Like any large museum, it would be impossible to see it all. However, this museum has a LOT to offer. It's is mostly a historical museum and covers the time from the earliest relics of the Danes to modern times. The physical museum used to be a castle, and that explains why there are so many rooms, one after another. I recommend looking at the overall map and pick a floor and a place to start, based on what interests you the most. Then, allow yourself to get lost in terms of going from one room to another. There are visual and historical treasures throughout the museum, so it would be nearly impossible to NOT find things of interest. I loved seeing the old crowns, jewelry, and clothing, as well as Viking horns for drinking, old weapons, and the creative way things are presented. I was impressed by this museum because they have used modern museum techniques to display objects and explanations. For example, in one room, they had talking paintings to convey information, or a knight on a horse, which makes horse noises out of the blue. They also have some very creative temporary exhibits, which you should check out. When I was there, there were very interactive displays that were all about money and how wealth is distributed around the world. It was thought provoking, as well as fun. When you need a rest, there is also a cafeteria overlooking the inside of the museum. Face it, you are not going to see it all. There is too much and you won't have the time or stamina to "do it all." But that's OK. It's definitely worth it to buy a ticket ($22 USD) to spend two hours or so, as we did. read more

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Very historical museum, display from early relics to modern times . Plenty to see, to learn and to discover. Great layout and it nearby Christiansborg Palace. read more

Nationalmuseet - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

This museum was pretty interesting. It told the History of Copenhagen. Their were displays of how life looked in Copenhagen before and after the riots. There used to be a youth center for young people to stay at. It was a safe haven for people needing g shelter. With its closure, riots happened. There were also old artifacts showing the history of technology in Copenhagen. As with any museum, there's a Gift shop. This one also had a lovely Cafe that served tea, coffee and fresh pastries. We got tea, hummingbird cake and a chocolate orange cake. read more

Nationalmuseet - Tea and cake at the cafe in the museum. - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

This is an amazing museum with so much packed inside. We were there about 5 hours, and normally we don't go to museums since my husband likes to walk outdoors. Upstairs there was a large Money exhibit with a gold bar you could touch. We had trouble finding the rest of the exhibits, and were thinking, "Is that it?" Go to the bathroom before you start since once we found the start in the Toy and Dollhouse area, you will be walking for hours without a bathroom in sight. There really was not many, if any, places to sit either. There was a 1970's area with a den in very retro furnishings, other period furnishings, Danish pre-history including canoes, Arctic (my favorites were reindeer underwear and a G-string), Greenland, Vikings, Japanese (Including a replica of a house), Chinese, Korean, Indian, Navaho weavings, and African cultures. I liked the Egyptian area which had some hieroglyphics on stone walls and even mummies, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Stone Age, and Bronze Age. There were even the mummified remains of people found in the bogs. I remember reading about the woman. There was a new Cosplay influencer exhibit being built. Danish history including a replica of a 1700's HDMS Dannebroge war ship with three rows of cannons which helped me to understand why the Swedish King had wanted an extra or third row of cannons on the ill-fated Vasa ship that sunk and is the most well preserved ship in Sweden. The Swedish ship makers had not yet mastered the extra depth and hull and other mechanics needed to offset the extra weight. There was a more modern, multi-media interactive exhibit "Viking Sorceress" with audio narration of their stories, special lighting, props and "volcano." The separate Viking area was very interesting as well. There is a cafe and gift shop. In the cultural areas, there were so many artifacts in the cases and many lacked signs or information about them that you would just have to look at them but not understand the significance but in truth there was so much to see in the museum that you could not read too many signs. This is an excellent rainy or cold day activity or even a nice day when you want to see so many interesting things that you have never seen anywhere else. read more

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This was quite a delightful museum that detailed a ton of Danish history, culture, and art. Plus this place was huge. Unlike most museums I can go through in about an hour and a half, I was here for 3 hours marveling at all the things...there were SO MANY THINGS! The only drawback is the layout was a bit confusing. Once I got the hang of it, the map came in handy, but initially I was so lost. Otherwise, I had a wonderful time! read more

Nationalmuseet - Outdoor signage - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

My new favorite museum maybe ever! So beautiful, with a thoughtful layout and doors you scan open with tickets. They have an entire children's section within the museum where the kids are free to play and touch things! We all enjoyed this area together, but it allowed one parent to go off and get some time in the exhibits while the other parent played with kids. Really great set up for families. Lovely restaurant as well! Just one of the most thoughtful museums and it has lovely displays. We thought the history from the Bronze Age was especially cool, as was the money exhibit! Kids loved the Viking area. read more

Nationalmuseet - Viking ship the children are able to climb in! - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

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Nice history museum. Comprehensive telling of Danish history. Some interesting items from outside Denmark also. Not a huge collection, so you can probably move through in a couple of hours. Not a destination but worth a visit if in area. read more

This place is amazing and worth a visit in my opinion. I'll post my YouTube video soon which has more details. They have a Children's Museum as well which is worth it for families. A lot of fun and interactive. Sweet gift shop as well. Honestly we could've stayed all day! read more

We made this our first activity in Copenhagen. It was easy to get to from downtown on foot and easy to find. We used the Copenhagen card to get in and got a really helpful flyer that highlighted the marquee experiences. The special exhibit, on Viking "witches," was top notch and engaging. The quality of the artifacts is irreproachable; the exhibits are intutive and well-described in English. The store is pleasant (and you don't have to go through it to exit). The scope of the themes and coverage is remarkable for a comparatively manageable experience. read more

After reading other reviews, I realized that this museum used to be free! Well, now there IS AN ADMISSION CHARGE of about $15. This is a really nice museum, with a lot to keep you busy for several hours. PROS: 1) Photography is allowed, unlike many other large museums I have been to 2) Lockers are Free 3) There is a special 'Children's Museum ' 4) The exhibits are amazing- and all different 5) Not a lot of museum employees 'lurking about' - giving customers more freedom to feel comfortable taking photos CONS 1) Layout can be a bit confusing 2) The map provided isn't detailed enough - it could use a revamp 3) I didn't see anyone with an Audio Guide- so I don't believe it's offered 4) The day we went, it was very hot and humid inside the museum Overall, I highly recommend! I wish it was free like The British Museum and other world class museums though. read more

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We came to the National Museum after a day full of palace-y stuff at Christiansborg. They are very close to each other and with planning can be done on the same day. Just...get started earlier than we did. Most important to know is that they close at 5pm. Which means you get kicked out at more like...4:45. So...we got there around 3-3:15 and I felt really quite rushed. Because there is a LOT to see and a LOT of it is really interesting. So give yourself more than an hour and a half. Like every good non-genre-specific museum, there is quite a variety of things to see! My favorite being the Viking exhibit! Items from Jelling displayed on models meant to portray how 'vikings' actually were, gold and items recovered from bogs, BOG MUMMIES, rune stones....like...I wanted to spend hours in that exhibit reading EVERYTHING. But I also wanted to see the whole rest of the museum... There were items from all time periods, a whole thing on Danish history (naturally), a normal mummy (booooring :-P), an exhibit on toys, and a whole room of dollhouses forming a street that you could walk and crawl behind to see in to! I wish we had gotten here earlier so I could have taken my time and seen more of what was on display. What I got to see was really fun and interesting. I even wish I had those final 15 minutes before actual closing to just get a few more looks in at a some of the vast offerings. This museum is absolutely worth a visit, especially if you have the Copenhagen Card! Just give yourself enough time to see what you want to see! read more

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Nationalmuseet is the National Museum of Denmark. At a high level, it is the history of the country and contains artifacts of Denmark and Copenhagen nature. Lots of history here in this very old city and they do a good job of packing many, many items into this large space. You could easily spend a full day exploring. I did two hours. Swords, armor and firearms were very interesting. Tapestries, very cool. Recreated rooms from the 1500's, neat. read more

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Wonderful museum that's doable in 2-3 hours. They presently have a Meet the Vikings exhibit that was super cool! My husband and I found the history of this group so interesting. Hard way of life, but so much loyalty and devotion to their Gods. Other areas have works of art from many time periods and from many countries. read more

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This is an impressive museum with a large collection. Their main collection is the Danish history from Stone Age to modern times. Moreover they also great collections from all sorts of cultures around the world too. The highlight for us was actually the Mongolian special exhibit that had a great collection of Mongolian artifacts and a great audio visual story of genghis khan. Come prepared with a few hours at least to truly enjoy the experience! read more

You could spend hours here! I didn't have a lot of time to spend, and I certainly could have spent more. The Nationalmuseet has artifacts dating from the Stone Age. It is very well organized and has English translations for everything. I really liked the display on Church artifacts as well as the Danish colonization section. Well worth the stop! read more

Nationalmuseet - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

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Who ever said things in Denmark are expensive? Copenhagen can be an expensive city but there are also a lot of free things, including this museum, the Nationalmuseet. Open on all days except for Monday, the Nationalmuseet offers museum goers a great selection of art, artifacts, and antiquities that span across multiple millennia and multiple cultures. The Nationalmuseet, or the "National Museum" in Danish, has a large collection of Viking and Scandinavian art and artifacts, including rune stones and a large collection of medieval church art. Of course, this being a national museum of Denmark, the emphasis is on the cultural heritage and pride of Denmark. But surprisingly the museum has a large ethnology section, featuring art/artifacts from around the world, including a fairly impressive collection from the Far East, which is at least on par with the Natural History Museums in NYC and DC. The Nationalmuseet also has various rotating special exhibits, which are also free. Currently, at the time of my writing this review, the special exhibit is the "White Buses" (from WWII). I took Danish/Scandinavian culture courses as a college student, so it was great to be able to get a more in depth look and feel of Danish/Scandinavian history/culture by coming to the Nationalmuseet. When I come back to Copenhagen, I'll definitely swing by here again! Mange tak, Nationalmuseet! read more

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This museum is very, VERY confusing. I still don't understand the layout. What we did see was incredibly cool, but we never did find the Vikings :(. I did, however, love that there's a section on current danish culture, including subculture like Christiania and cosplay. We happened to be there during the Genghis Khan exhibit, which was very special. The 3D display of the whole story was super cool. read more

A great walk through time focusing on the history of Denmark. Highly recommend the "Meet the Vikings" guided tour! read more

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Really nice museum in Copenhagen, lots of things to see. You can spend a good half day here walking around. They have these miniature houses that were really cool to see. There's also different sections for art for different time periods. There's a mummy section too. Great for families or if you're just visiting. read more

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It's free, all the time, and it's a reasonably good museum in terms of exhibitions and variety. What I like about the museum: (1) Playing Danish money bingo with my visiting friends (I made up that name, but I'm sure other people play this too...right?). The objects on the Danish banknotes are all in the museum (including the super cool looking Sun Chariot on the 1000 kr note). There's no prize for spotting them all, just satisfaction (maybe). (2) Visiting the top floor toy dollhouse section. It's a dim room full of lit-up dollhouses arranged like they are on a street and you can peek into their little windows. Even has mini street lights. (3) Some curator here has a sense of humour. The classical antiquities collection of sculpture figures also includes a plastic Hercules toy in the display case. (4) The ethnographical treasures section is poorly documented and has almost no explanatory text. But, I do like roaming around it because I like piles upon piles of stuff organized roughly by shape, size, and geographical area. If you want explanations and history, stick to the Danish pre-history and history. If you want complete and cool randomness, go see ethnographical treasures. read more

Nationalmuseet - Main atrium - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

Yes, yes, call me spoiled. But I had high hopes for this museum on a rainy day. Maybe I am used to large permanent exhibitions and more interactive activities for children to engage in national galleries and museums. This museum is not up to par as to what you would expect from the country's main museum. Talking portraits are weird. Yes, weird. No information about any historical figures. Who was Frederick VII? What did he do? Literally, just a few lines about Struensee. When did Denmark move from absolutism to constitutional monarchy? Luckily, I knew all that and could explain my child. Overall, if you need an escape for a few hours from crappy weather - yes, stop by. But don't have high expectations. read more

This museum was not really our radar, but since we miscalculated our day and figured out the museum really had planned on seeing was not even in the city we ended up here instead. And I am so glad we did. The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) does an excellent job of telling a story. It's nicely laid out and the exhibits will capture the interest of any history buff (I've always wanted to be a history buff-Georege Costanza). The exhibits begin on the "0" floor (which is confusing for most Americans, but so is the metric system....can you count to 10?) and end on the top floor (3 I think). The museum centers around the cultural history of Northern Europe but includes historical artifacts from around the world as well. If you find yourself in the city center, this museum is a short walk from Central Station and admission is free. read more

Toured this museum at a very leisurely place, trying to appreciate the many aspects of this small country, as well as its breadth of history, and the royal lineage. There were hardly any visitors about on the day I toured, and everything seemed a bit worn and dated. The overall exhibits didn't impress me too much, and not sure I would reco it for someone who had but a few days here in "Merchants Port": "KOOB EN HOUN" read more

We had a few hours to kill in Copenhagen before our flight so we were just wandering around doing some Geocaching and came across the entry for the Nationalmuseet, so decided to go in as I love a gift shop. We'd seen the Museum numerous times from buses but never came past the entrance, which is down a quiet street. The Museum is free to get in, and encourages selfies and photographs to be taken throughout. It was a warm day (26C) and unfortunately the Museum wasn't properly air conditioned - some parts were slightly cooler but generally it was pretty warm, especially as a lot of it involves glass. Of course the glass makes the building full of light and lovely, so a fair trade off! The gift shop is probably my favourite museum gift shop ever. A huge variety of educational and just fun things, from books to toys to jewelry. I wanted so many things but I held back and saved my pennies. I still enjoyed looking around very much, though. We did a quick walk through about half of the exhibitions too, and they're laid out well and interesting with plenty of space to see the items. The photo-friendly thing was a bit annoying when we encountered a group of 20 children, all of whom were running around with their camera phones going crazy (kids these days. I mean really), but they were having a good time so even my grumpy self didn't mind too much. A great way to spend some free time, if you like museums or have a special interest. Probably not a destination if your time is limited, though. read more

Nationalmuseet - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

Pros: - Free - all.the.time. - Free wifi - no password needed - Free lockers near the front to store your coat and bag - 3rd floor - ancient artifacts - the description boxes under each artifact don't tell you much - 2nd floor - history of Denmark - it's a loop of Denmark from 1660-2000 There's a doll house room that's really cool in the toy section - dim lighting, so if you have a cell phone, it's really hard to take a nice picture How they structured the timeline (loop) is nicely done - 1st floor - people of the earth - different cultures and religions - Ground floor - cafe + + gift shop + entrance - I RECOMMEND GOING TO THE 2nd floor if you're short on time (took the longest time to tour b/c it was the most interesting exhibit) - Great place to come when it's dark and gloomy and cold outside Cons: - Three floors + ground floor - very small museum; took 1 hour to tour the whole thing - Small gift shop read more

A surprisingly excellent museum! Free to get in, with an excellent gift shop (really, really good). I could have spent a fortune in the gift shop if I hadn't had to fit it all into suitcases for a flight back to London. Heck, I wanted to buy the bone hair pins even though I obviously don't have any hair that I could use them in. A t-shirt that says "authentic viking" in Viking runes? Awesome. Anyway, the actual museum. I only looked around the Viking stuff to be honest. It was hot, my feet were sore and I didn't feel like going upstairs to the other more modern exhibits. But I saw some really good stuff - we went through the ancient history part exhibits before getting there and they had some interesting fossil pieces too. Lots of flint axes which I recognised instantly. Then the Viking stuff. So much cool stuff. More viking runestones that you would ever expect to see in one place, and I like that they translated them all. The exhibits were all really well laid out in this museum. A Viking boat, a massive gold cup which was made as a tribute to the Vikings. So. Much. Good. Stuff. Could have spent a couple of days in here if it wasn't for the temperature. It wasn't all that hot, but it was warm enough to keep us moving on. read more

Nationalmuseet - With the Viking Rune Stones - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

Basically this museum begins at the beginning with Cro-Magnon man and Neanderthals. So if you starts on the bottom floor, you will definitely have a nice anthropology lesson thrown in. It tells you how this place developed and you get to visit graves and bones of plenty of very old Homo erectus samples. I wish I would have done a little bit more research and just gone up to the second floor as most of the stuff on the first floor can be visited at any natural history Museum for the most part. On the second floor, there are plenty of textiles, furniture, weapons and all types of Danish culture things to admire. All in all, it is a wonderful place to be and to visit and I definitely suggest it. However, I would just stick to the second floor if you are looking for primarily Danish stuff to look at. read more

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Nicely set up. The layout walks you through ancient to near modern times. The museum is easy to enter, plenty of bathrooms and elevators. There is a cafe inside and people are invited to hang out. Recommend going inside and checking it out. read more

Nationalmuseet - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

Free admission. If you want to know all about Danish history, this is it. The ground floor has everything you want to know plus more pertaining to Danish prehistory, so you'll see lot's of bones and artifacts. The next floor up has a wing for the Danish Middle Ages and Renaissance, so you'll be seeing lots of paintings/art/Christian artifacts. It's a lot to take in, and after going through two floors, I needed a break. I decided to skip the other two floors, but I think if I had more time in Copenhagen, I would have gone back another day to finish seeing everything since it's free admission.. read more

We had a scheduled walking tour which only allowed us an hour here but as many previous reviewers have opined, we could easily have spent hours more. The displays are informative without being verbose, and the artifacts they have preserved are fascinating. Admission is 85 kr (some guidebooks will list it as free, but it seems that changed in 2017). read more

Great museum, and it's free! What else could you ask for! Located in the heart of Copenhagen and free wifi. read more

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This is a very neat museum, a must-see while visiting Copenhagen. The museum is not far from stroget and the main city area, just a few blocks walk away and close to the bus stops as well, so it's very easy to get here. I came by on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, it was nice to come here, escape the cold and take a stroll around while learning about the background of the area. This museum offers free admission every day and is generally open from 10 A - 5 P. That was a plus for me after emptying out my pockets at every other destination here in the city, certainly a breath of fresh air to find a cool site with no entrance fee. It is a multibuilding story with room for a few different exhibits and a cafe as well. I climbed up to the 2nd floor and entered the Danish history area. I really enjoyed looking at all the fascinating Danish history which was presented through Viking artifacts, statues and stories. Awesome place. Highly recommended for anyone into history or culture of Scandinavia while in the area. Good for people of all ages, there is even a special kids museum on the first floor! Woo hoo read more

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The National Museum of Denmark is in a boring brick building near the city hall, but don't be fooled, this place is full of awesome exhibits about Denmark. If you wanna learn about the story of Denmark and don't mind spending the whole afternoon or even a day at a museum, this place is an awesome choice. There are only 3 floors and the museum looks small but it's a maze full of historical information about this country. The ground floor is about the prehistoric era or the region. The exhibit on the second floor than focuses on Denmark's royalty, the country's empire, wars between Sweden, and influences of the Christian religion. I really like the rooms that's show how Danish people lived in different time period. There's a couple of rooms that showcased a typical Danish bedroom as well as how living spaces in palaces would have looked like. The third floor was dedicated to Egyptian and Greek artic facts. I'm not sure why they had an exhibit on them since it's not really relevant from the theme of the last two floors, but I was impressed with the large collection of artefacts. I was disappointed that I didn't see an exhibit about the Vikings since I wanted to learn more about them. The ground floor has a cafe and gift store. What's an awesome about this place is free and sometimes in the afternoon they have a choir singing. read more

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It's a very good option if you want to see some art and history, but don't want to spend the whole day. It's quite small, but have some interesting item. As Greek, I got surprised (the good way) with how many items from ancient Greece are there (and a bit insulted with the Disney miniatures in Hercules' self). Already been there twice and will go again in the future. read more

Nationalmuseet - That's just wrong! - Museums Near Me - Copenhagen, 84

It's a sad day when National museum (and many others) decide to impose a fee to get in since I believe this place should be open for all - but let's save that talk for another day. If you're a museum fan, maybe you should get a yearly card because it's much cheaper than buying the single entrance ticket. This place is rather large and has two wings, the right wing housing the historical artefacts from the pre-historic phase (lower level) to the modern history on the top level, while the left wing houses artefacts from many other countries and also a child museum. I could spend hours in this place, but I like the top level (modern history) much better. If you don't have much time to spend and you have a specific interest about something, then I guess it's better if you go right to the place where you come to see, otherwise - it will be a long winding road in this museum :) It's a must visit to know the history of Denmark read more

A free museum, how awesome is that?! Unfortunately my sister and I did not have a chance to spend much time in the museum due to our schedule and the opening hours, so we only saw a fraction of the exhibits, and had to rush through them. Had we been in Copenhagen longer I would definitely have spent more time in the museum or gone back for another visit. Despite being too pressed for time to really experience the museum (that's why I'm only giving it three stars), I would recommend this museum if you're interested in history, or travelling on a budget. Also, it's a good place to go if you need internet access (they have free wifi), or desperately need to use the bathroom. After all, it's free admission! read more

I go here to get my Viking fix, though I must confess their collection isn't all that great. There are some mummified displays, and you can see the Egtved girl here, as well as the Sun Chariot and the remains of a Viking burial ship. The fact that it's free is a big plus in expensive Copenhagen. There's also free wifi ;) read more

I'm not a big museum fan, but this one is DEFINITELY worth checking out, especially because you get to see all the amazing exhibits for free. The history dates back to the ancient times (Bronze, Stone, Iron Ages) and goes up to modern-day Christiania. They also he a special exhibit when I was there about the white busses that saved the Danish Jews during the Holocaust. Super well-made exhibit, highly recommend. I almost walked out before I remembered to go see it, but I'm super glad I did. So good. Definitely come visit! It's right in the city center, so it's very easy to get to as well! read more

What a great way to immerse yourself in Danish history and culture! Especially since it's free, I would not hesitate to call this museum a must-see for any visitor to Copenhagen. The first floor houses the children's museum and covers Danish Prehistory. You'll see all the expected artifacts, like reindeer bone harpoons, amber jewelry, "bog people," and runes. But beyond that, the exhibits are really well designed, so you can actually grasp how life in prehistoric Denmark changed throughout history as you pass through. It was also intriguing to see the trade links between the Danish and the Greeks and Romans (the Gundestrup cauldron, for example). The second floor focuses on medieval and modern Danish history. Although, again, the exhibits were quite sleek and well thought out, this area was less exciting to me simply because its content was less unique to Denmark. (Oh, you mean women got jobs during WWII? And the Beatles were popular in the '60s?) There's also a recreation of the prince's palace with some wicked rock collections. More (not so) hidden treasures include a coin depicting a hairy vagina, a recreation of a Danish tenement, a marijuana stand preserved from Christiania, and an executioner's axe. On your way out, check out the gift shop: it's reasonably priced and a great place to buy souvenirs ("amber" jewelry, pens with Viking ships in them, cookbooks... no marijuana though!). All in all, the Nationalmuseet should definitely be on your Copenhagen itinerary, even if you don't like history! I would plan to spend 1.5-2.5 hours here and to learn a lot! read more

Highly recommended if you're a history/museum fan! I could have easily spent all day here.