Your guide to exciting places to visit in West Zealand

Gavnø Castle

In the middle of Karrebæk Fjord in South Zealand, you'll find the scenic island of Gavnø. And the first thing that catches your eye when you drive across the small, charming road to the island is the beautiful Gavnø Castle, which towers on the island's shore, beautifully surrounded by soft, green trees.

The castle is rich in history and framed by a large park and garden complex, where you can wander through both cultural history and the beautifully landscaped gardens with masses of flowers and, among other things, Denmark's longest cherry tree avenue.

The castle houses a very large collection of furniture, paintings, and interiors that reflect the rich history of the place. The indoor rooms are presented with many details that show life at the estate throughout time.

The place is ideal for both young and old to visit. Gavnø Castle boasts a super good and family-friendly climbing park, where children as young as 3 years old and at least 110 centimeters tall can explore the paths on the ground and up in the treetops. The scenic courses and paths are naturally and well-adapted to different age groups, ensuring excitement for both big and small.

Additionally, there's a cozy play area with trampolines and goats, among other things, and it's also possible to go on an exciting pirate treasure hunt at the castle! There are also good dining options at the castle.

Gavnø Castle guarantees a wonderful and exciting day for both young and old!

Dyrehøj: Denmark's largest winery

On the green slopes down towards Kalundborg Fjord on Røsnæs lies Dyrehøj winery, where vineyards spread across the hilly landscape, framing the place as Denmark's largest winery.

The rows of grapevines follow the terrain in long lines, and between them, the view opens up towards the water. Here, large-scale Danish wine production takes place, where grapes are grown in their own fields, and wines are produced at the winery.

During the season, guided tours and wine tastings are held, where you gain insight into the work in the vineyards and the production. The winery also houses a café where food is based on local ingredients and paired with the house's wines.

It is possible to get a variety of tailored experiences at the winery at good prices. You can, among other things, get a guided tour around the farm and out into the fields with or without tastings and lunch, just as you can buy a picnic on site and enjoy it authentically among the grapevines.

At Dyrehøj Winery, you move among grapevines with views far out into the landscape, feeling how Danish wine is shaped by the surrounding scenery.

Museum Southeast Denmark

Museum Southeast Denmark houses no less than six distinct museums and is associated with two more. All located in the southern and eastern part of Zealand.

In the middle of the landscape near Køge, for example, lie the remains of the Viking fortress Borgring, which belongs to the museum. While the fine Holmegaard Værk near Næstved gathers glass, design, and industrial history under the same roof - also as part of Museum Southeast Denmark.

At the Viking fortress Borgring, the circular rampart emerges in the terrain as a precise form from the Viking Age, where paths lead you around the complex, making it possible to discern the fortress's structure in the landscape. Here, the archaeological traces are preserved in their simplicity, and the interpretation on site is based on findings from the excavations.

At Holmegaard Værk, you move through the former factory buildings, where kiln halls and production rooms frame beautiful exhibitions on Danish glass art. The collection includes works from Holmegaard's production and finely illustrates the development from craftsmanship to design.

Both places convey history through exhibitions and activities, where themes such as the Viking Age, craftsmanship, and industry are unfolded based on concrete finds and objects. You move between the traces of the earth and the form of glass, feeling how history takes its place in both landscape and space.

In addition, Museum Southeast Denmark also houses Denmark's Castle Centre, Køge Museum Helligåndshuset in Næstved, Møns Museum, and the associated museums Køng Museum and Museumsgården at Keldbylille. In addition to the fine and popular hiking route, Camønoen.

Birkegården's Gardens

A series of exciting theme gardens unfold around the farm near Tågerup, where Birkegården's Gardens gather four different garden complexes and various play areas for children in a single visitor destination in West Zealand.

The four gardens each have their own expression and are connected by paths that lead you from room to room with changing vegetation, views, and atmospheres. Here you encounter both classical garden art, Japanese-inspired elements, and more playful areas with figures and small scenarios integrated into the planting. Surfaces, paths, and vegetation change character along the way, so the views and details shift as you move through the complex.

In the gardens, there are also small environments and figures that especially appeal to children, featuring many cute and child-friendly animals and three different nice play areas, as well as open spaces and nooks where it is possible to sit and relax in the surroundings.

The place also houses a café and facilities that support a longer visit to the gardens.

At Birkegårdens Haver, the gardens open in several directions, and you can follow the paths through the different expressions at your own pace and enjoy a wonderful day and beautiful nature.

Kragerup Gods

Kragerup Gods is beautifully situated, surrounded by green forests and, a little further away, vast fields in an open landscape in West Zealand, where the white buildings stand out beautifully and invite you in - and out! - to a wealth of wonderful experiences.

The historic buildings and the green surroundings stand beautifully side by side, and inside you can explore the old rooms. The manor was built as far back as 1610 and has since been carefully restored and today houses, among other things, a lovely restaurant. It is also possible, for example, to book a historical guided tour of the beautiful premises.

Outside, there is a string of wonderful experiences. Kragerup Gods, for example, features a climbing park in the treetops, a trampoline park, a footgolf course, and various other activity options such as archery and canoeing around the beautiful manor. You can also explore the museum together with an exciting murder mystery called 'The Maid's Secret'. Or go on a fun and child-friendly riddle hunt on the manor grounds. The manor is also used for events and stays, so there is always a cozy and wonderful atmosphere here.

At Kragerup Gods, you can enjoy both the historic setting and plenty of wonderful activity options for all ages.

Ulvsborg Historical Workshop

The smoke from the fireplaces, the sound of hammer against iron, and the sight of handcrafted houses greet you at Ulvsborg Historical Workshop northwest of Holbæk, where everyday life from the Iron Age has been recreated in full scale. The area is built as a living environment with longhouses, workshops, and fences, giving the place a special calm and atmosphere as soon as you step between the buildings.

Ulvsborg works with dissemination through practical craftsmanship and historical activities, and much of the experience lies in the details. Wood, clay, skin, and fire fill the surroundings, while the reconstructions are built based on archaeological knowledge of the period. This makes the place present and atmospheric to move around in, and you clearly feel the difference between modern rooms and the dense, darker houses with earthen floors and open fireplaces. Throughout the year, historical activities and dissemination days are arranged, including archery, blacksmithing, and ancient crafts. Children and adults can try their hand at various tasks and get close to the materials and working methods that characterized life in the Iron Age.

Ulvsborg Historical Workshop is a place where history becomes very concrete and atmospheric to explore.

Guided tours to Sprogø from Nyborg

Sprogø, with its location in the middle of the Great Belt, is an island that most people know due to its position as the midpoint of the Great Belt Bridge. However, very few have actually set foot on the island and not just rushed across it.

But there is every good reason to do so, and the island can be visited with VisitNyborg, which organizes exciting guided tours to the island, which is rich in very unique nature and holds exciting and horrifying stories from Denmark's past.

On the guided tours, you move through a landscape characterized by open expanses and scenic coastal surroundings. Sprogø has had various functions over time and still contains the remains of a royal castle from the time of Valdemar the Great, just as the buildings on Sprogø from 1923-1961 housed a girls' home for what was then called

The home stands today as a very dark chapter in Danish history. The girls and women were placed here against their will for an indefinite period, and in several cases, they were forcibly sterilized, just as they were daily subjected to the gross abuse of power by the matron and chief physician. The home's buildings are still on the island, which you will pass and hear stories from on the tour.

The tours to Sprogø provide insight into a place that is not normally open to visitors, and which contains both unique nature with many nesting birds and a past rich in history.

Odsherred Golf Club

Odsherred Golf Club is located in the hilly landscape a little south of Nykøbing Sjælland, where fairways and greens are shaped into the terrain and greet you with views over hills, forest, and open areas with a beautiful vista across the landscape.

The course is designed so that the natural forms of the landscape interact naturally with the game, and you move between elevations and depressions, where the surface changes from mown grass to more natural areas along the edges of the course. The views open up along the way, providing insight into the varied terrain that characterizes the area and makes this northwestern part of Zealand so special and scenic.

The club features an 18-hole course and training facilities where you can work on your game at the driving range and practice shots in the practice areas. The area is centered around the clubhouse, where facilities support stays before and after the game.

Odsherred Golf Club also has a 9-hole course where everyone can play a round of golf and challenge themselves and each other on the beautiful green areas, even if you are not affiliated with a club.

Here you get a course and a facility where the terrain sets the framework for the game, and where nature and golf course beautifully merge in the open landscape.

Our Lady's Church in Kalundborg

Five towers rise clearly above Kalundborg's city center, where Our Lady's Church stands as a prominent edifice and one of Denmark's best-known and most beautiful medieval churches.

The church is built in Romanesque style and is characterized by its cruciform shape and the distinctive five towers, which give the building its special expression with the surrounding church walls framing the structure.

Inside, you'll find vaulted ceilings and walls with columns and fine detailing, where light falls through openings, creating contrasts between spaces and surfaces. The solid masonry and simple lines emphasize the church's origin and function as a central gathering point throughout time. The church was built as far back as the 13th century.

Our Lady Church functions today as a parish church, and services and ecclesiastical acts are held in the church room. It is also open to visitors, where you can experience the architecture and historical details at your own pace.

It is an obvious choice to visit the church when your trip takes you to western Zealand.

It stands beautifully in the middle of Kalundborg and close to the city's harbor park, and in the evening, the church is lit up from the outside, adding plenty of atmosphere and charm to Kalundborg's city center.

Køng Museum

In the village of Køng in South Zealand, between Næstved and Vordingborg, lies Køng Museum, a former textile factory that today frames the story of weaving and production in the area. The museum is housed in the historic factory buildings of a beautiful old property, where large rooms, machines, and textiles provide insight into the craftsmanship and industry that characterized the place and the industry of that time in Denmark.

When you step into the premises with the plank floors and wood carvings in the wall cladding, you encounter the raw materials and traces of production, where looms and equipment stand as part of the exhibition and bear witness to the daily operations that took place here for many years. The exhibitions showcase the work with textiles and weaving. You gain insight into the processes that have been part of the factory's function, and in the rooms, you can see both machines, materials for weaving, and finished work in the form of, for example, fine, woven carpets, which together convey the history of the place. The museum also contains dissemination and exhibitions related to Køng's textile history and the development in the area.

Stop by Køng Museum if you want a wonderful experience in a lovely, specialized museum focusing on textiles and textile art in beautiful forms and designs. It is also possible to get a guided tour and delve even deeper into history.

Birkemosehus

In the beautiful, green forest and nature area east of Slagelse, you will find a very special place if you are looking for authentic experiences with a focus on animals, ecology, and beautiful nature.

Birkemosehus houses an organic farm with approximately 65 Gotlandic Pelt Sheep and some breeding rams, and the place also has a farm shop where you can see and buy a wide range of wool and leather products of various types.

On the farm, there are also some rabbits and chickens, and if you are interested in ecology and would like to take a closer look at the animals in the beautiful natural surroundings, it is possible to visit the farm and get a guided tour from the owner and an introduction to the Gotlandic Pelt Sheep.

If you wish for a guided tour, an appointment must be made in advance by calling 5132 6016.

For those who have more interest in the animals, it is also possible to buy Gotlandic Pelt Sheep here during the period from September to October.

Stop by Birkemosehus if you are interested in how an organic farm is run today in the beautiful and tranquil natural areas of West Zealand, where small roads lead you through the landscape along large and small forests and small and larger fields framed by the abundant greenery of this region.

Zen-Garden

Step into Zen-Garden in the small town of Vedde in mid-western Zealand, where a carefully designed garden creates a tranquil setting for an experience inspired by Japanese garden tradition and sensory immersion. An experience of zen.

The very beautiful garden complex, totaling 24,000 square meters, has been built up over more than 40 years. You park at the edge of a lake and then enter the tranquil surroundings with stone-paved paths, streams with small waterfalls, flowers, and grass paths framed by beautiful beds and trees, so you almost get the feeling of being gently taken by the hand by nature.

The expression is deliberately subdued and invites silence, where the eye can rest and follow the calm lines through the space.

The stay in the garden revolves around immersion and calm presence with yourself and those you visit the garden with. You move slowly through the area and can let your gaze follow the shaped patterns or take a break at selected spots where the whole is experienced in tranquil spaces. The garden is also used as a setting for reflection and quiet stays without disturbances.

Zen-Garden appears as a simple and gently cared-for place where the pace naturally slows down, and the senses are given space to settle.

Rørvig Fish & Smokehouse

In the middle of the harbor in atmospheric Rørvig, you will find Rørvig Fisk & Røgeri, which you can visit both to buy freshly caught fish and seafood and homemade specialties to take home, and to eat exceptionally well-prepared dishes here on site with a view over the water in the beautiful harbor.

The place is known for its traditional fish smokehouse, where the fish are processed and smoked on site. And where the love for craftsmanship is visible in both production and exhibition.

The counter is filled with fresh fish, smoked specialties, and classic dishes that reflect the smokehouse's close relationship with the sea and local ingredients.

At Rørvig Fisk & Røgeri, you feel the pace of the harbor around you, as small boats dock, and life unfolds on the quay and in the smokehouse's premises. The combination of production and sales provides a direct insight into how fish go from sea to table.

Head towards Rørvig and the atmospheric smokehouse in the middle of the harbor. You can both sit down and enjoy a la carte dishes in the restaurant and visit the cozy, informal bistro and enjoy fine dishes that fit perfectly into the maritime surroundings.

Rørvig Fisk & Røgeri also has a bar in the harbor area, where you can enjoy everything from morning coffee to wonderful evening coziness - perhaps with a good glass of wine in hand - with a view over the water!

Ringsted Radio Museum

At Ringsted Radio Museum, you will be presented with an exciting collection of radio and communication equipment, as it has developed over several decades.

Already upon arrival, you encounter rows of radios, transmitters, and receivers that bear witness to the development from early technical solutions to more modern equipment, and the various equipment is related to the role and great importance that technology gained in both people's daily lives and as a means of communication in society in general.

The exhibition includes both Danish and foreign radio apparatuses as well as equipment for wireless communication, and the details in the many objects provide a concrete insight into craftsmanship, design, and function in the development of radio and also TV equipment over time.

The technical installations and setups make it possible to see how the devices have been used in practice, and how sound and signals have developed over time.

The museum is run by volunteers who share knowledge about the collection and the individual objects. On special occasions, equipment is demonstrated, making the technology come alive and understandable in use, and it is an exciting insight into the technological development that really took off in the years that the museum particularly covers.

The atmosphere is calm and nerdy in a good way, and the place is an obvious place to visit in multi-generational groups, who can share a fun insight into a not-so-distant past.

Denmark's Bus Museum

Just outside Skælskør in southwestern Zealand, Denmark's Bus Museum gathers an extensive collection of historical buses, which convey an exciting and different story about public transport through time. Already from the moment you approach the large halls and the characteristic vehicles, which in the collection have many different shapes and constructions.

The collection is wide-ranging and includes both regular service buses, tourist coaches, and special vehicles, which have been preserved and carefully restored with a focus on their original expression. This provides a close insight into the development of design, comfort, and technology, where details such as seats, signs, and driver's seats stand as concrete examples of how design was conceived at different times throughout history.

Several of the buses are in roadworthy condition, and the museum is run by volunteers who continuously work with maintenance and dissemination.

This creates a living framework where history does not just stand still, but continues to be kept alive through practical work and engagement on site.

Throughout the year, activities and rides with selected buses are arranged, where you get the opportunity to experience some of the buses in use. A visit to Denmark's Bus Museum provides a fun and exciting insight into the development of transport, where technology and stories are allowed to unfold at their own pace.

It is also possible to rent one of the fine, historical buses for, for example, a fun special transport of your guests to a wedding, a confirmation, or perhaps a company outing.