Visit Carlsberg is no ordinary museum

In recent years, I’ve learned that museums and exhibitions with themes to which I feel a connection are much more interesting to me than those that tell stories about ancient civilisations or art history. Such museums – like ABBA The Museum and Spritmuseum in Stockholm, or Rockheim in Trondheim – are actually really fun places to visit, and you can easily pass several hours there.

Visit Carlsberg has been on my Scandi museum bucket list for a while. I was a little worried that I might have been expecting too much; I hoped that it would not turn out to be just a collection of glass display cases and a bombastic history of the industrial giant. I was so relieved to find that the museum in fact showcases an interesting and varied journey from past to present.

The old Carlsberg brewery, dating from 1847, has been converted into a modern centre for visitors, covering 10,000 m². The first building, which is part of the exhibition area, has a massive collection of unopened beer bottles from around the world upstairs. In the courtyard, there’s a sculpture garden where you can find a small replica of the Little Mermaid statue that Carl Jacobsen donated to Copenhagen.

The next building houses the stables, where you’ll find working horses still in residence. I was lucky to see how two massive Carlsberg horses being prepared for their work as company ambassadors. The tour ends in the bar, where your admission ticket will allow you two drinks! Considering the price of alcohol in Copenhagen, the admission price at the Visit Carlsberg is great value for money.

If you are visiting Copenhagen, I highly recommend that you spend a few hours at Visit Carlsberg. There’s a free shuttle bus from the city, but if the weather is good, the walk through hipster-populated Vesterbro is very entertaining in itself.

Contact travel blogger Timo Kiviluoma