Denmark is a country shaped by water, wind, and centuries of human ingenuity. With more than 400 named islands and a coastline stretching over 7,000 kilometers, it's no surprise that seafaring plays a major role in Danish history. In places like Roskilde, visitors can see five original Viking ships at the Viking Ship Museum and even try rowing a replica longboat across the fjord. In Copenhagen, the harbor once used by merchants and sailors now welcomes swimmers, kayakers, and ferries, with historic warehouses repurposed into restaurants and museums.

Denmark’s capital may be small by international standards, but it delivers a mix of royal tradition, design-forward culture, and everyday livability. The Amalienborg Palace is home to one of the oldest monarchies in the world, and the changing of the guard still draws a crowd each day at noon. A short walk away, the streets of Nørrebro and Vesterbro reveal another side of the city—filled with small bakeries, vintage shops, and community-run gardens. Copenhagen’s bike lanes stretch for hundreds of kilometers, and more than half the city’s residents commute by bicycle year-round, even in winter.

Outside the capital, Denmark is full of lesser-known places worth exploring. The island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea is known for its round churches, smoked herring, and dramatic coastal cliffs. In Jutland, the sand-buried church near Skagen was once swallowed by a shifting dune system—only its tower remains visible today. Visitors can also stand at Grenen, the northernmost tip of Denmark, where two seas meet and waves crash into each other from opposite directions. In the west, the Wadden Sea National Park—UNESCO-listed and shared with Germany and the Netherlands—is home to millions of migratory birds and curious tidal phenomena like the “Black Sun,” a murmuration of starlings seen in spring and autumn.