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🗺️ Getting around
🏺 What to see
The National Museum of Denmark is Copenhagen’s main history museum, best known for tracing Denmark’s story from prehistory to the present under one roof. It’s broad rather than compact, so the challenge is to choose what not to rush. Most visits feel easiest when you start with Danish prehistory before the later galleries and world cultures. This guide helps you plan timing, entrances, pacing, and the exhibits most worth slowing down for.
If you want the short version before you plan the rest, these are the decisions that will shape your visit most.
🎟️ English guided tours and Klunkehjemmet slots for National Museum of Denmark often fill 3–5 days ahead in July and August. Lock in your visit before the time you want is gone. Book tickets now.
The museum sits in central Copenhagen, between Christiansborg and Strøget, about a 15-minute walk from Copenhagen Central Station and 5 minutes from Gammel Strand Metro.
The setup is straightforward, there’s one main public entrance, and the mistake most visitors make is assuming they need to hunt for a timed-entry door or a separate tour entrance.
When is it busiest? Late mornings and early afternoons in June–August are the heaviest, especially when school groups overlap with tourists and rainy weather pushes more people indoors.
When should you actually go? Aim for 10am–11am on a weekday, when the Danish history galleries are easiest to move through and the headline artifacts are still visible without crowding.
💡Pro tip: Weekday mornings are the calmest window because this museum doubles as Copenhagen’s go-to indoor fallback when the weather turns. If the forecast looks wet after lunch, go earlier or expect fuller Viking and prehistory rooms.
| Visit type | Route | Duration | Walking distance | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Highlights only | Prehistory → Viking galleries → strongest medieval rooms → exit | 2–2.5 hrs | ~1 km | Covers the museum’s signature Danish history objects without rushing, but skips most of the upstairs world-culture depth and family spaces. |
Balanced visit | Prehistory → Vikings → medieval galleries → Greenland or ethnographic rooms → exit | 2.5–3 hrs | ~1.5 km | Adds the quieter upper galleries that many visitors miss, and gives the visit better range without turning into an all-day museum stop. |
Full exploration | Prehistory → Vikings → medieval galleries → People of the Earth → Children’s Museum or Klunkehjemmet → exit | 4 hrs | ~2 km | Gives you the fullest sense of the museum, including ethnographic rooms and family or guided add-ons, but it only works if you pace yourself beyond the Viking galleries. |
The highlights and balanced routes work on standard entry. English tour or Klunkehjemmet slots can be booked separately. The museum is easy to enter but harder to pace well once you’re inside, especially if you want the biggest artifacts explained without losing time in the upstairs galleries.
→ Book National Museum of Denmark tickets
| Ticket type | What's included | Best for | Price range |
|---|---|---|---|
General admission | Museum entry + permanent exhibitions + temporary exhibitions + Children’s Museum | A flexible visit where you want to choose your own pace and don’t need a fixed tour time. | From 135 DKK |
💡 Visit the Viking exhibits featuring ancient weapons, rune stones, and well-preserved artifacts that bring Denmark’s history to life. You shouldn’t miss the immersive ethnographic collections, the medieval and Renaissance galleries, and the famous Sun Chariot.
The museum is broad and multi-floor rather than maze-like, with Danish history unfolding mostly in chronological order and the world-culture collections branching off upstairs. It’s easy to self-navigate for highlights, but easy to miss whole sections if you move too quickly after the Viking galleries.
Suggested route: Start with prehistory and the Viking rooms while your energy is highest, continue through the medieval galleries, then decide whether to finish with Klunkehjemmet or the ethnographic rooms. Most visitors stop after the Vikings and miss the upstairs galleries entirely.
💡 Pro tip: Don’t treat the Viking rooms as your finish line. If you still have an hour left, go upstairs before taking a café break, or you may never circle back to the Greenland and ethnographic galleries.
Era: Bronze Age, c. 1400 BC
This is the museum’s signature object: a bronze horse pulling a gold-faced sun disk, found in a Danish bog and tied to Bronze Age ideas about how the sun moved across the sky. It’s small enough that some visitors expect less, but the craftsmanship is what makes it memorable. Most people rush the horse and focus only on the disk.
Where to find it: Danish Prehistory galleries, in the Bronze Age section near the main highlights route.
Era: Bronze Age burial, c. 1370 BC
The Egtved Girl’s grave is one of the museum’s most human exhibits. A teenage girl is laid in an oak coffin with clothing, hair, and personal effects preserved in remarkable detail. It matters because it turns prehistory into an individual story rather than a timeline. Many visitors don’t give their eyes time to adjust to the dim case lighting and miss the finer textile details.
Where to find it: Danish Prehistory galleries, in a lower-lit room after the main Bronze Age cases.
Era: Iron Age, c. 1st century BC
This enormous silver cauldron stands out for its scale and the dense mythic imagery worked across its panels. It rewards a slow, full circle because the carvings only make sense once you stop trying to view it from one angle. What people often miss is how unusual it is in a Danish context, its style points to wider European connections.
Where to find it: Iron Age section of the Danish history galleries, in a central display case with space to walk around it.
Era: Viking Age
The Viking rooms are packed, but this section is where the museum’s wealth stories really land: heavy gold, silver coin hoards, and jewelry that show power as much as craftsmanship. The standout is the massive gold ring often described as Denmark’s heaviest Viking gold treasure. Many visitors scan the cases too quickly and miss the difference between imported silver and locally made prestige objects.
Where to find it: Viking World galleries, in the treasure displays after the broader Viking introduction rooms.
Era: Medieval, c. 1200
This small jeweled reliquary cross is easy to overlook after the drama of the Viking collection, but it’s one of the museum’s most important medieval objects. Its value is symbolic as much as artistic, linking Danish royal memory to wider Christian Europe. Visitors often walk straight past it because the surrounding church art pulls the eye toward larger pieces.
Where to find it: Middle Ages and Renaissance galleries, near the altar and ecclesiastical displays.
Culture: Greenlandic Inuit, 19th century
This waterproof hunting parka made from seal intestine is one of the smartest objects in the museum. It is practical, technical, and striking once you realize what you’re looking at. It helps the Greenland galleries feel less like an add-on and more like a necessary part of Denmark’s wider story. Many visitors miss the child’s outfit and protective amulets nearby, which add emotional depth to the display.
Where to find it: People of the Earth galleries, in the Greenland section upstairs.
Era: Late 19th century Copenhagen
Klunkehjemmet is a preserved Victorian apartment rather than a typical museum room, and that’s exactly why it sticks with people. It gives you domestic texture, including furniture, décor, and daily life. What many visitors miss is that you can’t just wander in whenever you like; access is usually through a guided slot, so it needs planning.
Where to find it: Upper floor, accessed through the timed Klunkehjemmet guided visit.
The Greenland galleries, ethnographic rooms, and Klunkehjemmet are easy to miss because the Danish history route feels like a natural finish point. If you still have energy after the Viking section, go upstairs before you pause for coffee.
The museum works well for children when you treat it as a mix of hands-on stops and big visual artifacts rather than a full scholarly sweep.
Distance: 400m — 5-minute walk
Why people combine them: It’s the clearest same-day pairing if you want Denmark’s story to move from artifacts to royal and political spaces without crossing the city.
Distance: 700m — 10-minute walk
Why people combine them: The museum gives you Denmark’s historical backbone, while the Glyptotek shifts the day toward art, sculpture, mummies, and a more atmospheric gallery experience.
On-site: The museum café and on-site smørrebrød restaurant are convenient for a mid-visit break; useful, but best before 12 noon if you want to avoid the busiest lunch window
Better options nearby:
Most visits take 2–3 hours. If you want the Danish history galleries, the ethnographic rooms, the Children’s Museum, and a Klunkehjemmet tour, plan closer to 4 hours. If you arrive after 3:30pm, you’ll usually only have time for highlights.
The museum does not normally sell out for standard entry, and walk-ins are common. However, it’s always smarter to pre-book your tickets in advance.
You don’t need to arrive early for general admission because there is no timed standard entry. For any special timed experiences, aim to be there 10–15 minutes early so you can use lockers and find the meeting point without rushing.
Yes, but it’s better to travel light. Free lockers are available, and using them makes a long visit much more comfortable than carrying coats or a large backpack through several floors of galleries.
Yes, photography is generally allowed in the permanent galleries if you keep flash off. Temporary exhibitions or guided-access spaces can have stricter rules, so check local signage in those rooms before taking pictures.
Yes, group visits are straightforward, and the museum also offers guided formats for groups. If you’re traveling with 10 or more people, it’s worth arranging ahead rather than arriving unannounced, especially in summer or on weekends.
Yes, it works well for families, especially because the Children’s Museum adds a hands-on layer that breaks up the object-heavy galleries. Younger children usually do best with a 90-minute to 2-hour visit built around the Viking rooms, prehistory, and role-play spaces.
Yes, the museum is wheelchair accessible. Elevators serve all floors, the route from Gammel Strand is step-free, and wheelchairs are available to borrow, which makes it one of the easier large museums in Copenhagen to navigate.
Yes, there is food on-site, including a café and an on-site smørrebrød restaurant. Because the museum is in central Copenhagen, you’re also within an easy walk of many other lunch options if you’d rather eat before or after the visit.
Yes, the museum is accessible for international visitors and English support is strong enough for a self-guided visit. If you want more context than the gallery labels provide, the audio guide app is the best upgrade.
Yes, the museum is included in the Copenhagen Card. That makes it a strong value stop if you’re planning to visit several paid attractions in a short stay, especially because the museum sits close to other central sights.
Yes, English guided tours run on selected dates and are most useful if you want help prioritizing the museum’s biggest artifacts. They’re especially worth considering in summer, when the museum is busier and the best-led slots can fill a few days ahead.
Explore 9,000 years of Danish history with access to all exhibits and the Children's Museum.
Inclusions #
Admission to all museum exhibitions for 1 year
Access to permanent exhibitions and special exhibitions
Access to The Children's Museum
Access to museum amenities
Free admission for visitors under 18 years old
Exclusions #
Purchases at the museum shop
Annual pass
Special events (may require separate ticket)
Copenhagen HOHO
Please click here for a detailed route map and its boarding points.
You can join the tour at any stop and hop on and off for the duration of your ticket.
Classic route (Red)
Urban route (Green)
Colourful route (Purple)
Inclusions #
Copenhagen HOHO
National Museum of Denmark
Copenhagen HOHO
National Museum of Denmark