Roskilde, Denmark – what to do and see

When people are talking about what to visit in Denmark you often hear Copenhagen, Aarhus or Odense. This is also a pretty good choice. If you are interested in ether Copenhagen, Aarhus or Odense, you can read our blogpost about them here. But for now, lets talk about Roskilde.

What to do and see, by people who lived here for the most of their lives !

Roskilde is one of the most exciting citys in Denmark. Stefan and I live here and have for many years. Stefan is born and raised here and at the age of 18, he moved to Copenhagen and stayed there for 15 years. When he met me, I was living in Roskilde on my 5th year. So he moved in with be and back to Roskilde. We still enjoy all the good things about this place like restaurants, the harbor, the city center with markeds and stores, the national parks and concerts. So if we go straight to the recommendation list!

Roskilde Cathedral

This masterpiece of a church was founded back in the 12th century by Harald Blåtand who was king and ruler over Denmark and noway. He was the first king in Denmark who got into Christianity and that´s why he build it, so he could spread the word about hope, belief and Jesus Christ.
Through the past 800 years the cathedral has also been the graveyard of the royal family which means that a lot of kings and queens through the time was buried there. But not only the history makes this building unique, also the way it is build and the entire structure. With its great tall towers and Gothic design it makes the list of the UNESCO World Heritage and has been there since 1995. The Cathedral is also part of the European route of Brick Gothic. You can find tickets and opening hours here!

The Viking ship Museum

This museum is a must see if you are curious about the vikings and how they lived. It is located by the harbor so that makes your trip even better. Start your day with brunch at the harbor in one of the local restaurants.
After that, take a walk around the area, get a coffee, look at the boats and enjoy the fresh air and good conversations, maybe swing by RoS´gallery and enjoy modern art.
Now you are ready to enter the viking ship museum that contains 5 original ships from the viking age.
You can book a guided tour and the guides will take you back to the time when the vikings ruled all of Scandinavia and the seas around. Bring your family and get a little closer to the Scandinavian history.

Roskilde Festival

Roskilde festival is biggest festival in Northern Europe, with more than 80.000 attendees every year. It started as a little project back in 1971 and since 1972 it has been a non-profit festival and still is to this day. Every year, thousands of people volunteers to work at the festival and have a good time. The festivals focus is of course music but in all genres. Right from Bob Marley (Reggae) to Slipknot (metal) to Rihanna (pop), but not only the music is a factor.
The Roskilde festival team says;
“their ambition is to develop open, cultural and participatory communities that engage and move people through music, art, sustainability and active involvement.”
This takes place in the beginning of July. Do you like art, creativity and music? Then Roskilde festival is for you!

MUSICON

And now straight from the festival and to our new part of the city who is inspired by it. Musicon! Our home! Before everything was build, this was just a field with a cement factory on it. But that is in the past and the factory is now a folk high school! Besides that, we have Ragnarock. Its a huge golden building with a museum for pop, rock and culture of youth in it. You dont wanna miss that!
Otherwise this place is home for companies, small local shops, a lot of people live here in new apartments buildings. One of the funny thing about this place is that we have many events here from week to week. Sometimes we have foodfestivals with a lot of food trucks, on other times we have small concerts or even second hand or vintage markeds with furniture, accessories and clothing.
in 2022 Musicon won an international price for its appearance and urban development.
You´ll find everything here. Art, music, freedom and local treats. It is located only 17 minuts walk from the train station in the city center.

Algade & Ros´torv

Roskilde is also a great place for shopping. About 250 m from the train station you´ll find Algade. Algade is the local shopping street with all kinds of shops, stores, cafés and much more. Take a break from all the culture and history and enjoy a shopping trip.
If you still wanna be cultural, you can combine your shopping tour with a visit to Roskilde Cathedral, that is located right next to Algade… and it is not possible to miss.
Ros´torv is the local mall, with its classic design and cosy atmosphere you can chill and do some shopping, and when you are done, you can have some food and go to the cinema on the first floor. On a rainy day, this is a nice place to be. If you wanna know more about Ros´torv, just click here!

Gimle & The Raven

Gimle is our local concert venue. They got musicians, comedians and small shows all year. You can see the schedule for this year right here.
The raven is a little bar right new to the venue, its really nice and cheap. Go get a beer or a glass of wine before the show and again after. If you stay at Zleep Hotel prindsen, you dont have to walk far to get home. It’s just about 300m away.

Restaurants? No problem!

We have som really nice restaurants here as well. We can personally make a few recommendations. We have made links straight to the restaurants here, so you can explore it for yourself.

– Restaurant Vigen. Fine dinning with the best view over the city and the fjord . Enjoy some lunch with the danish classics “Smørrebrød” but with a twist or dinner with the tasting menu (4 or 6 dishes)
– Svogerslev kro. Choose classic dishes or a tasting menu. This place is an old inn and with its old and charming atmosphere and well prepared food, you are guaranteed a wonderful night out. (Their waiters are the best!)
–Mama Nua. If you want something else than a fancy tasting menu or classic danish food, try some authentic thai cuisine. We love this on a cold winter day. Amazing, spiced and full of flavor.
– Café korn. If you just wanna have a salad or a (not greasy) burger for that matter for a decent amount of money, you should choose café korn. This is a food chain, but it is actually really nice and cosy.

A lovely place to stay and a lovely place to live

So… All in all, Roskilde is a wonderful and exciting place to be. We love to live here and we hope that you´ll use some of our recommendations when you visit (because, you do visit!)
If you are curious about anything about Roskilde or some of our other travel destinations, you are more than welcome to contact us and we will get back to you as fast as possible. <3