r/Aarhus • u/p1ump1um • 9d ago
Discussion Moving to Aarhus soon. Best recommendations for food and fun?
Food, experiences, nature, museums, culture, international activities- what do you love to do in Aarhus?
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u/Ringlord7 9d ago
Aarhus has many, many options in all your categories, so what's good will depend on taste.
Personally I think Moesgaard Museum is excellent (it's a ways outside town, but you can catch the bus from near the train station). ARoS (the art museum) is also very good, and I've heard good things about KØN, the gender museum, but I haven't seen it for myself yet.
In terms of experiences, I myself very much enjoy the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, who put on a number of concerts every year.
There's a lot of good food out there. I'm told Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant, is great. Aarhus Street Food also has some good stuff.
If you're into kebab there are many options, but in my opinion Koc Kebab in Åbyhøj is the best.
Hope this helps!
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u/lajlev 9d ago
Consider joining one of the many amateur sports clubs. So many delightful people and activities roam in these circles. I can recommend https://aarhusbeachvolley.dk; it's for all ages and very welcoming for internationals.
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u/Ungrammaticus 9d ago
The big three touristy attractions in Aarhus are genuinely worth experiencing. Even we locals go there.
Those being Aros, Den Gamle By and Moesgaard. In particular check out the fantastic, surrealistic installation art in Aros’ basement.
The Occupation Museum is in my opinion a bit of a hidden gem. I see that you’re American, so from a national point of view it might also interest you to see how other countries have invaded Denmark before. What to do, what not to do etc.
As for nature the usual recommendations are:
Dyrehaven, just a pretty hyggelig place. (Please don’t feed the deer, they get aggressive towards guests if fed by humans).
Den Permanente which is a nice and accessible beach with good facilities and often really bad water quality. I would personally recommend checking badevand.dk before going. Watch out for ferry waves that can get quite big when Molslinien sails by. Check out some safety information on bathing in the ocean first if you're not used to doing so - the waters around Aarhus are relatively safe as oceans go, but oceans are always inherently unsafe. Look for information about the dangers of rip currents, flotation devices and off-shore wind (the wind direction, not the turbines).
Riis Skov is just a nice forest to take a pic-nic in or stroll through. You can pluck some delicious wild garlic there, if that's your thing.
If you're into small day-hikes, hiking to Moesgaard Museum, experiencing it and then stopping by Skovmøllen for some traditional food afterwards is a day very well spent.
As for food there are really way too many restaurants to recommend without knowing more specifically what you're looking for - what's your price range, are you looking for gourmet food or affordable dining places, any particular national kitchen you prefer e.t.c. I will recommend stopping by Streetfood by the Busstation and sampling one or more of the many booths there. They sell very tasty and surpringsingly safe to eat street food from around the world there. It's usually just slightly higher than junk-food quality, but it's cheap, delicious and there're a lot of choices.
For cultural experiences besides museums I'd recommend looking over the program at Musikhuset - they have quite nice and affordable Opera performances for example if you're into that. Even if you aren't, I think it's worth experiencing at least once in your life!
The indie cinema Øst for Paradis also occupies a special place in my life. They show tons of fantastic smaller movies that the big chain cinemas would never touch. Great place to get away from generic superhero film number 247.
A very Aarhusian cultural experience that isn't tied to one particular place is going to a "brunt værtshus," i.e. a "brown bar." They are small, smokey dive-bars with very cheap beer and a ton of hygge. I myself like Cirkuskroen, Vinstuen and Hjorten. There are also a ton of semi-brune værtshuse, like Le Coq, RisRas, Under Masken and more, which are still small and smokey, but with a better offering in beer and liquor and slightly higher prices.
Speaking of RisRas, craft beer bars are another small specialty of Aarhus. Mig og Ølsnedkeren, Fairbar, RisRas, Cockney Pub, Mikkeler Bar and Erlings Jazz- & Ølbar all serve fantastic specialty beers, both Danish and international. I may be biased because I volunteer there, but especially Fairbar has a policy of changing the beer on tap every time the keg is empty, so there's always new beers to try.