Cheap flights to Denmark from PLN63*

It is all too easy to fall in love with Denmark, the smallest and most southerly Scandinavian state, which is consistently rated one of the happiest places on earth. Bordering the Baltic Sea, the country is home to Renaissance castles and trailblazing design, sandy beaches and green farmlands, plus some of the world’s best culinary and cultural experiences. Fly to Denmark and discover the land that once dominated much of Scandinavia, inspired fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen, and has given us Lego bricks, Danish pastries and binge-worthy TV shows. Soak up the locals’ laid-back, egalitarian spirit and experience hygge, the untranslatable but quintessentially Danish concept, loosely meaning a feeling of warmth, contentment and cosiness. And did you know that no matter where you are on holiday in Denmark, the sea is never more than 50 kilometres away?

Fly to Denmark to:

• Say hello to Copenhagen’s most well-known resident, the Little Mermaid, gracing the city’s harbourfront.
• Eat your way through the Danish capital, one of the best places in the world for both Michelin-starred fine dining and lip-smacking street food.
• Indulge your inner child: see the original Legoland in Billund, the largest of its kind, or pop into Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, one of the world’s oldest amusement parks.
• Take to two wheels like the locals and make the most of the country’s extensive network of cycling routes.
• Delight in fairy-tale castles, such as Frederiksborg, sitting on three islets in Hillerød, or Egeskov, a beautifully preserved moat castle with hedge mazes.
• Explore the self-governing hippie neighbourhood, Freetown Christiania, housing alternative businesses, eateries and beer gardens, plus live music and street art.
• Roam the windswept beaches of Jutland or take a trip to Bornholm, Denmark’s sunniest island, home to rocky cliffs, unspoiled nature and charming fishing villages.
• Marvel at original Viking vessels in Roskilde, discovered at the bottom of Roskilde Fjord, only 30 kilometres from Copenhagen.
• Take your pick from Denmark’s world-class music festivals, including the crowd-pulling Roskilde Festival, the capital’s five-day street party aptly named Distortion, and the prestigious Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

A force to be reckoned with

Don’t let Denmark’s size fool you. An ancient stomping ground for the Vikings, this pocket of Scandinavia has played a significant role in world history as a naval superpower and has once ruled much of Northern Europe, with a string of colonies across the globe. Over the past decades, the country has switched gears and reinvented itself, embracing social equality, sustainability and a quality of life that is the envy of many. It has also been making a name for itself as a major cultural powerhouse with eye-catching architecture and design, an unparalleled food renaissance, Nordic noir novels and addictive TV shows. The country exudes an understated, timeless beauty that captivates with simplicity instead of screaming ‘look at me’. Make no mistake: once you visit Denmark, you will want to return again and again.

Rich heritage

With a long past carved by Vikings, powerful kings and social welfare advocates, Denmark is overflowing with historical attractions and activities. If you’re after Viking heritage, you’ll definitely be in for a treat. Start your history lesson with Copenhagen’s National Museum (Nationalmuseet), flaunting a huge array of ancient weaponry, rune stones and bronze horns that still work. To fully appreciate the engineering genius of the Vikings, head for Roskilde’s must-see Viking Museum, showcasing five original vessels and their reconstructed replicas. Staying in Billund? Take a day trip to Jelling, the royal seat of 10th-century King Gorm, housing World Heritage burial mounds and runic stones, or explore life in a Viking village at the hands-on Ribe VikingeCenter. Are castles and palaces more your thing? For a chance to catch sight of a member of the Danish royal family, drop by Amalienborg Palace in the capital – time your visit for noon to witness the daily changing of the guard. Or venture further afield and check out the moated Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, dubbed the Danish Versailles, admire Helsingør’s Kronborg Castle, home of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, or lose your heart to the romantic water castle of Egeskov.

Sleek modern architecture and design

Simplicity and functionality are at the heart of the Danish design ethos, with the ultimate aim being creating beautiful things that make life better. Take a flight to Copenhagen and admire the city’s modern architectural gems, including the Black Diamond library extension and the neo-futuristic Copenhagen Opera House, both sitting on the waterfront. Or leave the city centre for the suburban neighbourhood of Ørestad and wonder at the bow-shaped 8 Tallet (8 House) and the glass-clad residential complex known as the VM Houses. The design-savvy shouldn’t miss the excellent Designmuseum Danmark, displaying graphic design and fashion alongside a wide array of iconic Danish chairs, and Illums Bolighus, a huge department store, stocking all things Scandinavian. Are you on a Lego-filled holiday in Billund? Make sure to visit the multi-levelled and multi-coloured Lego House, opened in 2017. Its brilliant design resembles a pile of interlocking plastic bricks and is the ultimate homage to Denmark’s beloved toy.

Fabulous food

In just over a decade, Denmark’s culinary scene has undergone an extraordinary transformation from bland to glam. The much-trumpeted New Nordic movement, born in the mid-2000s, has gone back to the very roots of Scandinavian cooking, and rightly so. Across Denmark, ambitious chefs have been reimagining age-old recipes and been foraging seasonal local ingredients to create dishes defined by freshness, purity, simplicity and sustainability. Book a table at Copenhagen’s Noma, the epitome of the gastronomic revolution, decorated with three Michelin stars and topping the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants no less than four times. If you’re more of a gourmand on a budget, head to a restaurant run by the Copenhagen Food Collective (aka Cofoco), offering creative tasting menus without the price tag. In need of a quick snack? Check out the capital’s new street food market, Reffen, grab a tasty hot dog at one of the country’s ubiquitous wheeled stands or sample the famous Danish open rye bread sandwich known as smørrebrød, topped with anything from meat and fish to egg and shrimp.