A real-life Legoland awaits you in Denmark! Okay, that's not true – the buildings here aren't usually made out of Lego :( It's a beautiful country though, with plenty of islands to explore.
Despite being parts of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands aren't covered in this guide; click the above links if you're looking for one of those!
Subdivisions
Denmark is divided into five regions:
- Nordjylland
- Midtjylland
- Syddanmark
- Sjælland
- Hovedstaden
Islands
Denmark can also be divided up by its islands, in addition to divisions on the mainland (known as Jutland). Here are some of the largest, that will be used in the rest of this guide:
- Amager
- Bornholm
- Falster
- Fyn/Funen
- Lolland:
- Sjælland/Zealand
- Vendsyssel-Thy/North Jutlandic Island
License Plates
As a member of the EU, Denmark's license plates feature a blue band on the left side of the plate with the EU circle of stars and the country code DK. However, this band is currently optional, and so it is possible (and common) to see plates without the band. Private vehicles use white plates with black text and a red outline: DKAB 12 345, while commercial vehicles use yellow-backed plates with the same black text and red outline: DKAB 12 345.
Phone Codes
Phone codes have been absorbed into the phone numbers, but the first two digits can still be used to identify your region.
- 31: Copenhagen and Amager
- 42: Copenhagen and North Zealand
- 53: Greater Zealand, Lolland, Falster, Møn, and Bornholm
- 62, 64-66: Funen and surrounding islands
- 74, 75: South Jutland
- 86: East Jutland
- 97: West Jutland
- 98: North Jutland
Roads, Markings, and Signage
Danish road markings are very distinctive, sporting short dashed shoulder lines. There is a very small gap between the dashes, and the dashes are very short.
Street signs and bike signs are typically blue, which can lead to some confusion with the Netherlands. Road names typically end in vej (way) or gade (street).
Signs pointing to nearby towns are white with red text and a red outline forming an arrow shape, and are typically very low to the ground, which is a distinctive feature of Danish signage. Similar signs with blue text and outlines point to nearby points of interest, such as schools, stadiums, and shops. Larger signs with multiple towns can be raised, with a red outline, red text, and a white background. Directions to motorways or interchanges are typically green.
Highways & Road Numbering Schemes
There are five E-routes/motorways running through Denmark that are signed as such:
- E20 E-W from Esbjerg, Syddanmark through Copenhagen, crossing the Øresund Strait to Malmö SE
- E39 N-S from Hirtshals, Nordjylland to Aalborg
- E45 N-S from Frederikshavn, Nordjylland to German border near Flensburg DE
- E47 N-S from Helsingør, Sjælland to Rødbyhavn, Lolland
- E55 N-S from E47 near Farø Bridge between Sjælland and Falster to Gedser, Falster
Exits on motorways are marked with red text on a white hexagon, and directions to numbered roads use the European norm of a solid border when the road is present at the junction, and a dashed border when the road at the junction leads to the numbered road.
Other routes are divided into primary and secondary routes, as described below:
Primary Routes (primærrute)
These are the main national routes across Denmark. They are signposted with black text on a yellow background, and can have up to two digits: 12.
Route numbers 2 through 5 are reserved for ring routes; they are prefixed with a zero (0) or the letter O: O 2. The remaining routes are not ordered in a particular way, although only 37 unique numbers are currently used.
Secondary Routes (sekundærrute)
Secondary routes are signposted with black text on a yellow background, and can have up to three digits: 123. The routes are mostly organized by region as per the first digit, as follows:
- All over Denmark, typically follow motorways or are main roads
- Sjælland, Falster, and Lolland
- Fyn and Langeland
- Syddanmark and southern half of Midjylland
- Nordjylland and northern half of Midjylland
Architecture
Language
The Danish language is the primary language used in Denmark, although German is an official minority language in South Jutland. It especially bears many similarities to the Norwegian language, including sharing the same script.
Script
The Danish alphabet uses the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet plus three characters unique to Scandinavian languages, which are sorted to the end of the alphabet order:
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj
Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt
Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Ææ Åå Øø
C, Q, W, X, and Z are only used in loanwords.
Sample
Alle mennesker er født frie og lige i værdighed og rettigheder. De er udstyret med fornuft og samvittighed, og de bør handle mod hverandre i en broderskabets ånd.
Most Similar
Netherlands
Denmark is similarly flat to the Netherlands, has similar blue street signs, and especially in larger cities like Copenhagen can have similar architecture and an abundance of cyclists. To tell them apart, look out for the languages – Danish has three letters (Æ, Å, and Ø) that are not present in Dutch, and Danish street names end in vej or gade as opposed to the Dutch weg, kade, or straat. Bike paths in Denmark are usually denoted with a picture of a bicycle, while in the Netherlands the word fietspad is used. Look out for any markings and signage too: Danish signs are close to the ground, colored red, and roads have much shorter shoulder markings.
Sweden
Denmark's much larger neighbor Sweden can look very similar landscape-wise, especially in the southern Swedish regions around Malmö. The key is the Danish script, which uses two letters not used in Swedish: Æ and Ø. Be on the lookout for road numbers, too – those are yellow or white in Denmark, but blue in Sweden.