Denmark's second city — ARoS rainbow panorama, Viking kings, and the world's happiest smørrebrød
Aarhus is Denmark's second-largest city and arguably its most liveable — a harbour city of 350,000 people consistently ranked among Europe's happiest places, with a world-class contemporary art museum (ARoS, whose rainbow-lit rooftop walkway is one of Denmark's most visited attractions), a well-preserved open-air folk museum (Den Gamle By, 'The Old Town'), and the burial mound of a Viking king at Moesgaard. The food scene has established itself alongside Copenhagen's — Aarhus has per-capita more Michelin-starred restaurants than almost any other Scandinavian city.
Aarhus is one of the oldest cities in Scandinavia — founded by Vikings in the 8th century as Aros (meaning 'river mouth'), and significant enough by the 10th century that the semi-legendary king Harald Bluetooth chose the area for burial. It became a cathedral city in the Middle Ages and was the site of one of the first Lutheran cathedrals in Denmark. The 19th century brought industrialisation via the port; the 20th century brought the university (1928) that now defines the city's youthful character. Aarhus hosted the European Capital of Culture in 2017, accelerating a cultural investment tha…