Day 1 – To Copenhagen: Fly from London
Heathrow to Copenhagen with Scandinavian
Airlines. Transfer to Helsingor to visit
Kronborg Castle. A medieval fortress, rebuilt
as a Renaissance castle and best known
by many as ‘Elsinore’, the setting for
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and where Denmark’s
legendary hero Holger the Dane sleeps in
the casements. Continue to the Hotel Kong
Arthur, Copenhagen for 3 nights. Evening
welcome dinner. (D)
Day 2 – Copenhagen: Full-day walking
tour of Copenhagen, beginning with the
National Gallery of Denmark, which houses
a large collection of Danish and international
paintings, sculptures and drawings
encompassing 700 years of western art. The
collection numbers works by the Italian
Renaissance painters Titian and Mantegna, the
17th-century masters Rubens and Rembrandt,19th-century painters of the golden age such
as Christoffer Eckersberg and Christen Kobke,
and 20th-century artists including Henri
Matisse, Edvard Munch, and Emil Nolde as
well as the Denmark’s most famous painter,
Vilhelm Hammershøi. Continue to the 17th-century
Rosenborg Palace, with its glorious
marbled halls and painted ceilings, mirrors,
tapestries and famous silver lions. Continue to
the adjacent Hirschsprung Collection, home
to a large collection of works from the Danish
golden age and the Skagen painters. Finish the
day with a private canal tour finishing at Hans
Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid. (B)
Day 3 – Copenhagen: Morning visit to the Ny
Carlsberg Glypotek. This splendid collection
founded by the brewer Carl Jacobsen is housed
in a beautiful building; choose from Greek,
Egyptian and Roman sculptures, a wing of paintings by Gauguin, Monet, Van Gogh, and
a complete set of Degas bronzes. Afternoon
visit to the Thorvaldsen Museum, dedicated
to the work of the neoclassical sculptor
Bertel Thorvaldsen. Continue to the Danish
Museum of Art & Design, which offers works
by famous Danish designers, including Arne
Jacobsen and Georg Jensen. Finish the day
with pre-dinner drinks at Tivoli Gardens,
famous for the coloured lamps that illuminate
the park in the evening. (B)
Day 4 – To London: Morning visit to
Christiansborg Palace, former seat of the
monarch and today the home of the Danish
parliament. Inside the palace, the Royal
Reception Rooms, still used by the monarchy,
are artworks and furniture by some of
Denmark’s best artists, including Abildgaard,
Eckersberg, Tuxen, Skovgaard and Nørgaard.
Transfer to the airport for a return flight to
London with Scandinavian Airlines. (B)
Accessibility: This tour involves some long
walks and therefore requires a good level
of fitness.
Extensions: Highly recommended is a 3-night
extension to the beautiful . shing town of
Skagens, the northernmost point in Denmark.
Internationally recognised for its generation of
late 19th-century artists, the Skagens Painters
were able to encapsulate the everyday life of this
tight-knit fishing community, together with
stunning costal landscapes and the portrayal of
bright Nordic light to form their own unique
plein air style. Please contact a Europe specialist
for further details of this excursion and other
extension options in Denmark.
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
