The 19 Best Museums and Galleries in Denmark

The National Museum of Denmark proves an ideal destination for those who want to gain an insight into the Danish society from the prehistoric age to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The largest cultural and historical museum in Denmark, this museum displays a great permanent collection as well as many intriguing temporary exhibitions. History buffs should certainly start their culture tour in The National Museum of Denmark before hitting Copenhagen’s other museums. Aside from Danish history, this museum also has an exhibition space filled with items from Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, and Oceania.

Artworks and antiquities from the beginning of history in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Etruria, and the Roman Empire in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, one of Denmark’s most interesting museums. Founded at the turn of the 20th century by Carl Jakobsen, a great art lover and collector, the Glyptoteke has been a significant asset in Denmark’s cultural and educational sectors for over a century. The museum also includes Danish artworks in its wide collection, so those who would rather see paintings from the famous Danish Golden Age than Egyptian antiquities won’t be disappointed. Nonetheless, don’t forget to check the mummies in Glyptotek’s Egyptian burial chamber.

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) is considered one of the most famous Danish sculptors. The Thorvaldsens Museum remains the only museum in the world that can brag about displaying all his works. Another reason this museum holds a place in this list, however, is that Thorvaldsen was also a passionate art collector. In his lifetime, he managed to build an extensive collection of paintings from his own time and artworks and objects from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquity. Moreover, the building itself is considered an architectural masterpiece. Inspired by the patterns and the colors found in the excavations in the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, architect Michael Gottlieb Bindes­bøll created a unique building by guiding the natural light on the sculptures to create a variety of moods.

Covering 700 years of art, it is no wonder why people consider the National Gallery of Denmark to hold country’s largest collection of art experiences. Visitors have the chance to discover masterpieces of French Art from 1900-1930 – including artwork by Picasso, Braque, Derain, and Matisse – as well as Danish and Nordic art from 1750 to 1900 presenting masterpieces of the Danish Golden Age, European Art from 1300-1800 – displaying paintings of Mantegna, Cranach, and Rembrandt among others – and Danish and International Art after 1900.

Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Richard Hamilton are only a few of the accomplished artists whose paintings the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art displays. Located on the coast of Øresund in Humlebæk (approximately 40 minutes from Copenhagen), a visit to this museum is the perfect chance for day trip that combines culture and natural beauty.

The four large galleries, a separate exhibition room especially designed for light, video and installation art, the 350-square-meter West Gallery, and ‘Your panorama rainbow’ located on the top of the museum, combine to pique ARoS visitors’ interests for a few hours. The art museum, in the heart of Aarhus, is one of Europe’s largest and since the first day it opened its doors in 2004, it has welcomed visitors from all over the world.

A prehistoric and ethnographic museum, Moesgård Museum highlights the evolution of human kind. Chronologically presented, its exhibitions span from the Stone Age up to the Vikings’ Age (800-1066). Coupling education with interactive entertainment, the museum’s exhibitions, interactive installations, and special settings with light, sounds, and animations will captivate audiences of all ages.

Besides a great collection of 4,000 art pieces mainly from the 20th century, Kunsten also conducts a variety of events including lectures, film screenings, and concerts. Often thought provoking, Kunsten’s exhibitions address contemporary social and political issues and invite the audience to participate and take part in criticism. Following the building’s renovation in 2016, the museum introduced a new exhibition gallery, teaching rooms, café and shop facilities, and a fully-refurbished sculpture park featuring a large new terrace.

Though 400 art pieces comprise the museum’s permanent collection, ARKEN aims to examine and analyze the human condition of modern man as well as the definition of art itself. ARKEN showcases many remarkable pieces of world-renowned established and up-and-coming artists including Ai WeiWei, Olafur Eliasson, and Jeppe Hein.

Trapholt’s visitors can stroll around 2,500 square meters of exhibition space divided into eight galleries. Displaying a variety of artworks of a different style, collections include Danish furniture design, ceramics, textiles and product designs, the sculpture park with works by Danish contemporary artists, a permanent Richard Mortensen exhibition, modern Danish visual art, and Arne Jacobsen’s Cube-Flex Summer House.

Anika Lori is a Danish-Italian mixed media artist represented by Copenhagen’s V1 Gallery. She grew up in the city of Aarhus and studied at the Fatamorgana Danish School of Art Photography before acting as assistant to the Israeli-born Danish painter Tal R for three years where she honed her talents and skills. Much of Lori’ work is based around collage; her pieces are colorful yet darkly surreal collections of symbols of pop culture, history and mythology put together with a punk DIY ethos. She has also turned her hand to unique site-specific works in unusual places including a café, DJ booth and a restaurant pissoir. The versatile artist, who has had her works exhibited in galleries in London, Paris and Berlin, often also works with paint and sculpture.

With two diverse spaces, each one of them comprising two or three separate rooms, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard usually hosts two exhibitions at the time. From contemporary paintings and sculptures to photography and video, the gallery’s founders aren’t afraid of experimenting and always strive to present different forms of art to the public. Bo Bjerggaard gallery has held a significant place in Denmark’s art scene for 18 years, hosting the artworks of European and American artists.

Martin Asbæk Gallery has hosted a great number of artists whose artworks have been displayed in biennials, museums and exhibitions all over the world. In Asbæk’s gallery, visitors will get the chance to see all kind of art forms, from paintings and sculptures to photography, video and embroidery. The established gallery has taken part in several art fairs in Europe and USA – including Paris Photo, VOLTA NY/ Basel, The Armory Show NY and Art Brussels.

If you’re strolling around the Meatpacking District in Copenhagen, make a stop at Gallery Poulsen and rummage through its contemporary art exhibitions. With 14 years experience in the art scene, Poulsen is undoubtedly considered one of the most significant galleries in Denmark. The gallery houses mostly American artists, whose paintings on canvas and paper are characterized by a clean and satirical style. Gallery Poulsen hosts eight to ten exhibitions every year and participates in national fairs and international fairs, such as Pulse and Volta in New York, Miami and Basel.

Located in Copenhagen’s city center among The National Gallery of Denmark, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, Art Institutes and The Danish Art Council, Galleri Christoffer Egelund does its bit to add a cultural note to the already stylish district. The exhibition space has hosted a great number of emerging and established artists, who specialize in different forms of art such as works on paper, photos, paintings, sculptures, performance and video.

LYNfabrikken is much more than an art gallery; it’s an innovative space which promotes the exchange of ideas when it comes to art, design and work. When the former factory was refurbished in 2002, a roof terrace, coffee shop, work space and exhibition space were created in the building – breathing new air in the city of Aarhus. The BOX Exhibition is a closed space which means that the audience can only look at the artworks through a giant window. Several designers, artists and craftsmen have displayed their works in LYNfabrikken experimenting with the innovative’s exhibition space spacial terms.

Charlotte Fogh, the founder of the gallery has a great experience as curator and consultant for museums, private collections, companies and art societies, so she knows how to peak the best art pieces for her gallery. Over the past 11 years, Charlotte Fogh Gallery has hosted numerous artworks of established and emerging artists from the contemporary art scene, always showcasing high-level art to its visitors. With approximately eight exhibitions throughout the year, the noble gallery definitely holds the interest of the city’s art enthusiasts alive.

The people behind Galerie Wolfsen never stop seeking for new talents of the art scene and their history proves that they definitely know how to spot the best ones. Several Danish and international contemporary artists, whose names are now quite known in the art world, have exhibited their works in Galerie Wolfsen. Since the gallery opened its doors for the first time to the public in 1992, millions of art enthusiasts have rummaged through Wolfsen’s exhibition rooms.

Væg Gallery was founded in 2012 by Lars Bonde and ever since it has been striving to discover and present emerging artists to the public. As the founder of the gallery is related to art himself, he always establishes a special relationship with the artists and their creations. Vӕg has hosted a great number of exhibitions of different art forms; from photography and painting to sculpture and wood prints.