Denmark is filled with Christmas markets and traditional rituals, both indoors and outdoors. In Copenhagen, the most famous are Hojbro Plads, Kongens Nytorv and H.C. Andersen. In Denmark, the Christmas season begins in mid-November, and the magical Tivoli Gardens are no exception, filled with thousands of twinkling Christmas lights, pretty little wooden houses and stalls selling decorations, knitted and leather goods, local specialities, sweets and drinks. Every Saturday you can also watch the Christmas parade of the young Tivoli Guards and listen to their concert. Another reason to visit Tivoli at Christmas is the enchanting ballet ‘The Snow Queen’ in the Tivoli concert halls (30 November to 23 December), based on one of the most popular fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. To mark the occasion, an atmospheric spectacle can be enjoyed from Copenhagen’s docks, with dozens of kayaks sailing through the canals, decked out in lights and Christmas decorations.
Less than an hour north of Copenhagen, on the coast of North Sealand, in Elsinore, Kronborg Castle, known as Hamlet’s Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its majestic spires and towers, is transformed into one of Denmark’s largest Christmas markets. The castle’s halls and rooms are filled with stalls selling Christmas decorations, unique gifts, toys and knick-knacks. Just 40 minutes from Copenhagen, the Frilandsmuseet open-air museum is a fully interactive experience: it houses more than 50 farms, mills and houses from the period 1650-1940, offering a glimpse of old Denmark as it was in the past. The buildings have been reconstructed to give visitors an impression of the history and environment of rural life in the past. Christmas in Billund can only be celebrated in the Pardo at LEGOLAND®, where the Christmas spirit is spread by magical Christmas lights, the 10-metre high LEGO® DUPLO® Christmas tree and cosy stalls. Aarhus‘ famous open-air museum ‘Den Gamle By’ (‘The Old Town’) returns for the third year running with the popular Evening Christmas.
This corner of Denmark offers a magical Christmas atmosphere and a wonderful journey through four hundred years of Christmas history, through the charming streets of the Old Town with its Christmas decorations and illuminated lanterns. Ribe, Denmark’s oldest town, is also getting ready for Christmas and Christmas shopping is a chapter in its own right. Among the most famous stalls are those at the authentic Christmas market in Torvet, set up under the huge Christmas tent in the Cathedral Square, where you can buy Christmas presents and sample typical delicacies of the season. One of Bornholm‘s main attractions during the Christmas period is Julemarked, the large Christmas market in Nexo harbour. Finally, the city of Odense celebrates Christmas with a magical display named after its most famous citizen: Hans Christian Andersen’s Christmas Market. The Christmas stalls are one of the city’s largest and most traditional cultural offerings, attracting up to 50,000 domestic and foreign visitors to the cobbled square in the centre of Odense every year for the past 17 years.
