Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is located in the center of Copenhagen and the museum collection consists primarily of Danish and French art work of the 19th century and archaeological artefacts from ancient Egypt, the Greek and Roman impires, and from the Middle Eastern cultures. Art and beer Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek was founded by the brewer, Carl Jacobsen (the founder of Carlsberg breweries), who was one of the great industrial magnates of the 19th century and the greatest art patron Denmark has seen. In 1888 Carl Jacobsen gave his art collection to the public and began the building of the Glyptoteket. Glyptoteket has been open to the public since 1897 and holds over 10,000 works, primarily divided between ancient antiquities and Danish and French sculpture and paintings from the 19th century. The collection The collection of ancient sculptures includes an extensive collection of Ancient Greek and Roman portrait heads as well as a large collection of Palmyrene portraits. The modern part of the collection includes French sculptures from the 19th century – featuring a significant selection of works by Auguste Rodin – and French paintings from 1800 to 1950, with Impressionism and Paul Gauguin as the absolute stars, plus a collection of Danish Golden Age Art. The main proportion of the collection is part of the museum’s permanent exhibitions, though there are, also, temporary special exhibitions which help to develop a perspective on the museum’s collection with the aid of works on loan. The Winter Garden, café and roof terraceUnwind from the daily grind at the café overlooking the beautiful and spacious Winter Garden. Picnic is open on the same days as the museum itself. They serve tasty light lunches, desserts, coffee and other beverages. Visit the roof terrace of the Glyptotek and experience a beautiful view of Copenhagen and the city towers. Every summer, the museum café serves cold drinks, snacks, coffee and cake for you to enjoy in open air.  

SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark SMK - The National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst) is Denmark’s largest art museum, featuring outstanding collections of Danish and international art from the past seven centuries. SMK is located just off of Copenhagen's Nørreport station. Here you can experience special exhibitions, the royal collections, guided tours, performances, art talks, concerts, workshops and much more. At the SMK you can enjoy the grand masters of art history along with cutting-edge contemporary artists and the rising stars of the art scene. No other museum in Denmark shows such a rich and varied selection of art – from the European classics of the Renaissance to the overwhelming diversity of modern and contemporary art. Here you will find gems by artists such as Mantegna, Nolde, Anna Ancher, Derain, Rubens, Matisse, Hammershøi, Munch, Abramovic, Danh Vo and Elmgreen & Dragset. SMK is especially famous for its beautiful collection of Danish Golden Age art, the country’s most comprehensive collection of Danish contemporary art – and one of the world’s best Matisse collections.  

ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art in Ishøj south of Copenhagen presents exhibitions with Danish, Nordic and international art – from new, young talents to established names ARKEN is a great and monumental building situated in the artificial landscape Køge Bay Beach south of Copenhagen. The museum has one of Scandinavia's finest collections of contemporary art, and the museum's maritime architecture with the pointed stern, which majestically protudes into the terrain, has won recognition both at home and abroad since its inaugaration in 1996.  ARKEN's collection contains more than 400 works - Danish, Nordic and international contemporary art primarly from the period after 1990. The museum houses, among other things, one of Europe's most important collections of the British artist Damien Hirst. Experience the museum's evolving sculpture park, nine works by acclaimed German artist Anselm Reyle as well as a magnificent masterpiece by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.  Distinctive architecture The museum building is an attraction in itself. With its scenic location on Kunstens Ø, or ‘Art Island’, the building, designed by the architect Søren Robert Lund, resembles a beached ship. A lagoon meanders its way around the museum, with several bridges linking the museum island with the surrounding beach area. The museum café hangs like a lifeboat on the side of the building and through the large panoramic windows overlooks Køge Bay.The museum shop is the area's leading design shop with an inspiring mix of Nordic design, art books, and gift items. From the 6/2-25 until 21/9-25: ALL WALKS OF LIFE by Frederik Næblerød (arken.dk) ARKEN opens in 2025 the largest solo exhibition to date with the Danish artist Frederik Næblerød (b. 1988). He is known for his uncompromising art, where he challenges with great creative power our accustomed understanding of painting and sculpture in a raw, energetic and playful style.With his works ranging from painting, ceramics, bronze and drawing to large-scale installations, he has created a very special artistic universe that invites us inside into the spontaneous, absurd and humorous. The exhibition at ARKEN will be an intense and sensual encounter with Frederik Næblerød's art. The exhibition is full of surprising spaces, and on the way around you get very close to the artist and his gaze on the contemporary. Frederik Næblerød unfolds a unique, humorous and boundary-breaking idiom in his works, which are sampled from science fiction, myths, dreams and images that he sees in everyday life. Næblerød creates art out of a great inner necessity, and at ARKEN there is an exhibition where art and life flow together.  

Copenhagen Contemporary (CC) is Copenhagen’s international art center showing installation art created by world stars and new emerging talents It occupies the magnificent former B&W welding hall offering a total of 7,000 m2 of beautiful industrial halls with plenty of space to show the technical and large formats in which many contemporary artists work: total installations, performance art, and monumental video works. Art that can often be entered and sensed with the whole body.  Copenhagen Contemporary is one of Scandinavia’s largest exhibition venues for contemporary art and a lively meeting place for a wide audience. CC creates collaborative partnerships and organises events with a number of different partners across cultural genres locally and internationally. You can attend art talks, art walks, concerts, creative workshops for children, visit CC’s own shop offering Scandinavian design, and experience the unique and historical city district of Refshaleøen.  Situated centrally in B&W’s iconic welding hall, CC is an international power hub in Copenhagen’s new cultural district. The special quality of this area continues to be defined by its industrial history: the area is raw and green with commanding views across Copenhagen Harbour. The district is a mix of first-class gourmet restaurants and small entrepreneurial initiatives; you can go for a dip in the sea, for a sauna, enjoy a glass of wine, and eat grilled food, buy quality bread and visit Copenhagen’s most popular food market with stalls from across the world and lounge areas by the water’s edge. Not forgetting the climbing, skating,and skiing activities, the flea market, and the theatre and music festivals, which are just some of the many activities this area has to offer.  Exhibtions (copenhagencontemporary.org): Emma Talbot: Are You a Living Thing That Is Dying or a Dying Thing That Is Living? - 1.2 - 31.8.25British artist Emma Talbot creates vibrant, poetic fantasy worlds that explore human existence in a connected and ever-changing universe. Her first solo exhibition in Denmark presents a captivating installation featuring monumental silk paintings, three-dimensional textile works, animation, and intricate drawings.Talbot’s works intertwine the mysteries of the universe with the urgent ecological and political challenges of our time. Through a naked, faceless figure—a symbolic stand-in for the artist—she invites us into a dreamlike narrative that encourages reflection on sustainability, resilience, and humanity’s place within the natural cycle.The exhibition poses an existential question: Are you a living thing that is dying, or a dying thing that is living?

Statues in heathery hills and concrete architecture Men and women in bronze are looking over the heathery hills in the park. And in the impressive octagonal room in the museum, where the ceiling is 11 metres above you, you find more men and women, now in white plaster. It is a very special experience walking around in Rudolph Tegner’s Museum and the Statue Park – a calm yet intense experience where beautiful nature and bombastic concrete architecture are combined.   Use the route-planner in the Copenhagen Card app to find the easiest route. A walk in Russia The natural area where you find Rudolph Tegner’s statues is called Russia. The rather special name relates to the remoteness of the place. However, from Russia and Rudolph Tegner’s Museum to the nearest town, i.e. Dronningmølle in North Sealand, is only 2 kilometres. In the park, you find 14 Rudolph Tegner statues while walking around the heathery hills outside the museum. See the art in Rudolph Tegner’s Statue Park. Almost like a church The museum room was designed by Rudolph Tegner himself with the purpose of housing all his artworks. It was built in 1937-38, and when walking through the large gate, you almost feel like you are in a church. The solid walls, the high ceiling and the absence of large windows make all sounds resonate between the statues. The permanent collection counts 355 of Rudolph Tegner’s artworks. Most of them are originals in plaster; others are in bronze and marble. Climbing trees and activities for children Children are welcome at the museum. In Statue Park, there are climbing trees. You can also go treasure hunting or orienteering during your visit – both require that you have information about the artworks. If you want to be creative, you can visit the drawing workshop to try to draw various artworks. Activities for children all over North Sealand. Søren’s Café When you have walked the hills and experienced the octagonal museum room, you can visit the café where you can get lunch or a cup of coffee. The café at Rudolph Tegner’s Museum is open in the summer season. They serve coffee, tea, cake, sandwiches, ice cream, etc. Here you find the opening hours of Café Søren at Rudolph Tegner’s Museum. One of Denmark’s great sculptors Rudolph Tegner was educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1893. His art was very controversial at that time. His work is intense, dramatic and huge and comes under the art form called vitalism. His work formed a great contrast to other Danish sculptors such as Bertel Thorvaldsen. For a great part of his artistic life, Rudolph Tegner lived in France and 1916; he bought the area outside Dronningmølle, where he constructed his museum. Here, he is buried together with his wife, Elna. Combine your trip to Tegner's museum with a nice day trip to the beach town Hornbæk.