Den Gamle By is a spectacular open-air museum in Aarhus, which traces Denmark's history from the 16th century to modern-day. Photo / Supplied
Beyond Copenhagen, Aarhus offers something rare: an authentic, liveable Danish city shaped by locals, writes Nikki Birrell.
It’s difficult living in the shadow of a famous sibling. Ask anyone in Aarhus (roughly pronounced Or-hoos). Denmark’s second-largest city has long played the understated counterpart to renowned Copenhagen – but that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.
Unlike its more extroverted sibling, Aarhus doesn’t shout for attention. It doesn’t need to. In a world where many cities have been distorted by mass tourism, Aarhus remains resolutely itself. It’s a city shaped not just for visitors but by and for the people who live there – independent shops, weekend street festivals, the sense that everything here is built with community in mind.
You see that care in its cultural landmarks. ARoS, the world-class contemporary art museum, is topped by Olafur Eliasson’s rainbow panorama – a circular glass walkway where the whole city changes hue as you stroll. Inside, Ron Mueck’s monumental sculpture Boy stands silent and contemplative. ARoS also hosts a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions that place it firmly on the international art map, plus permanent works by Danish modernists and contemporary artists. Even the building itself is a modern marvel of design.
At Moesgaard Museum, archaeological exhibitions bring Denmark’s ancient past to vivid life. Here you’ll find the extraordinary Grauballe Man – a bog body found nearby in 1952, whose face, hair and even stubble survive after 2300 years of peat preservation. On display under carefully controlled conditions, the experience feels hauntingly real. The museum building itself is a triumph – its green roof descending into woodland, galleries tucked within a sleek interior looking out onto forest.
At Den Gamle By, the open-air, museum nestled in the Botanical Gardens, the past is equally vivid. More than 75 historic Danish buildings – some dating to the 16th century – form a living town populated by costumed interpreters. You can play traditional children’s games, sample beer brewed from 19th-century recipes, and buy sweets dating from a 1857 cookbook. In some of the reconstructed housing of the 70s block, you can even open the fridge, cupboards, closets and drawers to get an intimate glimpse into the minutiae of the era. Details such as snoring dummies on the couch and era-specific soundtracks further bring each moment in time to life.
In the city centre, the soaring red brick Domkirken cathedral creates a visual and spiritual anchor. It stands at the edge of Store Torv (the largest public square in Aarhus), a majestic marker between the Latin Quarter and the more commercial centre of Strøget, a walking street leading up to the train station.
The real rhythm of Aarhus is found in its streets. The Latin Quarter – a mosaic of pastel façades, narrow alleys, coloured lanterns, independent clothing and wine shops and quirky bookstores – buzzes with creativity. Mathias Thorstein Breinholt, sommelier and restaurant manager at Domestic restaurant, which is tucked away down a courtyard on the lively street of Mejlgade, calls it one of the city’s hotspots: “When you’re sitting in the Latin Quarter … the sun is hitting … people are moving around … it’s just perfect in many regards.” La Cabra, in the heart of that quarter, is the bakery coffee shop benchmark; but everywhere the area pulses with late-night life, concept shops and student energy.
Further afield, beyond the train station, Jaegergårdsgade is its own lively corridor of bars, modern Danish restaurants and late-night buzz – distinct from the Latin Quarter, but part of the wider fabric of local hangouts.
Second-hand culture thrives across the city, from the multiple curated vintage stores to more makeshift solutions. It’s common to see residents place outgrown garments on street-side racks, each item labelled with a price and a MobilePay number – a quiet emblem of Aarhus’ community trust and circular mindset.
And if it didn’t come across already, let’s reiterate: Aarhus eats exceptionally well. At one end of the vast spectrum is the aforementioned Domestic – Michelin-starred and awarded another Michelin green star for sustainability. Its 14-course tasting menu is built using only Danish-grown ingredients – no lemons, no chocolate, no vanilla. Instead, you’ll encounter incredible creativity to compensate: fermentations, pickles and preserved seasonal flavours; produce captured in jars, colourfully lining one wall; a SCOBY fermenting in a glass vat. As Breinholt explains: “New Nordic cuisine to me is understanding what the season is … and not just the four classical seasons … Strawberries at their peak for one week, asparagus comes and goes … that urgency drives us.”
Executive chef and owner Christoffer Norton and head chef Ben Hurley collaborate daily and the kitchen has embraced sustainability from the outset – sourcing composted biodynamic vegetables, serving biodynamic wines and integrating permaculture principles – long before such terms became culinary currency.
On the other end of the spectrum, Aarhus Street Food pulses with global energy. Housed in a former bus depot, it offers everything from Thai noodles to Greek gyros – alongside Danish classics. Breinholt notes that smørrebrød – the rye-bread open sandwich topped with pickles, fish or cold cuts – is enjoying a revival, reclaimed by a younger generation as retro cool and locally meaningful.
Traditional Danish menus sit comfortably within the city’s dining story. At places like Teater Bodega, Kløkken and Kohalen, you’ll find dishes less about trend than continuity, flavour and familiarity. Fried plaice with remoulade, meatballs with pickled cucumber, and creamy herring with rye bread – dishes that have fed generations. But contemporary, trendy cuisine is also easily found; try Bar Piatto, Capo and Atelier 33 for the full gamut.
Diversity defines the city’s architecture, too. Nineteenth-century red-brick row houses sit alongside sleek glass-fronted harbour developments. Mixed in are the tiny, brightly painted half-timbered houses of the 18th and 19th centuries – none prettier than those on Møllestien. Built between 1870 and 1885 as simple “booths” for working-class tenants, today their rambling hollyhocks and bicycles leaning under small paned windows create what feels like a provincial village tucked into the city centre.
One of Aarhus’s other great strengths is how quickly it yields to nature. Within minutes of the centre, Risskov forest unfurls – towering oak and beech woodland laced with trails above the sea. To the south lies Marselisborg Forest and Dyrehaven – a deer park where fallow and sika wander freely, sometimes friendly enough to touch. Nearby, the Infinity Bridge arcs into the sea – a gracefully looping wooden pier from the Sculpture by the Sea festival that now has permanent status. Den Permanente beach (below Risskov) and Ballehage (in Marselisborg) offer safe, sandy stretches for both summer swimmers and brave winter plungers. This proximity to trees, trails, water and wildlife is part of what makes Aarhus feel so consistently liveable.
“People are proud of Aarhus,” says Breinholt. “They want to use the city. To enjoy it. To create it.” That pride is grounded, not performative. As Breinholt also notes, Aarhus no longer feels like Copenhagen’s little sibling: “I came back after years away and suddenly Aarhus wasn’t looking up anymore – it had grown into its own.”
Aarhus doesn’t demand attention – it offers presence. And in an age where overtourism can sometimes hollow out places, the city quietly stands as something richer: authentic, sustainable and lived.
The writer was hosted by ARoS, Moesgaard, Den Gamle By and Domestic.