Begin your visit in Copenhagen, Denmark's cosmopolitan capital, by taking a visit to Kronborg Castle. Otherwise known as Elsinore, the home of Shakespeare's seminal character Hamlet, Kronborg is visited by 200,000 tourists a year. Kronborg is now a museum with attractions suited for children and adults. Visitors can dance in the ballroom, walk the casements or marvel at the 40 tapestries throughout the palace.
Other interesting places in Copenhagen include the statue of The Little Mermaid, which resides at the port of Langelinie and is likely Denmark's most photographed tourist attraction; Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, where Danes attend concerts, ride rollercoasters, walk the beautiful gardens and watch fireworks; and Stroget, the world's longest pedestrian street. Stroget offers world-class shopping, dining and entertainment, with budget department stores, high-priced clothing boutiques, cafes and nightclubs available whenever you wish to visit.
The city of Odense is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, who is often elevated to the position of Denmark's most revered author. It's a city for students, a city for the literati and a city full of interesting places to visit. It's also a fairly inexpensive city, featuring some of Denmark's cheapest hotel prices.
Odense, once known as "Odin's shrine," attracts tourists because of its museums dedicated to Andersen, including his childhood home. Other attractions include St. Canute's Cathedral, one of the largest churches in Denmark, a modern zoo, a symphony orchestra and the new Danish Railway Museum.
Southeastern Denmark is a destination for those who wish to trace the footsteps of the Vikings. The small seafaring town of Mon is known for its large chalk cliffs, its Stone- and Bronze-Age relics and the dozens of frescoed churches that date to the 12th and 13th centuries. A history buff's paradise, Sealand also is the home of Viking burial barrows that are 5,000 years old. Also, local museums chronicle human history dating from 100,000 years in dozens of languages.
If you're more interested in your tan, Mon also has some of Denmark's best beaches, including Ulvshale, Rabylille Strand and Klintholm Havn.
It's a certainty that Danes love animals. The country has dozens of zoos. Some of the most popular include Odense Zoo, Aalborg Zoo and Givskud Zoo, where animals from around the world are housed and studied.
Originally opened in 1969, Givskud was originally known as "the lion park" because lions were the only species kept there. Over the years, that changed, and Givskud adopted a reputation for innovation. In 1998, Givskud adopted a family of gorillas, and rhinos and lemurs are now also housed in the zoo. "The present-day Givskud Zoo, with its large enclosures, has proved to be one of the best and most dignified ways to keep larger species in captivity," the zoo's official website claims.
Viking fans find a home in Jutland. Jutland's terrain is differentiated and strange, with beaches next to moors and torturous, Northern coastlines straight out of the movies. Because of its natural features, Jutland remains a major historical attraction for visitors.
The city of Aarhus has a university as well as a seaport. Locals enjoy a dramatic coastline that's full of rocks and beaches and interesting natural features. You should also visit the town of Skagen, a fishing port known as a major departure for the sea voyages of the Vikings.
In the city of Frederickshavn, home to many a sea battle, medieval observation center Cloos Tower offers viewers a bird's eye view of the sea and the threats that came from it. For a more complete view of the military importance of the city, visit the Powder Tower Museum for information on Denmark's military past.
In Haderslev, a ceramics museum near the cathedral, is the home to re-creations of half-timbered Danish houses as well as pottery and ceramics from a bygone age. When done with the ceramics museum, Haderslev Cathedral is well worth a visit, incorporating Romanesque architecture, a bronze baptismal font and fixtures dating from the 1300s.
