Denmark

by Andrew Stone, Andrew Bender, Lonely Planet

The Lonely Planet Country Guides are the complete country guides for independent travellers. They feature inspirational colour highlights sections, easy-to-use grid-referenced maps and insightful history, culture, food and environment chapters by specialised contributors.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Reference, Denmark, Cultural

344 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1996

Reviews

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, this was a bit more 2.5, because I always love (or like) a Lonely Planet book, but this one did not suit our trip. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt and give 3 stars, because maybe the bits I didn't read (which weren't entirely relevant to our plans) make up for what was lacking. But let me tell you why this book hit a nerve.

We were on a whirlwind tour of Denmark - covering a fair bit in a long weekend. However, one of the main towns we stopped in was Vejle, which the book didn't cover (despite it being in the top 10 biggest cities of Denmark). It even says, "...there are plenty of medium sized towns that are pleasant enough paces to while away a day, but are not particularly worth going out of your way for (no offence to the towns themselves, but we're talking about the likes of Fredericia, Vejle, and Horsens)."

I can't speak for Fredericia or Horsens (though quite a lot of trains pass through or terminate in Fredericia, so maybe worth considering some coverage!) but I spent a day and a bit in Vejle, and it's a lovely place! There's the interactive Kulturmuseet in the Spinderihallerne, which was an old spinning mill (one of the best preserved in the country) that's been turned into a brilliant community space, with cafe included; the Økolariet museum on climate change (a lot of it is in Danish, but you get the picture); and things we didn't get to see, like the local art museum, as well as quite a few heritage museums and castles/manors in the surrounding countryside. There's also at least one cathedral and another church worth visiting; plus a windmill and a theatre. And there are some great architectural works to see, like the Fjordenhus and the Wave on the marina. The marina was so great to visit - walking distance from the centre and so scenic, both in bad weather and in good (we experienced both in about 10 min). And plenty of places to choose from for food - we had a lovely vegetarian lunch at slow-food inspired Onkel A, and a lovely mid-afternoon-snack-turned-dinner at Cozy creperie and coffeeshop. Just don't forget that the Danes eat dinner early - you will not get your dinner after 9pm unless you want a burger (vegetarians do not). Luckily, there was a 7/11 at the station; but had we left a bit sooner, we could have gone to one of the many food shops, or had a look around the shopping centre (if we had time to shop, there was the shopping centre plus the main high street).

ALL THIS. This was all left out because, why? Yet in the book, in reviews of towns for southern Jutland, there's one thing to see and it gets a mention. I can understand keeping in some points like this - Jelling has one thing to see and it's worth it being mentioned - but then it dedicates over 2 pages to Billund and Legoland. Let's be honest, Legoland is brilliant but it doesn't need that much of a write-up; or, if you are going to write that up, stick Vejle in the section, too, because it's only 40 min by bus.

Not to mention not all the hotels in Billund are covered (Hotel Svanen was perfectly comfortable and better priced than what they had listed), but then they only mentioned one Guldsmeden hotel in Copenhagen and not the other one (which was cheaper and nearer to the centre of town and the main station), so no surprises there.

I don't know - writing all this out I really think it deserves a 2, but like I say, I'll give it a 3 only because there's a vast amount that it covers that I didn't really have time to explore. Maybe if I go back and see those parts I'll feel better at scrutinising!

[Stephanie Ricker]

No star review for this since I didn't read the whole book; I was interested in the section on the Faroe Islands specifically. Unfortunately that segment was quite short, but it did highlight what seem to be the usual attractions. The restaurant recommendations were helpful especially since restaurants are hard to come by on some of the islands. I will say that it was hard to tell where some locations were located (in terms of which island) since they clumped most of the attractions outside of Torshavn, Vagar, and Klaksvik into one section regardless of island or town. Mildly helpful but it looks like Bradt's guide is going to be much more useful and comprehensive.

[Mrshawn10100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice information. Good overview of Copenhagen, with pictures and narrative (and sufficient type size to read while traveling). If the pictures on maps matched up to not only names, but also a description, it would be a five. I see why they have the descriptions in the area headings, but it makes it harder to find things.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started browsing this book months ago, as we planned the trip to Denmark. It was useful with the Copenhagen planning, but it was less so in some of the other areas of Denmark. We spent a great deal more time in Odense, and that section was sadly small, in comparison to the opportunities that the hotel shared with us when we checked in. And not all of it was HCA-related. :)

[Aletha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was VERY Disappointed that there were NO pictures..... I found it informative but very dry and parts very BORING.... I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone

I was VERY Disappointed that there were NO pictures ..... I found it informative but VERY dry and parts very BORING...... I wouldn't recommend product product

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik heb, zoals bijna altijd, weinig aan te merken op een Lonely Planet-gids. Er is zelfs genoeg te vinden over leuke activiteiten met kinderen, en reizen met de trein. Hoewel dat nog iets uitgebreider zou mogen.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book during my holiday in Denmark.
I higly recommend the lonely planet travel books. They have all kind of information on the land where you want to go.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perused as needed for trip.

[Jo Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this pre lockdown as I was supposed to be going to Copenhagen in May :( Great guide and hopefully I'll get to use it some time soon.

[Kei · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book that's highly informative and useful. Definitely a great resource to help plan my trips to Denmark.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Lonely Planet Denmark which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. This book is a travel guide to Denmark and it covers the country region by region. Much of the book is about the capital Copenhagen which has a population of 1.2 million & 10 michellin rated restaurants. Noma was the highest ranked restaurant in the world in 2010 & 2011. Scandinavia is enjoying a bit of a culinary renaissance and there are many exciting young chefs putting this area on the map. In Copenhagen many people visit Christiana which is an old army base the local young people have declared as a country within a country. The government is trying to make them buy the land if they want to go independent and given them until 2018 to do so due to economic pressure on the government. You do see people openly selling cannabis and hash in Christiana but the selling of hard drugs has been clamped down upon by the Danish police. Esjberg is the newest city in Denmark and has grown rapidly due to the oil & fishing industries. There is a ferry from Harwich in England to Esjberg. Aarhus is Denmark's second city and has an interesting museum. Ryanair do flights from London Stansted to Aarhus and it used to be called Arhus for a while but a while back the locals decided to revert to its original name. Rige has the oldest cathedral in this country dating back to around the 1st millenium. For more adventurous people you can visit Sweden's 3rd city Malmo which is a 35 minute train ride via the huge underground tunnel that rivals the channel tunnel from copenhagen. In the far north of Denmark there is a point where the North Sea meets the Baltic. The Baltic tends to be a degree or two warmer than the North Sea.More recently also the tv series The killing which is mostly filmed in Copenhagen has helped make Denmark an interesting tourist destination.

[Jibran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a good travel companion during my peregrinations in Denmark, although it must be said that I was mostly concerned with its rich chapters on Copenhagen and its environs.

Utility of a travel guide depends closely on your making use of the information and suggestions it offers. I got a lot out of it. On more than one occasions the information came handy and the clearly laid out and user-friendly maps helped me navigate the city streets without trouble.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may be silly to read a travel guide when you are not on vacation, but I am. DAve and I went to Denmark last summer and picked up this book in an airport on the way. It has a pleasant prose style to its blurbs and makes me want to go back to Denmark and see all of the things I missed the first time.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful book for planning a vacation in Denmark. Mentions all of the main attractions and even the more obscure ones. Also appreciated the little walking tours inserted into the book for each large city in Denmark.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

We got this not when we first went to Denmark but when Jake and Alice went to study there--we love the country and the guidebook worked well for traveling throughout the country

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide book has a small section on the city of Arhus and the sites I will see: Radhus, Den Gamle By, and Arhus Domkirke. I hope I can also go to ARoS, art museum.

[Kristina]

damn ebook needs better formatting, just jumps from one description to a list of attractions and then continues mid-way in a description of some other attraction. that is why i've abandoned it.