Photograph by Quintin Lake
Smart Cities: Aarhus, Denmark
Copenhagen gets all the attention, but Denmark’s lesser known city of Aarhus is giving Nordic travelers many reasons to go west.
ByAdam H. Graham
September 06, 2017
3 min readSituated about a hundred miles northwest of Copenhagen, Aarhus has been designated a 2017 European Capital of Culture, and both the city and the central Denmark region received the title of the 2017 European Region of Gastronomy. To see it now is to witness a city undergoing a transformation, as new food markets, light-rail links, futuristic libraries, refurbed hotels, and value-centric restaurants—an alternative to Copenhagen’s exorbitant prices—have reinvigorated this Danish city.
But Aarhus’s makeover has been in the works for the past several years. In 2009 it announced plans to go carbon neutral by 2030, and it has stayed on track since. The city has evaluated 70-plus new technologies to determine which will have the biggest impact on carbon reduction.
Most of all, it’s presenting a variety of ways to experience its charms, both new and old.
Eat
Food Fit for Vikings and Visitors
Play
Architectural Amusement Park
Shop
Cultural and Creative Souvenirs
Den Gamle By is a living re-creation of an old town, playing up several of Denmark’s historical periods. The 1864 Merchant’s House still hawks timber and porcelain, while 1920s chain store Schous Sæbehus sells perfumes and washing flakes. For one-off designs of divider screens, tea cozies, and pillows, head to 1+1 Textil, which sells avant-garde Danish craftwork.
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