Guidebook Updates for Denmark

When we learn of critical changes to the information in our guidebooks on Denmark, we post them here. (Of course, it's still smart to reconfirm critical transportation and sightseeing details locally.) Armed with a Rick Steves guidebook and these late-breaking updates, you're set for a great trip!

Across Denmark

  • If your passport is due to expire within six months of your ticketed date of return from Europe, you need to renew it. Allow plenty of time to renew or get a passport, especially while a backlog of applications is causing significant slowdowns — see the US Department of State's travel site for current estimated processing times.

Ærø

  • To ride the Ærø–Svendborg ferry, both vehicles and foot passengers must purchase tickets before boarding. Drivers should reserve online a month in advance, especially for trips on weekends and in summer. Foot/bike passengers can buy tickets at machines at the Svendborg and Ærøskøbing docks, but especially in July and August, it's smart to book a spot up to an hour ahead.
  • Ærø's night watchman walk is now only on Sunday nights from late June through mid-August (advance reservations required — either call, text, or message on WhatsApp to +45 40 46 66 75; pay via cash or mobile payment).
  • Blommenslyst B&B in Odense has closed.
  • Børnekulturhuset Fyrtøjet (the Tinderbox Cultural Center for Children) in Odense has closed.

Copenhagen & nearby

  • Roskilde's tourist information office has closed, but a "tourist inspiration center" at the Sankt Laurentius tower, near the cathedral, fills in as one.
  • Roskilde Cathedral is now open daily year-round; its organ concerts are no longer free (now 50 DKK) and held on the third Wednesday of every month at 17:00.
  • The tourism office in Helsingør (home of Kronborg Castle) has moved to The Culture Yard, at Allegade 2.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

  • Copenhagen Jazz House is now called Alice.
  • Shuttle buses from the Oslo ferry terminal to the city are now marked Banegård or Nørreport. The Banegård bus drops you at Banegårdspladsen — in front of the main train station, near Tivoli, recommended hotels, and the start of Rick's "Copenhagen City Walk."
  • The overnight boat to Oslo now leaves at 14:00, usually arriving in Oslo at 9:00 (same schedule for return trip).
  • Thorvaldsen's Museum is now open Thursday until 21:00.
  • English tours of the National Museum's Victorian Apartment are now June–Aug, Sat–Sun at 12:00.
  • The National Museum is now open until 20:00 on Thursdays.
  • Due to changes to the bus system, buses #14, #1A and #6A are no longer useful.
  • Daily City Walks by Red Badge Guides now runs May–Sept at 10:00. The price has increased to 150 DKK.
  • The Museum of Copenhagen has reopened.
  • The National Museum now charges 95 DKK for admission.
  • The Carlsberg brewery visitors center is closed for renovation until December 2023, as the entire former brewery complex is being transformed into a new neighborhood called Carlsberg City (Carlsberg Byen), with a hotel, restaurants, shops, housing, and public spaces, while preserving and repurposing some of the historic Carlsberg structures.

Jutland

  • Tickets for Aarhus' buses and trams are no longer available onboard — buy them from the Midttrafik app or site.
  • The Occupation Museum in Aarhus has reopened after a renovation, with different opening hours and digital installations that immerse visitors in 1940s Aarhus with sights, sounds, and music, including an intimidating German interrogator. And each visitor receives the ID card of one of 20 individuals who lived through the war, so as to follow an their personal wartime experience and better imagine the moral dilemmas and issues with which people were forced to grapple.
  • As Aarhus' Moesgård Museum can have long lines, it's smart to buy tickets in advance. It's now closed Mondays but stays open until 21:00 on Saturdays as well as Wednesdays.
  • The AarhusCard is no longer available.
  • The ARoS Art Museum in Aarhus remains open as it's undergoing a major expansion (set to wrap up in 2025) with the building of a new underground gallery, purpose-built for "The Dome, a Skyspace" by American artist James Turrell. The museum is now closed Mondays in the off-season (Sept–May).
  • Hotel Guldsmeden in Aarhus is now under new ownership and has been rechristened SOFS Boutique Hotel ([email protected]).
  • The City Sleep-In hostel in Aarhus has closed.
  • Legoland is no longer free during the last 30 minutes before rides close. You can now pay extra to book times for the most popular rides (via the Legoland app or website). It's most crowded Tue–Wed during summer school holidays (July–mid-Aug), and is least crowded on weekends during this time.