Copenhagen was once a Viking fishing settlement, and you can still find traces of the Norse explorers here. Visit reconstructed villages, the remains of a 1,000-year-old castle, and museums dedicated to the notorious raiders. Copenhagen also features a blend of modern architecture and historical artifacts such as the Round Tower observatory – a wonderful example of 17th-century architecture. Art galleries, narrow streets, canals, parks, and Baroque churches round out the city’s cultural attractions.

In Silkeborg, you can customize whatever kind of getaway suits you. Spend a week with the family working on a local farm or have a splash in the pristine Almindsø Lake. Try your hand at orienteering, or push it to the max while cycling or rambling along a stunning countryside trail. Or, simply float along on cloud nine, spending some restorative time in on of the area's many "bathing lakes." An annual jazz festival, regular fireworks parties and a passel of theme parks spice up the Scandanavian serenity.

The charming village of Horsens is surrounded by tiny isles that are just begging to be explored. Whether you prefer to commune with nature by windsurfing, sailing or just splashing your toes in the shallow water, you'll be enchanted by the blue-gray sea. Kids will go crazy for the annual European Medieval Festival, where young knight and little maidens will be thrilled to get a taste of ye olde Denmark.

A large, busy harbor doesn’t dampen the charm of Skagen’s older neighborhoods, which offer distinctive yellow houses, great museums, ceramic and glass art galleries, and bike rental outlets. Harbourside restaurants serve fish fresh off the boats. If you’re used to Caribbean beaches, this will take some getting used to, but we bet Skagen’s craggy charms will win you over.

Located on the Danish island of Bornholm, Allinge-Sandvig is the product of a merger between two small fishing villages. It’s close enough to the impressive medieval ruins of the 13th-century Hammershus fortress that you could make a day hike of it, strolling past beautiful scenery. For more adventurous travelers, kayaking in the Baltic Sea is a popular way to experience the Danish coast, and rock climbers can scale coastal cliffs and abandoned quarries.

The quirky, millennium-old capital of Fyn (or Funen), Odense is populated by street corner sculptures of trolls and monster-footed benches. Hans Christian Andersen's birthplace is crammed with fairytale-related attractions. A plethora of castles awaits in the surrounding countryside, including the 1554 Egeskov Castle with its dramatic moat, 18 miles away. Bike or walk to visit manatees at the zoo, open-air museums, the impressive cathedral, the art cinema and bustling cafés, or see the town by riverboat.

If Aalborg were a house, the real estate agent would sell it as "loaded with potential." The 1,000-year-old city is Denmark’s fourth largest, and boasts a Viking past, over 300 restaurants, a casino, lively nightlife and great shopping. The zoo breeds rare Siberian Tigers, and the Waterland and Tivoliland make it a great place for families to visit. Aalborg isn’t a hotspot for foreigners, yet. But we’ll watch as the waterfront of this busy port continues to gentrify, with expectations it will be one in the future.

Beautiful Fjerritslev is a Danish town that’s wedged between a fjord and the North Sea. A tour and tasting at the Fjerritslev Brewery and District Museum is a tasty way to dive into the local culture. Bike paths were born from old railroad tracks, and hiking routes wind along forests and heather-covered hills.

Home to the four-day Roskilde Festival, arguably the best European rock festival, hilly Roskilde is less than 20 miles from Copenhagen. If hordes of rock stars aren't pillaging the town of 50,000, the excellent Viking ship museum is Roskilde's prime attraction. Featuring five ships discovered at the bottom of the fjord, you can add to the Viking experience by rowing the fjord on an hour-long longboat trip. The town is also famed for its much adapted 12th-century Roskilde Domkirke Cathedral.