Bakken (Sealand)
Known as the world’s oldest amusement park, Bakken traces its happy lineage back more than 420 years. This really is a place where the fun never ends! 

City Bikes (Copenhagen)
There are more than 1,000 free bikes available at racks all over the city. Ride in the bike lanes on the streets or through the parks and along Langelinie to see the statue of The Little Mermaid. www.bycyklen.dk

Copenhagen Zoo
Copehangen’s Have Zoo features a Tropical Zoo, Children’s Zoo and Night Zoo, all housing some 2500 animals including lions, zebras, elephants, polar bears and more. www.zoo.dk 

Experimentarium (Copenhagen)
A hands-on museum of science and technology with has a lot to stimulate the imagination. www.experimentarium.dk/index_uk.html

Frederiksborg Castle (Hillerød, North Sealand)
Located just outside Copenhagen, this beautifully preserved 17^th century castle is home to the Danish Museum of National History. www.ses.dk/english.php 

Hans Christian Andersen Sites (Odense)
The world’s favourite fairy tale writer was born in Odense and his legacy saturates the city. Visit his birthplace, see the Andersen-inspired sculpture in the parks, and enjoy the summertime Hans Christian Andersen parades and plays in Lotze’s Garden. www.visitodense.com/index.php?sprog=gb&save=sprog

Louis Tussauds Voksmuseum (Copenhagen)
While Copenhagen's very own Tussaud's wax museum is not as big as Madame Tussaud's in London, it has an impressive collection of wax models of celebrities. with accompanying sound effects. You will find Danish and foreign kings, as well as movie and media stars. The museum also contains a fairytale-land and a chamber of horrors. Located at H.C. Andersens Boulevard 22 Phone: +45 33 11 8900

Ribe Vikingecenter (Ribe, Jutland)
Located 123km from Odense, this fascinating living history site recreates an authentic Viking farm, town and market. Costumed guides demonstrate falconry, crafts and Viking combat. Learn to shoot a longbow, bake flatbread and more. If anyone in your family is a Viking fan, this unique experience will be worth the trip. Bus tours are available. www.ribevikingecenter.dk 

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum (Copenhagen)
Ripley's is called 'a museum of adventure' and consists of 13 exciting galleries full of strange and exotic objects. In the Quackery gallery you will find many bizarre gadgets that were believed to cure many diseases. If you want to compete with the tallest man in the world or see how heavy the heaviest man in the world is, you can pay a visit to the gallery of Human Peculiarities. Ripley's is a fun filled experience for the whole family. www.topattractions.dk/

Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen)
Denmark’s most beloved 160-year old amusement park is open from April through September and again for the Christmas season when the lake becomes an ice-skating rink. Enjoy rides, games, food and entertainment around a lake in a tree-filled pleasure garden in the heart of the city.

Cycling
Denmark is a superb country for cycling. The roads are relatively quiet and the country boasts an attractive undulating landscape. The average Dane cycles 3km per day. Due to its popularity, cyclists enjoy a variety of well-maintained routes and facilities around the towns and in the countryside. It is a safe and fun activity for the whole family - drivers of cars are very accommodating to cyclists, making it an almost surreal experience. 

Bicycles can be hired from local tourist offices or bicycle shops. Bicycles are allowed on all Danish ferries, several small passenger boats, most trains, buses and airplanes. 

Copenhagen has a generous scheme called Byckler, in which anyone can borrow a bicycle for free. There are over 1000 bikes available from 1 May to 15 December. These bikes can be found at 125 widely scattered street stands, including S-train stations. To get your free city bike, just deposit a 20kr coin in the stand to release the bike. When you’re done, you can return it at any stand and get your 20kr coin back. 

Enthusiasts can join any one of the 150 annual races that are held around the country, the most popular being the Arhus-Copenhagen Race every June. www.aarus-koebenhav.de

Fishing
Denmark has excellent facilities for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. The country abounds with streams and lakes, all well stocked with perch, pike and trout. Sea fishing tours can be arranged with local fishermen at many Danish harbours, and large groups may charter a boat for themselves. Fishing off the shores of Denmark’s 7500km-long coastline is widely available. Anglers must not take up position within 50 metres of a dwelling place. A fishing license is required in all cases (except for under 18 and over 65, who are free) and can be obtained from Danish post offices, local tourist offices and angling shops. Special licenses for tourists (valid from one day to one week) are available. Anglers are obliged to inform themselves about fishing restrictions and closed seasons. For further information and addresses of angling societies, contact the Danish Sports Fishing Association on +45 75 82 0699.

Golf
Denmark has around 130 golf courses, a number of which are top-quality. Some of the best year-round courses are Copenhagen Golf Club (Scandinavia’s oldest), the immaculate and beginner-friendly Odense Golf Club, the challenging USGA standard Royal Oak Gold Club, the exceptionally beautiful Harre Vig Golf Club, and the pleasantly sheltered Bornholm Golf Club with oodles of wildlife to keep you entertained. For further information, contact the Danish Golf Union on +45 43 26 2700.

Horse Riding
Horse riding is excellent in Denmark, with fantastic trails and scenic rides spread throughout the country. Strong, steady and smart, Icelandic horses were once used by the Vikings and can be found all over. Especially rewarding are rides in Jutland (Aalborg and Arhus) where trails meander along forested paths, river banks and coastlines. Rides can be organised through riding companies almost everywhere in Denmark at very moderate rates.

Walking & Hiking
Denmark is full of picturesque scenery and peaceful places. Beaches are great for a stroll, the majority boasting outstandingly clean water, silky sand and plenty of space. Walkers are allowed to explore any stretch of coast, no matter who owns it as well as the forests, but you must stay on the paths. Hikers will enjoy Denmark’s only national park, Rebild Bakker, near Skorping, as well as the Lake District in Sohojlandet, Jutland.

Danish cuisine is homely and hearty, mostly based on fish, meat and butter. However, you will find vegetarian options as well as a variety of international cuisines.

Generally the most prominent top-end restaurants feature what’s called Danish-French cuisine, a creative fusion combining the sauces of the French fare with the addition of fresh Danish vegetables and seafood. The dagens ret (daily special) is usually the best value on the menu, whereas the bornemenu is for children.

Mediterranean buffets and Italian restaurants that serve the standard pizza and pasta fare are good for inexpensive meals. Simple Greek, Egyptian, Lebanese and Moroccan eateries selling shawarma (pita bread sandwich filled with meat) are an affordable alternative to fast-food chains. 

A distinctively Danish presentation is the koldt bord (cold table), a buffet-style spread of cold foods such as sliced meats, smoked fish, cheeses, vegetables, salads, breads, crackers, condiments and sweets. Plus there is usually a few hot dishes such as meatballs and fried fish. The foundation of the kold bord is herring, which comes in pickled, marinated and salted versions. Herring is usually served as a starter with raw onions and washed down with cold aquavit or schnapps, a kind of alcohol. 

Smørrebrød are a very popular open sandwich often eaten for lunch. They range from very basic toppings to very elaborate, consisting of sourdough rye bread with butter, topped with slices of meat, fish or cheese and garnishes. Danes eat it sitting down with a knife and fork. 

A normal Danish breakfast, or morgen-complet, consists of an assortment of breads, rolls, jam and cheese, often also sliced meats, boiled eggs and warm Danish pastries, along with coffee or tea. 

Denmark has delicious coffee and many varieties of beer, famous breweries being Carlsberg and Tuborg. Most popular is pilsner (lager) but there are also darker beers. Akvavit, popularly known as schnapps is meant to be drunk with cold food, preferably with a beer chaser. It is served ice cold. 

A service charge of 15% is included in the bill so tipping is not necessary, although it is customary to round up the bill if the service was particularly good.

Danish cities are a shopper’s delight. Explore the traditions of Danish design, arts and crafts, distinctive furniture and designer clothes of international standard. You’ll find it all in modern department stores or in small, interesting speciality shops.

Throughout the country you will find a wide array of articles by Danish designers. Porcelain, glass, jewellery and hi-fi equipment are some of the items that have helped bring fame to Denmark. Famous brands include Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, Georg Jensen and Bang & Olufsen.

On the fashion front, brands such as Day & Mikkelsen, Malene Birger, Munthe Plus Simonsen, In Wear, Susanne Rützau, Ann Viberg and Vila are among the best known. In addition you will find many international brands represented in Denmark. Special Danish purchases include Bing & Grøndal and Royal Copenhagen porcelain, Holmegård glass, Bornholm ceramics, handmade woollens from the Faroe Islands and Lego toys. 

On a local level it is worth seeking out the artists’ studios and shops that you will find in almost every town and village. Some very talented people can be found here, working in visual arts, ceramics, glass, fashion and jewellery. You may even be pleasantly surprised at some of the prices. 

The compact layout of Copenhagen’s city centre makes shopping an enjoyable relief compared to bigger, sprawling cities. A stroll down Strøget and its surrounding streets is an easily manageable exercise and within just a few hundred yards the scene can change from large department stores to curious speciality boutiques. Finding what you want is easy in Copenhagen. The city has loosely defined quarters which tend to attract trades and shops of a similar nature; Avant-garde and underground in Larsbjørnsstræde, art and cutting edge design in the Royal District, major department stores and leading big-name stores on Strøget and the new face of Danish fashion in Kronprinsensgade. 

Arhus features a wealth of fascinating quarters to explore, each with their own distinctive appeal. A trip down Strøget, the pedestrian street, is a shopper’s paradise. With its range of around 100 shops, you are bound to find what you are looking for. The pedestrian street leads into Store Torv, a beautifully situated square with a splendid Cathedral. Behind the Cathedral in the Latin Quarter, visit quaint, old-world streets and soak up the special blend of Scandinavian and European flavour while sipping a cappuccino among the in-crowd. 

Odense’s city centre features three kilometres of pedestrian streets, bringing shoppers to everything from department stores to the best in unique boutiques. Here is the place to see and buy the latest fashions and visit the galleries. Aalborg has boasts a wide range of specialist shops alongside department stores. There are two long pedestrian streets - Bispensgade and Algade – in the city centre, as well as a few smaller pedestrian streets radiating off these. 

Visitors from outside the EU can often claim back some of the tax (VAT), known as MOMS, on goods purchased that are sent straight to their home country from shops in Denmark.