Things to do with kids in Aarhus

26 family-friendly places in Aarhus: zoos, aquariums, playgrounds and more.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

See
Aarhus Botanical Gardens
Botanisk Have
Founded in 1873 as a research garden for students at Aarhus University, nowadays the Botanical Gardens have been repurposed as a pleasant outdoor park for citizens to enjoy during the warm months. However, for laypeople who may be interested in botany, there are still thousands of different species of plants on display throughout, all labelled in Latin and Danish. The bulk of the park is hilly open lawns, ponds, and landscaped gardens. Facilities include a large outdoor children's playground, an amphitheatre, toilets, and a big covered Greenhouse complex. At the Greenhouses you can experience plants from all around the world, including the tropics, and there's a café serving coffee, cake, ice cream, and light lunches.
Daily 24 hoursFree
Do
Aarhus Culture Walks
Every Saturday at 11:00 and 14:00, two-hour culture walks starts off from the square outside the Central Station. Just show up or book on-line and save 15 percent. The tours covers both present and older times city life, architecture, art and local stories. Tours on other days of the week and with more personalized themes can be arranged for groups of ten or more people.
Sat 11:00 and 14:00Adults kr 170; Seniors and Minors kr 140, free for Children under 12 years
Eat
Asia Restaurant
Large Chinese-style family-friendly restaurant, with room for 250 guests, situated in the ground floor level of a hotel highrise. Nice, Chinese-inspired traditional decor and good all-you-can-eat buffet with plenty of options. The buffet includes sushi, and in the evening also Mongolian barbecue and soup. A la carte menus are also offered.
Daily: lunch buffet 11:30-15:30, evening buffet 17:00-21:30Lunch buffet kr 118, evening buffet kr 178
Do
Badeanstalten Spanien
The pool at this renovated historic bathhouse from the 1930s hosts many families and children on weekends, but Badeanstalten Spanien is so much more than just swimming: there's a luxury co-ed wellness section (Grossererbadet) with saunas, steambaths, spas, infrared heat lamps and other facilities. Sauna infusion sessions (Sauna Gus) at regular intervals and occassional events. The building also houses a private fitness centre.
Mon-Thu 08:00-20:00, Fri-Sun 08:00-16:00Adults kr 88 and up for the all inclusive wellness section
Eat
Bone's
American-style barbecue in two floors. Bone's is a family friendly Danish restaurant chain with eateries across the country. Lunch options every day.
Daily 11:00-21:30
Drink
Cirkuskroen
Located at an odd location a bit outside of the central scene, not too far from Harmonien, and close to Trøjborg, Cirkuskroen is a tiny bar with a long history. It owes its name to the fact that its former owners were a family of circus performers, and accordingly, the place is decorated with clowns and old circus paraphernalia. As a speciality of the house, a unique spiced bitter can be had, along with your beer. Have a listen to Kim Larsen or John Mogensen at the jukebox; both iconic Danish troubadours. Smoking allowed.
Daily from around 12:00Beer kr 20
Do
DGI-huset
DGI-Huset is a sports centre of about 5,000 m² in the city centre where you can engage in many kinds of indoor sporting activities. If you're not a member of a team, you can still play badminton or football, or pay by the hour to tackle one of the large climbing walls. Children are welcome and accommodated with a special play area, and there's also an onsite café. Weekends and holidays often see discounts on admission.
Free entry, courts kr 100 for an hour
Eat
De Martino
Good quality pizzeria in Trøjborg, also serving pasta, risotto, and some authentic Italian veal dishes. Children's menu and takeaway available.
Daily 16:00-21:30kr 75-95 for pizza
See
Den Gamle By
The Old Town
Open-air museum village comprising a collection of 75 original Danish buildings from 1597 to 1909, gathered from all corners of the country. There are historical shops and eateries, most true to the period. A few staff members and volunteers dressed up in historic clothes adds to the ambience, and sometimes events are arranged. You can buy a round-trip horse and carriage ride through the museum's cobblestone streets or through the outside park. A new addition to the complex showcase Danish town culture and buildings from the 20th century, including a bakery, several stores, a poster museum, and a jazz club. As well, for the European Capital of Culture celebration in 2017, the museum inaugurated new permanent exhibitions focusing on local history and classic Danish jewellery from the 20th century. You can easily spend a whole day, exploring the town, its life, and the underground exhibitions. After regular opening hours, you can still stroll the streets (free of charge), but there is no access to exhibitions and buildings. Be sure to also spend some time in the large surrounding Botanical Garden and the Greenhouses.
kr 205 (discount for students), free for children. Botanical Garden and Greenhouses are both free
See
Dokk1
Dock-one, Dokken, Urban Media Space
This large state-of-the-art public library and culture centre at the harbourfront is the largest public library in northern Europe, and is designed as a public meeting place for all kinds of activities. Enjoy the peculiar and futuristic architecture or engage in the library's many activities. Guided tours are arranged at regular intervals. Good café and an interesting four-section outside playground (adults may try the slides too). There is a specialized toddlers' play section inside. Large subterranean robotic car park below the building. Great for kids and adults alike. The whole building is accessible to people who use wheelchairs.
Mon-Fri 08:00-22:00; Sat Sun 10:00-16:00; Staff available Mon-Thu 10:00-19:00; Fri 10:00-17:00Free
Do
Filuren
Another small niche theatre with room for up to 150 inside the large building complex at the Concert Halls. Filuren is a theatre and a theatre school for youth. A nice alternative thing to do if you are with children. Each play has a strictly enforced age limit (usually 3, 4, 5 or 13 years), so be sure to check out the programme beforehand.
kr 65
Do
Gellerupbadet
If you're a family with kids, Gellerupbadet is the swimming venue for you, with special shallow heated pools and a sauna.
Wed-Mon
Do
Harbour cruise
Experience Aarhus from the waterside with a guided harbour cruise. Several options and events. A regular tour takes 75 minutes.
From May to Decemberkr 160 (discount for children)
Eat
Kiin Kiin
Asian food with a Vietnamese bend. High-end restaurant quality, yet served in cosy, laid back and rustic surroundings for affordable prices. Start with a cocktail in the lounge area for an in-house evening experience, or have your food as takeaway; this place serves the whole range.
Every day, all yearShared meal, family-style kr 395; Restaurant main course from kr 165; Take-away full meals from kr 135
Do
Lyseng Svømmebad
Located in the outer district of Højbjerg to the south of the city centre, this is a swimming hall complex for everybody. Three pools to choose from: a shallow one with swimming toys for the kids, a deep one with diving boards, and swimming lanes for exercise and competitions. Sauna in both the men and women departments.
Sat-Tue and Thu
See
Marselisborg Deer Park
Marselisborg Dyrehave
This is an enclosed section of the forests with free roaming deer; a sort of low-key zoo or safari park. The landscape is beautiful, hilly, and less thickly-forested than the surrounding forests. There is an extra closed facilty with wild boars in the far northern end. The deer park is open from dawn to dusk year round, but for safety's sake it's best to avoid visiting during mating season in the autumn (Sep-Nov), and in the early summer when the does are nursing their calves (June-July). Don't feed the animals.
Free
See
Moesgaard Museum
Stupendous architecture: a vast prism of a building half-buried in a grassy hill. The central staircase provides an innovative route into human evolution and prehistory. The museum hosts large changing themed exhibitions from cultures around the world, but is also a fantastic place to study Danish prehistory in particular. The main permanent attractions in this regard are an artificial reconstruction of a large Bronze Age roundbarrow that you can walk inside and two finds from the Nordic Iron Age: Grauballe Man, the only completely preserved bog body, and the impressive sacrifice of weapons from Illerup Ådal. The museum re-opened in the new building in October 2014. Good museum restaurant and café, but a bit expensive. The large historical landscape below the museum is also worth a visit, and is free and accessible year round.
Tue-Fri 09:00-17:00; Wed 09:00-21:00; Sat Sun 09:00-19:00kr 180 (adults), kr 110 (students and over-65), free for children 17 and under
Do
Moesgaard Viking Days
formerly Moesgaard Viking Moot
A large Viking event held every summer in July at Moesgård beach, with reenactments, markets, workshops, and living-history presentations. Interesting activities for all age groups. The event has drawn about 12,000 attendees, both Vikings and audience. A ticket also gives you access to the Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) close by. Because of the event's popularity, it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to find a place to park a car nearby. Take a bus, bike or hike through the Marselisborg Forests to get there. Biking from the centre of Aarhus should take you less than an hour.
Daily 10:00-17:00160 kr, children (3-17 years) 50 kr
See
Natural History Museum
Naturhistorisk Museum
Another museum brought to you by Aarhus University, the Natural History Museum's four fully wheelchair-accessible exhibition halls educate visitors on over 5,000 different animal species hailing from all over the world, displayed in reproductions of their natural habitats.
Daily 10:00-16:00; closed Dec 25-26 and Dec 31-Jan 1kr 100, students kr 60, free for children (17 and under)
Do
Phono
New name and makeover for a tiny, yet historic, venue in Mejlgade. A playground for the local experimental underground scene.
See
Rådhuset
The Town Hall
This building is considered one of the highlights of Danish architecture, designed by the famous architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in cooperation with equally celebrated furniture designer Hans Wegner. Clad in grey Norwegian marble, it might appear bland to the untrained eye from the outside, but the indoor design is much more intriguing. Every Saturday guided tours are arranged around the interior of the building by AarhusGuides. First in Danish at 10:00-11:30 and then in English at 12:00-13:30. Price 100 kr (children 50 kr). The tour includes a visit to the top of the clock tower for a chance to enjoy the view. There are several interesting statues around the town hall. Enjoy the dramatic bronze statue and fountain of "Agnethe og Havmanden" near the city entrance towards the Central Station. It depicts a scene from a Danish fairy tale about Agnethe who falls in love with a merman. From here you can walk through the city entrance and the Town Hall Park and observe more bronze statues and memorial stones. The park is quite lively in the summer, as people tend to flock here as soon as it gets warm enough. Don't miss the "Grisebrønden" statue (the well of the pigs) with the drooling and peeing pigs, at the Town Hall Square. You can buy good hotdogs at the Town Hall Square too.
See
Steno Museum
Steno Museet
A science museum with a focus on medicine and astronomy, with a diversity of exhibits including (among many others) a planetarium, a medicinal herb garden, a Foucault's pendulum, and historic artifacts such as old X-ray machines and surgical equipment. Lots of engaging and interactive exhibits here for both young and old. There's an onsite café serving light lunches, and a gift shop with cool educational toys for kids: chemistry sets, crystal-growing kits, star charts, etc.
Tue-Fri 09:00-16:00 (opens at 10:00 Jun-Aug), Sat Sun & public holidays 11:00-16:00kr 50, free for those under 18
Do
Teater Refleksion
This is a good example of one of the many small niche theatres in Aarhus. Located in a tranquil backyard in the city centre, Teater Refleksion specializes in puppet and animation theatre of a high international standard. Equally suited for children and adults. Most performances can be enjoyed without knowledge of the Danish language. Sometimes workshops.
Do
Tivoli Friheden
Amusement park with roller coasters, Ferris wheel, haunted house and similar classic entertainment. Also restaurants, a dance floor, and a large stage hosting occasional concerts and large events. Special schedule around Christmas.
Check website for scheduleAdmission kr 180 (kr 90 for children 3-7 years), all-inclusive ticket kr 460 (children kr 360)
Do Not mapped
Aarhus Festuge
The whole city is decorated for partying and filled with music, theatre, food, experimental architecture, film, literature and other events during this 10-day festival held every year in late August and early September. It is the largest multicultural festival in Northern Europe. * Aarhus Arkitekturløb is a recurring casual running event around architecturally interesting areas of the city. * Aarhus Cykeltour is a new annual recreational cycling event to be held for the first time as part of the 2026 festival. The ride will start and finish near Pier 3 on Aarhus Ø harbourside and offers several route options, including a short family-friendly route for children.
Free
Do Not mapped
AarhusGuides
Organisation of professional guides offering group tours in and around Aarhus in multiple languages. Regular tours comprise a City Hall tour available year round and a city walk, starting out from the Cathedral, available in July and August. Book and pay for your tour online. Personalized tours for your own group is also possible; this organization is very experienced.
kr 136 - 146 (free for children)

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Aarhus (CC BY-SA 4.0).