National Museum or Carlsberg in Copenhagen: Which Is Worth Your Time?
4 min read
If you can only choose one, the National Museum of Denmark is the safer pick. The ticket costs €18.06, with 4.5 out of 5 from 1,240 reviews. It is valid for 365 days and the museum’s booking page lists it as wheelchair accessible; confirm access with the museum if you need it. Carlsberg is the more playful visit, but it has more conditions.
The National Museum of Denmark
The museum is in the Prince’s Mansion at Ny Vestergade 10. The page calls it the country’s largest museum of cultural history and describes 14,000 years of Danish history, with finds from the Stone Age and the Bronze Age and a large part on the Vikings and Danish explorers. A Viking Age exhibition is built around a powerful sorceress. The ticket has no fixed time: you enter during operating hours and explore at your own pace. The includes list names the entry ticket only. According to the museum, it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays. It is a good rainy-day choice, because everything is indoors.
Home of Carlsberg
The Home of Carlsberg Experience ticket costs €31.44 and has 4.6 out of 5 from 1,490 reviews. It is set in Carlsberg’s original brewery at Gamle Carlsberg Vej 11 and tells the story from 1847, including the dispute between founder J.C. Jacobsen and his son Carl. The page lists interactive exhibits, a collection of more than 22,000 beer bottles, the sculpture garden and the stable with the brewery horses. The includes list names the entry ticket and one beer or soft drink. A beer tasting and a guided tour of the old brewery area are on-site add-ons.
The rules to know: you receive an entry time on arrival, and on busy days there can be a wait. Last entry to the exhibition is two hours before closing. From October to December Home of Carlsberg is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, according to its own FAQ, so the last entry is at 16:00; it is closed on 24 December and open until 15:00 on 31 December. Children under 18 are not served beer. The booking page lists wheelchair users as not suitable. Home of Carlsberg’s own FAQ is more precise: wheelchair users can see the exhibition only on a guided tour booked 14 days in advance, the cellars and parts of the exhibition are not step-free, and most of the site is cobbled. Prams cannot go into the exhibition and are parked in the courtyard. Opening hours and closure dates change, so check the official website before you go.
Getting there and combining
Home of Carlsberg has its own hop-on hop-off route, and the National Museum is on the Copenhagen Card list. Details are in bus, boat or Copenhagen Card. If the weather is good, put the palaces or a canal boat on the same day instead.
Which one to pick
- Danish history, Vikings, flexible timing: the National Museum.
- A lighter visit with a drink, adults or teenagers: Home of Carlsberg.
- Wheelchair users: the National Museum; Home of Carlsberg only with a guided tour booked 14 days ahead.
- On a Monday: Home of Carlsberg, because the National Museum is closed.
Our recommendation
Book the National Museum of Denmark if you want one museum day, and add Carlsberg only if the brewery story or the tasting add-on appeals. See also the tickets overview.
