Aarhus is Denmark’s second city, on the east coast of Jutland, with about 300,000 people and one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. That last fact shapes everything: roughly one in five residents is a student, which makes it younger, cheaper and less formal than Copenhagen.
It is also old. The name comes from Old Norse for “river mouth”, and there has been a settlement here since the eighth century, making it one of the oldest cities in Scandinavia.
Most visitors to Denmark never come. Three hours from Copenhagen by train is apparently enough to deter people, which is their loss.
ARoS
The art museum, and the single best reason to make the journey.
The building is a ten-storey cube, and on top of it sits Your Rainbow Panorama – a circular glass walkway 150 metres around, installed in 2011, in which each section is a different colour of the spectrum. You walk the full circle and see Aarhus tinted red, then orange, then yellow, and so on, with the city and the bay shifting as you go.
It sounds like a gimmick and is not. The colour changes how you read the buildings below, and the effect is genuinely disorienting in a way that is hard to describe and easy to remember.
The collection below is strong on Danish Golden Age painting and contemporary work, including Ron Mueck’s Boy, a five-metre crouching figure.
Den Gamle By
An open-air museum, and better than the format usually allows.
Rather than a single historic village, it is arranged as separate districts from different eras – a market town of the 1700s, a street from 1927, and a neighbourhood from 1974, each with buildings relocated from around Denmark and reassembled.
The 1974 section is the surprise. A period supermarket, a gynaecologist’s clinic, a hi-fi shop, a hippie collective flat – all furnished exactly, with staff in character. Seeing recent history treated as museum-worthy is stranger and more effective than another blacksmith’s forge.
Allow half a day. It is on the edge of the city centre and walkable.
The old town and the harbour
The Latin Quarter is the medieval core – narrow streets, coloured houses, independent shops and cafés. Compact, and the pleasant part of an afternoon.
Aarhus Cathedral is the longest and tallest church in Denmark, with medieval frescoes uncovered under later plaster.
Down at the water, Aarhus Ø is the redeveloped dock district, with the Isbjerget – the Iceberg – an apartment block whose white peaked roofline is designed to look like pack ice. There is harbour bathing here in summer.
Dokk1 is the waterfront library, and one of the better public buildings in Scandinavia – open, free, and used constantly by locals rather than admired from outside.
Moesgaard
South of the city, the Moesgaard Museum is built into a hillside with a sloping grass roof you can walk up and sit on.
Inside is the Grauballe Man, a bog body from around 300 BC, preserved so completely that his fingerprints remain readable. He was found in 1952 in a peat bog nearby, throat cut, almost certainly a sacrifice.
The Viking and prehistory collections around him are excellent. The museum is a short bus ride from the centre and there is forest and beach beyond it.
Eating and drinking
Aarhus punches above its size, and prices sit below Copenhagen’s for comparable quality.
Aarhus Street Food is a covered market of stalls near the station – the cheap, reliable option.
The Latin Quarter and the harbour hold most of the better restaurants, and the New Nordic influence is strong here without the capital’s pricing.
Being a student city, the bar scene is substantial and the coffee is taken seriously.
Getting there and around
From Copenhagen: about three hours by train, crossing the Great Belt Bridge. Frequent services.
From Odense: roughly ninety minutes, which makes the two an easy pairing.
Aarhus has an airport with limited connections, and Billund airport – near Legoland – is about ninety minutes away with more European routes.
The city is compact and flat. Walk, or use the excellent bike infrastructure. There is a light rail line but you will rarely need it.
How long, and what it pairs with
Two nights covers Aarhus properly: one day for ARoS and the Latin Quarter, one for Den Gamle By and Moesgaard.
It works as the second stop on a Denmark trip after Copenhagen, and as the base for northern Jutland – Skagen is about two and a half hours further north, and the Jutland west coast beaches are an hour or so west.
Our one-week Denmark itinerary puts it in sequence, and Beyond Copenhagen covers the rest of the country.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aarhus worth visiting?
Yes. ARoS with its rainbow rooftop walkway, Den Gamle By’s period districts and the Moesgaard bog body are all genuinely distinctive, and prices sit below Copenhagen’s for similar quality.
How long do you need in Aarhus?
Two nights. One day for ARoS and the Latin Quarter, one for Den Gamle By and Moesgaard Museum.
What is Your Rainbow Panorama?
A 150-metre circular glass walkway on the roof of ARoS, installed in 2011, where each section is a different colour. You see the whole city tinted as you walk round it.
How do you get from Copenhagen to Aarhus?
About three hours by train across the Great Belt Bridge, with frequent services. Odense sits roughly halfway at ninety minutes.
What is the Grauballe Man?
A bog body from around 300 BC held at Moesgaard Museum, preserved so completely that his fingerprints are still readable. He was found in a peat bog near Aarhus in 1952.
Is Aarhus cheaper than Copenhagen?
Yes, noticeably – accommodation and eating both cost less, and the large student population supports a good cheap food and bar scene.
