Many of us have moved to Spain from another country or perhaps divide our time between our native country and Spain. When arriving in Spain, most of us become avid tourists keen to explore the sights and learn more about Spanish history and culture.
However, how often do we actually play the role of ‘tourist’ in our native country – a country like Denmark for example? Denmark – excluding the Faroe Islands and Greenland – measures only 43,098 square kilometers, which is half the size of Andalusia. It should be relatively easy to drive around such a small country and see all the attractions, but how many Danes actually do?
Perhaps 2012 is the year to take the time to discover Denmark as a tourist would. If you are of another nationality, perhaps you have never considered Denmark as a tourist destination. Summer is a perfect time to go. A good starting point is to draw your attention to two websites: Denmark’s official website www.denmark.dk and the official Danish tourism portal www.visitdenmark.com. Especially the latter will give you many ideas of where to go, what to see and where to stay.
Denmark is well known for many things – art, design, fashion, furniture, jewellery, wind turbines, dairy products, Lego toy bricks, Maersk shipping, Carlsberg beer, Ecco shoes and so forth. Many of you may have heard of architect Joern Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, or Arne Jacobsen, who designed St. Catherine’s College in Oxford as well as style icons such as the famous Egg chair. Hans Christian Andersen, who wrote The Little Mermaid, is probably the best-known Dane in the world. The Little Mermaid has since become the symbol of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, and the bronze statue of her in Copenhagen harbour is one of the most visited attractions in Denmark.
Another masterpiece and attraction is the opera house on the waterfront in Copenhagen designed by Henning Larsen. There are so many things to explore and see in Denmark that it is hard to know where to start. Obvious attractions, especially if you have kids, are the numerous amusement and theme parks. Tivoli Gardens is known as Copenhagen’s magical fairytale gardens and pleasure park (www.tivoli.dk). Legoland, in the city of Billund, is an incredible theme park built from millions of Lego bricks (see www.legoland.dk). On the gastronomic level you may want to visit Noma in Copenhagen, nominated the best restaurant in the world in both 2010 and 2011.
Incidentally, Denmark has numerous castles that are open to the public and which are fascinating to visit. Yet another great sight to see is the Prince’s Palace, which was home to royal family members in the 18th century. Today it houses the National Museum (www.natmus.dk). Or drive to the town of Grenaa and check out Kattegatcentret (www.kattegatcentret.dk) Denmark’s largest tropical aquarium, where you can dive with instructors and swim with the sea creatures in the 1.5 million litre tank.
About an hours drive from the aquarium, you can visit the Scandinavian Animal Park (www.skandinaviskdyrepark.dk), and see brown bears, wolves, polar bears, reindeer and much more in the giant open habitat. I hope you get a chance to play a ‘tourist’ in Denmark in 2012 or at least tour the site www.visitdenmark.com.