Lots of tourists visit Aalborg during the summer. They all come to experience nature and the sandy beaches of North Jutland, and they go to Aalborg for city atmosphere.

Aalborg is known as an exciting town with a wide variety of activities. In addition to a vast number of cultural events Aalborg is renowned for its many restaurants and cafés.

Jomfru Ane Gade, Aalborg's amusement street, is Denmark's longest continuous stretch of restaurants, pubs, discotheques, cafés with music and bars - a very popular place among students.

Another popular place among the students is a place called the Student House. It offers a wide range of facilities, such as a café, a stage, a cinema, computers and an International Contact Centre, as well as numerous activities, e.g. debates, performances, concerts etc.

There is plenty of social & cultural activities all over Aalborg. Several theatres are located in Aalborg performing both traditional and experimental plays. Aalborg also has several cinemas. All movies are shown in the original versions with Danish subtitles.

Aalborg Festival is an annual event arranged by the municipality of Aalborg. It takes place in September, and concerts are arranged all over town during the Festival week. The Festival programme is published during the summer and will be available in the public libraries.

Jazz fans can look forward to the Blue Festival when the city is marked by the sounds of swinging jazz and blues music. The festival is held in the city centre on the two adjoining squares Gammel Torv and C.W. Obels Plads and at music venues around the city.
Further information from Huset by clicking HERE and tel. +45 96 33 81 00.

Aalborg Carnival is the biggest carnival in Northern Europe and takes place in the last weekend of May every year. Some of the central streets are closed to traffic during the procession hours. Several thousand people participate in the many carnival activities centered in "Killeparken", a public park near the railway station. Information is available from the Aalborg Tourist Office.

The largest Fourth of July celebration held anywhere outside the United States has been held annually since 1912 (excluding the period of Nazi occupation) in a national park outside Rebild. Aalborg is renowned for it. For many years Rebild Bakker, a beautiful hilly area just outside Aalborg, has been the venue for celebration by Danes and Danish Americans wishing to mark the cultural link with America. Traditionally, many Americans come to Denmark to participate in the 4th of July celebrations. As President John F. Kennedy commented in 1962, on the event's 50^th anniversary, summing up the affair: "It is, I think, a most extraordinary example of international friendship when the people of another country celebrate American independence in their own land." And he was right, because this celebration goes beyond what even John Adams could foresee. In his speech, when the Declaration of Independence was signed, he could only predict that ..."I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the grand anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other." 

Apart from the national theatre in Copenhagen, Aalborg Theatre has a reputation as one of the best theatres in Denmark. Other theatres in Aalborg are Jako-Bole, Jomfru Ane, and Det Hem'lige Teater (the Secret Theater) which are more experimental in style. Just buy a ticket and join the audience. Warning: Most of the productions are in Danish.

MUSEUMS AND SIGHTSEEING

Lindholm Høje
Vendilavej 11, Nørresundby, te. 98 17 55 22. With its 700 graves in their stone settings and a later Iron Age and Viking settlement, this is one of the most important remains from Danish antiquity. In a new and attractive way, the museum shows how the people of Lindholm lived. Open 10am-5 pm-closed Mondays during the winter. Admission 20 Dkr. Take bus no. 6.

Aalborg Historical Museum
Algade 48, tel. 98 12 45 22. Historical collections including Stone Age, merchants' Aalborg, industrial Aalborg. the "Aalborg Room" domestic interior exhibit from 1602. Large collection of Danish glass. Open 10am-5 pm, closed Monday. Admission 10 Dkr.

Aalborg City Archives
Arkivstæde 1 (near Church of Our Lady), tel. 99 31 42 20. Houses The Danish Emigration Archives - the central Danish collection on emigration history, archives, letters, books, photos etc., from Danish emigrants around the world and Local History Archives - largest local collection in Denmark of private and municipal photos and documents. Open Monday-Thursday 9am-4pam, Friday 9am-2pm.

Aalborg Art Pavilion
Søndergade 20, tel. 98 12 11 63. Various exhibitions of present-day art. Open Tuesday-Sunday noon-5pm. Free admission.

"Huset" Community Centre
Hasserisgade 10, tel. 98 16 76 66. Centre for culture and recreation with workshops, café and art gallery. Rhythmic music. Open Monday-Friday 12.30 pm-10.30 pm Monday.

Aalborg Maritime Museum
Vestre Fjordvej 81, tel. 98 11 78 03. Indoor and outdoor display on life at sea, the Port of Aalborg and Aalborg shipyard. Open 10am-4pm. Admission 50 Dkr. Bus no. 2 and 8.

Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)
Kong Christians Allé 50, tel. 98 13 80 88. Designed by architects Elissa and Alvar Aalto and Jean-Jacquest Baruël, built 1968-72. The museum contains a permanent collection of 20th century Danish and foreign art and visiting exhibitions. Sculpture park. Amphitheatre. Concerts, theatre, film, lectures. Open 10am-5pm, Monday closed. Admission 30 Dkr. Bus no. 5, 8, 10, and 11.)

Den Gamle By
Viborgvej 2, 8000 Århus C. The Old Town is considered to be Europe's largest, most comprehensive and detailed museum of urban culture. You'll find 75 historical houses from all over Denmark, 27 living rooms, chambers and kitchens, 34 workshops, 10 merchant's houses and shops, 5 gardens, chemistry, post office, custom house and school. Exhibitions include Denmark's largest toy museum and the Danish Museum of Clocks and Watches. Open from 10-16 daily. Take the train from Aalborg to Århus, then any of the following buses: 3, 14, 15, 25 or 51.

Nordsømuseet (Willemoesvej, DK-9850 Hirtshals)
The North Sea Museum is the largest aquarium in Europe and was in 1998 voted the best among Danish aquaria and zoos. The Oceanarium is the only place in the world where you can see the large schools of fish from the North Sea swimming together with many other North Sea fish and sharks. The museum also has much information about modern Danish sea fishing-displays of a fisherman's daily life, his equipment and vessels, etc.-and an excellent museum shop where you can find nice souvenirs at reasonable prices. Open daily year round. To reach Hirtshals by train, you'll need to switch trains at Hjørring.

Skagen's Museum (Brøndumsvej 4, 9990 Skagen)
This museum features an extensive collection of works by the Skagen painters, Holger Drachmann, Anna and Michael Ancher, P.S. Kroyer and others. This colony of Danish Impressionists fell in love with Skagen at the end of the 19th century.

Skagen Ravmuseum (Bankvej 2, 9990 Skagen)
The Skagen Amber Museum has Denmark's largest insect amber collection. Also on show are old amber work, old Art Nouveau amber jewelry.

(We thank the International Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Aalborg University, for much of the information in this page).