close to the modern lighthouse.
The white and blue complex is designed and modelled after floating icebergs found in the north Atlantic and in Greenland. The building’s design and shape highlight the relationship between the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland.
The area around the Docklands has gone under regeneration and now the area has apartments, independents shops, great bakeries and restaurants.
One coffee shop/bakery I recommend is La Cabra, it is a very stylish place with exposed concrete and their coffee and pastries live up to the surroundings. I believe it was voted 33rd in the world for the best coffee.
If you have an interest in architecture and design this area is worthy of a walk round. There is a walking route all the way round the docklands that follows the coast.
Arguably this was my favourite thing we did in Aarhus and it is a place where you genuinely feel like you are time travelling through Denmark.
This open air museum is essentially a fully working township that shows daily life from the 1500’s right through to the more familiar 1980’s.
Walking across historic cobblestones you'll see and hear the clip-clop of horse and carriages, see cars from the 1950’s and Ford Model T’s sitting in the dealership. Some of the historic buildings are original, but have been moved from elsewhere in Denmark. Meticulously done, the homes and shops are what they would have been like 200-300 years ago with the half timbered fronts.
There are 75 historical buildings, grocery stores, blacksmith, fun fair, a mid century hair salon workshops, post office, diners and a very nostalgic Blockbuster video rental store. The township is very interactive and you can wander into the many buildings and near the end of the exhibition there is a dedicated toy museum and Danish poster museum which I really enjoyed.
There is also a greenhouse and botanical garden where you can purchase plants to take home.
Some of the shops sell goods, for example the old fashioned sweet shop filled with Scandinavian liquorice treats, the Danish bakery and a typical hot dog stand from the 1970’s era. We ate at a few of the stops along the way, the bakery made biscuits and bread with recipes pre-dating 1900 (check out their raspberry slice).
There is a lot of ground to cover so I would allocate at least three hours here. I would also say this is a great place for families and some activities are geared towards younger audiences. Throughout the summer months and around Christmas time they have special events and workshops on so I would keep an eye on their social media.
Practical Information:
From Aarhus city centre on foot it is around a 15 minute walk. There is also a regular bus from the train station that will take you there.
You can purchase your ticket online before arrival. Online tickets are 145.00 DK/£16.00. Walk up price on the day is £20.00. Children get free admission, but they must have a ticket to enter. Den Gamle By is open all year round.
Set in the centre of town and next to the central bus station is Aarhus street food. They have over 30 different food and drink vendors so you'll definitely get something you'll like. You can order via the QR codes straight to your table - We tucked into Mexican tacos, Nepalese dumplings and some indulgent chocolate ice-creams. In terms of cost, I found it reasonable (well, for Scandinavia).
There is a large area of indoor and outdoor seating and they are dog friendly.
Salling Rooftop View (Shopping centre)
Located on the top of the Salling department store there is an open rooftop area with bars, bistro and stage area. As you enter you can take the escalators up to the top floor and it is free to enter.
We were pleasantly surprised when we made it to the top and I think it would be a great place to end your day in the city. There is quite an extensive area of sky walkways, garden areas and a Starbucks, up market restaurant and bar.
You're also rewarded with 360 degree panoramic views across the city and docks. Depending on the time of year, you might come across some live music too.
Street Art Murals
Aarhus has a colourful street art scene, especially in and around the Latin Quarter.
One thing to look out for is the 17 walls - a long term project to highlight the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 17 international artists were commissioned to interpret one goal each on a massive gable end in the city centre.
I came across some gable ends near to the National Library and docklands. Two particular favourite were:
“The Seagull Kiss”(you can see it from the rooftop of Salling shopping centre) which is a large scale mural of a woman sharing a kiss with the seabird.
“Shared Seas” which showcased the sea and maritime heritage of the area, you'll spot it just a block from the main bus station.
You can tour the 17 murals on a self guided walk and I will link the map here.
Historical Traces Sculptures
'Historical Traces" by Jens Galschiøt public art is a collection of statues.
Situated next to the harbour edge in the city of Aarhus is a group of sculptures consisting of 7 people cast in bronze. Some of the men depicted are carrying heavy loads, whilst others are captured on their lunch break.The statues honour the past industry and dock workers and how everything at the time was unloaded by hand.
Where to stay in Aarhus:
On this trip we decided to stay in a one bedroom apartment located on the Aarhus docklands and I have to say the area and accommodation was very cool and comfortable.
The ground floor self-contained apartment was located next to lots of coffee shops, a supermarket and right next to the waterfront and near to the open air swimming pool and wake boarding pool.
There was a decent sized kitchen, living room and dining area and upper floor area for sleeping. I booked the apartment via booking.com as you can build up genius points. However, I did come across an apartment in the same block on airbnb but I think it was cheaper on BDC.
Getting to Aarhus:
On the way there:
Upon arrival into Copenhagen we took the coach from the city all the way to Aarhus. The journey was straightforward and took around 3 and half hours. I booked our bus tickets via flixbus and the drop off point was the bus station in Aarhus which is very central. Our bus journey was £21.00 one way per person. The bus takes you over the suspension bridges that cross the islands.
There are trains to Aarhus but they cost significantly more and we don’t mind a bus journey.
On the return journey:
For the journey back to Copenhagen we decided to take the combined bus and ferry across the islands. The journey time was 3 hours and again was straightforward. We grabbed the bus from the Aarhus bus station where it takes you to the ferry terminal and onboards onto the ferry. Once you are onboard you have free time to explore the ferry & cafe before jumping back on the bus as it heads into Copenhagen. The crossing in the summer time was relatively calm and took around 75 minutes. I do wonder how the crossing would be in the depths of a stormy winter time though.
You can book your ferry/bus tickets via the Kombardo Expressen .
Flights: We travelled direct from Edinburgh to Copenhagen with Ryanair, to get the cheapest time to travel check out the Skyscanner website.*
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Please note that all photographs in this post are my own work, if you wish to use them contact me via email - travelkattours@gmail.com
