Eco island hopping, world-class food and Vikings: Denmark’s 2024 cultural highlights

07.05.2024 - 10:33 / theguardian.com

Stargazing, seals and sandbanks in Mandø
Denmark’s wilderness zones and sparsely populated isles have long been havens for nature lovers and stargazers. Mandø, on the south-west coast of Jutland, is the most recent addition to the country’s four Dark Sky Parks. A small island in the Wadden Sea National Park, Mandø is most easily accessed at low tide via tractor bus over the causeway from the mainland – adding to the adventure and reducing the chances of latecomers’ annoying car headlights ruining your night vision. By day, you’ll likely want to visit the lovingly preserved, thatched and white-walled Mandø House museum (an early 19th-century shipmaster’s home), not to mention the island’s landmark windmill and church. Observe thriving seal and migratory bird species on a bike ride around the marshes and sandbanks.

Raise a glass to (probably) the world’s best beer
Not content with producing, probably, the best beer in the world, Carlsberg has created the impressive Carlsberg City District in one of Copenhagen’s most historic quarters. The recently completed Home of Carlsberg is the result of an extensive five-year museum revamp to bring history to life through interactive displays and guided tours of the old cellars. With a beautifully appointed gallery of vintage bottles, a stable with draught horses that hark back to the days of carts hauling barrels through Copenhagen’s cobbled streets, and tasting sessions too, if you’re in Copenhagen and you love beer, this is one not to be missed. Definitely.

Denmark’s new music trail
Pictured on the 100-Kroner banknote for many years, the great classical composer Carl Nielsen is a household name – and face – in Denmark. While the Carl Nielsen museum in Odense celebrates his life, there’s now a more kinaesthetic way to experience the man and his music. Carl’s Camino, a 110km scenic sound walk on the island of Funen, begins in Odense and wends its way south-west to the old port town of Faaborg. Download the app (note, it’s in Danish), pop in your earbuds and let Nielsen accompany you through the beautiful countryside that helped form him. The entire route will be ready for hikers from June 2024, with the fjord and colourful old buildings of Faaborg the perfect spot to rest at the end – listen to the jaunty Sanguine from The Four Temperaments symphony and you’ll likely arrive just that little bit sooner.

World-class coffee in Copenhagen
With coffee culture very much a part of cool Copenhagen life, the capital’s a perfect choice to host the World of Coffee 2024. From 27 to 29 June, baristas will battle it out to make the perfect brew. The judges at the hotly contested world coffee championships award points for artistic expression, roasting profiles and innovative