Our writer came to Aarhus to investigate a friend’s claim that Denmark’s second largest city is an underrated food town. But what he discovered is that it’s much more than that. Aarhus is actually, as the Danes might say, skidegodt, or, cool as s**t.
Immediately after exiting the central railway station in Aarhus, visitors are greeted by a bustling pedestrian-only street with quaint red-brick facades, a towering Gothic revival church, mountains of bicycles parked in an organized chaos—all of it very Danish.
It was certainly the first thing I noticed. That might be because I came here to investigate my European friend’s claim that Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, is an underrated and under-discussed food town. But the former Viking settlement has transcended mere college-town status in recent decades, making culture its core mission. Five years ago, Aarhus was named a European Capital of Culture, a status commemorated in countless sidewalk tiles around town reading “AARHUS 2017.” The city’s
The food culture is centered around the hallmarks that made its big sister Copenhagen a world-class food destination: Innovation, playfulness, sustainability, and yes, of course,, the Danish emphasis on simple comforts. And they actually mean it. None of this is convenient T-shirt sloganeering., easily became one of the best meals I’ve ever had—and that’s not the jet lag and copious glasses of wine talking.