Odense Things to Do

St. Knud's Cathedral cannot be missed if one visits Odense. It was built at the end of the 1400s, and it is known for its gilded alterpiece, although the church's history goes back about 900 years. As king of Denmark, St. Knud was well-remembered in Danish history as being its ruler from 1080 to 1086. Knud was killed in a peasant revolt by farmers, and there is much folklore about the slain king.

You can go inside a crypt, which may date back to 1100.

More to come here...I plan to build a travelogue.

You can come here to learn about HC Andersen, whose books have touched many generations. A man who mainly just grew up in Odense, Herr Andersen spent much of his life in Copenhagen.

Despite being remembered as an author of children's books, Andersen was a known as a partier and a connoisseur of women. He would be invited to my dinner table, of course!

I live just across the street from Odense Zoo which is one of the most modern and most visited zoo's in Denmark.
Recently expanded and quite big, despite the location near the center of the city.
Abig South American area was added a few years ago along with the 'Oceanium' - which is the most popular attraction these days. The Oceanium takes you on a journey through the huge continent and gives you the chance to see both manatees, piranhas, tropical fish and a lot of different penguins, who all lives under very good conditions.
The manatees are quite rare in European zoo's, and have become kind of a trademark for the zoo in Odense.

Besides the Oceanium, you'll get to see red pandas, camels, tigers, giant turtles, lions, monkeys, sea lions, seals, kangaroos, zebras, giraffes and many more of the well-known and popular animals in this beautiful 'park', where the prices are at an okay level.

OPENING HOURS:

Jan. 1 - Feb. 28 (9-16)
Mar. 1 - Mar. 28 (9-16) Weekends (9-17)
Mar. 29 - Apr. 30 (9-17) Weekends (9-18)
May 1 - Jun. 30 (9-18) Weekends (9-19)
Jul. 1 - Jul. 31 (9-19)
Aug. 1 - Aug. 31 (9-19) Weekends (9-19)
Sep. 1 - Oct. 26 (9-17) Weekends (9-18)
Oct. 27 - Dec. 31 (9-16)

ENTRANCE FEES:

Adults 90 kr.
Kids (3-11 years) 45 kr.
Senior citizens (from 65 years ) 75 kr.

Groups (min. 15 persons)
Adults 75 kr.
Kids (3-11 years) 40 kr.
Senior citizens (from 65 years ) 65 kr.

FEEDING HOURS:
(No feeding is allowed)

11.00 Sea lions
11.30 Manatees
12.00 Tiger (tuesday & saturday)
12.00 Piranha (thursday)
12.00 Lions (wedensday, nov.-april)
13.15 Chimpanzee
13.30 Penguins
14.45 Lions (wedensday, may-oct.)
14.45 Sea lions
16.30 Tailed lemur (may-august)
The cows are milked every day at 14.20.

Take a look at my Odense Zoo 'travelogue' for a small gallery...

Whether or not you are a rail enthuiast you'll enjoy this museum - it has various displays, set scenes, other sorts of rail vehicles - e.g a van adapted to run on rails. There is also a steam train to ride on (not far - just up and down the line), as well as one of those 'handcarts' that you can operate by pumping up and down on the levers.

Odense City Museum (Møntergården).
This very interesting museum consists of houses from the 16th century to the present day. It features exhibitions on Odense during the Viking Age and medieval period, interiors from the 17th and 18th century to the 1950s. In the Nyborgladen (the open storehouse of the museum) there are thousands of items exemplifying everday life from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Hans Christian Andersens Childhood Home
A branch of the Hans Christian Andersen museum is the house where Hans Christian Andersen lived as a child from 1807-1819. Some of the rooms contain a small exhibition on the writer’s childhood in Odense.

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the world famous writer of fairytales, was born in Odense and lived there as a child. This museum is dedicated to the writer’s life, but also contains a large library, with Danish and foreign editions of his works, as well as a collection of illustrations inspired by his writings.

THE FUNEN VILLAGE

An open-air museum with more than 20 rural buldings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Apart from the proper farmhouse building, there are such buildings as a smithy, a windmill and a watermill, a vicarage, a school and an almhouse.
Agriculture and cattleraising are practiced in the village, using old methods.
Workshop activities, especially during the summer months.