While ancient Roskilde may be more famous today for its annual blowout of head banging rockers, the town has plenty more to offer. For one, it’s hailed as one of Denmark’s oldest remaining city centres, and has all the museums and preserved artifacts to prove it. But that’s not only it; the town also enjoys a reputation as one of the centres of national arts & crafts, for which visitors should head to the locally owned galleries of Labr, Jeppeart and Glasgalleriet, or any of the other various workshops near to the centre. There’s also the great Roskilde Cathedral, the famous Viking Ship Museum, a smattering of parks, great medieval architecture and plenty of other worthy points of interest for your Roskilde tourist guide to mark off on the map!
If like most of the others, you’ve arrived here in early summer, geared up for what’s touted as Europe’s largest music festival, then it’s likely you won’t leave disappointed. For around a week the town swells to four times its original size with revellers from right across the globe. With them come street entertainers, comedians, artists, and, of course, the big-name music acts that have helped establish Roskilde as a household name since the festival’s foundation in 1971.