What to see in Aarhus?

[puppymama1]

We will be sailing on RC Serenade of the Seas next June, and have booked TJ Travel for tours in all ports except Aarhus.  Any recommendations on what to do/see there?  We could book a ship's excursion to the Moesgaard museum, but if there is a cheaper way to see that museum, or something else that would be better, we'd rather do that... How far is that museum from where the ship docks?  Also, how far is the Marselisborg Deer Park?  Any suggestions welcome.. thanks!

[hallasm]

Here you have some inspiration for Aarhus - just ask for more details.

Moesgård museum is outside the city - you can easily either go by yourself by bus or taxi.

The main attraction in Aarhus is ‘Den Gamle By’The Old Town Museum, a National Open Air Museum of Urban History and Culture. This is absolutely my recommendation 

You can walk to Marselisborg Castle and the park.

 

Othere things to do: Central Aarhus with ‘The Latin Quarter’ and the old part of the city surrounding the Cathedral and ‘Skt Clemens Torv’ is very nice and very walkable. You can walk to the attractions

 

Also well worth a visit: Aros art museum, Women’s Museum, the Steno Museum, the Viking Museum, Town Hall and Concert Hall Aarhus. and the Botanical Gardens

Very close also Magasin and Sally g  department stores.

enjoy Aarhus

Edited November 8, 2018 by hallasm
Spelling

[zumbagold]

I am also cruising there and I thank you very much for your reply!

[bfgood2]

Hi Aarhus Cruisers,

 We are planning to buy the 24 hr. Aarhus card on-line and have it mailed to our house. (Around $50 when I checked recently).It includes the HOHO bus which has narrated commentary and has 8 stops around town. The first stop is at the pier (not too many ships go to Aarhus.) The Moesgaard is not on the HOHO bus route.

 The Aarhus card includes admission to the Den Gamble By, Aros Museum, and lots of other attractions. It's a good deal if you only go to those sites. We considered walking to these sites, as the town is compact and the pier is right downtown, but using the HOHO bus will be a time saver. Sounds like it will be an easy port to navigate and lots to see.

[hallasm]

Yes, Aarhus is easy walkable- from the pier to Den Gamble By is 20 minutes - entrance fee to Den Gamle By is $20 - same for Aros. So 50$ is a good deal. 

For one day in Aarhus I’ll not consider Moesgaard except if they do have an exhibition of certain interest to you.

[FLCruise7]

I've looked at the maps of Aarhus, but can't figure out the walking route to get to Den Gamble By.  Would we be better off getting the HOHO bus?  Does it stop at Den Gamble By?  Thanks in advance!!

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, FLCruise7 said:

I've looked at the maps of Aarhus, but can't figure out the walking route to get to Den Gamble By.  Would we be better off getting the HOHO bus?  Does it stop at Den Gamble By?  Thanks in advance!!

Yes - Bus stop 6 - walking is a little more than a mile - 20 minutes through the centre of Aarhus - address is Viborgvej 2, 8000 Aarhus.

1 Cruise terminal
2 Marselisborg Castle
3 Culture and market Square (Tangkrogen)
4 Aarhus City Hall
5 AROS Art Museum
6 The Old Town (Den Gamle By)
7 Møllestien / Aarhus River
8 Aarhus Cathedral /Shopping /Latin Quarter

Edited April 9, 2019 by hallasm

[bfgood2]

FLCruise7,

 We were looking at this too and have decided to get the Aarhus Card, which includes admission to Den Gamble By and the HOHO  bus among quite a few other things.  If we take the HOHO bus it gives you commentary and goes toward the castle, which we wouldn't be likely walking near. In the interest if time we will take the Hoho to stop  6 as on the map Hallasm provided, then walk our way back towards the ship making a stop at the Aros Museum. I just emailed the Aarhus Experience, which is a "free" (tips at the end) company that does walking tours. We are interested in the Tour- Stories and Places Hidden in Plain Sight, a 2 hr. tour in the Latin Quarter. Hopefully we can fit this in. You need tickets, since the group will be limited and they say they are booked on cruise days. Don't know the time yet. If interested please let me know. 

 Aarhus Card is now 329 DKK ($49.55 per today's rate) and should be bought on-line and mailed to your house.

BFGood2

[FLCruise7]

Hallasm - Thanks for the quick response.  That would work out perfectly for us, but for one small problem   We will be in Aarhus at the end of April and per the HOHO website, it doesn't run then.  Are Ubers available or would we need to do a cab if we didn't want to walk (or if the weather isn't good)?  Thanks!

[bfgood2]

Hi Hallasm,

 Sorry, I didn't realize that. HOHO bus starts in May. The other option is the  public bus system. Middtrafik.dk and a single ticket is 22 DKK or $3.31 which covers 2 zones, which is the downtown. I don't have personal experience but check their site. There is also a lightrail train if you want to go to the Moesgaard Museum.

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, FLCruise7 said:

Are Ubers available or would we need to do a cab if we didn't want to walk (or if the weather isn't good)

Uber is Not available - taxi og bus (Midttraffik) - you can also find information on Rejseplanen.

You can buy a single ticket with cash in the bus, in Midttrafik app or as a print out ticket

9 hours ago, bfgood2 said:

There is also a lightrail train if you want to go to the Moesgaard Museum.

No light rail to Moesgaard - only bus service.

[FLCruise7]

Hallasm - Thanks for all your help!  I think we will be able to make it to Den Gamble Bye by walking.  Depending on our energy level after the walk & touring, we might do the cab back to the ship.  We are certainly looking forward to seeing your country -- our first visit!!

[zumbagold]

Thank you for all the information! I was wondering how often the HOHO bus runs. If the first bus at the cruise port fills, how long do we wait for the next bus? Is there a dedicated spot to wait in line for the HOHO bus? We arrive for our day in June. 

[hallasm]

Every 30 minutes from 9:30 to 16:00 from May 24 to September 6 - schedule below.

Link to pdf with map.   See stops at the map - note that cruise ships does dock in two different locations.

Edited April 13, 2019 by hallasm

[bfgood2]

Hi,

 I just emailed Stromma, which is the parent company that operates all these HOHO buses to ask them if they have multiple buses waiting at the port, since there will be hundreds of people who all want to get off the ship at the same time and get on a bus.

 I also asked if there will be a special area to board a bus if you have your Aarhus Card in hand when you get off the ship. No point in buying it on-line if you're waiting in line with the masses who didn't plan ahead.

 Will report back when I get an answer....

[zumbagold]

Thank you both for helping me with my questions regarding HOHO buses!

It doesn't mention two cruise terminal pick-ups on Stromma's web site. I will have to check that out.

Edited April 14, 2019 by zumbagold

[hallasm]

The HoHo bus has only one cruise terminal stop close to the terminal where most ships dock - quay 129/131.  

Alternatively, vessels can call at the Container terminal or the Omniterminal. It is a little further away. Examples are Regal Princess,  Rotterdam and few more.

[bfgood2]

Hi all,

 I heard back from Stromma today, which is the bus company that runs the HOHO bus in Aarhus (and other cities).  I had asked how many buses they will have waiting at the pier and if you have an Aarhus Card purchased on-line if you can skip the line to buy tickets. Here is a quote from Stromma 🈁 "In Aarhus they only have one bus, and if you have a voucher (the Aarhus Card), you will have to exchange it for one of our tickets."

 That's not what I was hoping to hear. In other words, hundreds of people all waiting for the same one bus to make the loop and come back for another load of cruisers.

 Based on that, we won't be buying the Aarhus Card and will get ff the ship and walk to Den Gamble By or possibly take a cab. Glad I asked.  I'd rather be walking than waiting in a line at the pier.

 

[hallasm]

17 minutes ago, bfgood2 said:

we won't be buying the Aarhus Card and will get ff the ship and walk to Den Gamble By or possibly take a cab

Might be a wise choice- however depending on what you’re doing the rest of the day the Aarhus Card might be an option - also taking the HoHo visit after your visit to ‘Den Gamle By’.

I can see that our spellcheckers are quite consistent (even mine) - it is ’Den Gamle  By’ which is ‘The Old City’ in Danish.

[Denverite]

We just returned from Aarhus. We were there on the Regal Princess on Sunday, April 28, 2019. The Regal Princess docked at the container port and provided a free shuttle from the ship to a tented area outside the container port. There were people there with maps and helpful information on how to walk to Den Gamle By (just follow the canal they said). We had walked a lot on our previous two stops so decided to go the easy way and take a taxi. There were only a couple of taxis there and most people were walking instead. Our cost was about the equivalent of $20US (used credit card) one-way. The driver gave us his card and said to call him if we needed a taxi back as there will not be taxis waiting there. We spent a couple of hours there, called him, and he was there in 2 minutes. He said he had not been very busy since most places are very walkable. We had him drop us off at the beginning of the pedestrian street (again about $20US). He pointed out how to walk back to the ship. There were tourist people standing around in orange vests answering questions. They told us to be sure to go to the Salling Dept. Store and take the elevator to the top floor (floor 6). Outside there is a platform where you can see over Aarhus and take great pictures. They also have a small restaurant/bar there. Again used credit card for small lunch and coffee (charcuterie board). We walked around the downtown area (many shops were open even though it was Sunday). We didn't have time to go to any of the museums but enjoyed our time there. Just a note: we were told that if you use the local buses you do need to have the local currency. Otherwise we found it very easy to use our credit card (chip but  not pin) for everything. The tented area where the buses take you back to the ship had a few vendors selling items and prices were listed in DKK and Euros.

[hallasm]

6 minutes ago, Denverite said:

Just a note: we were told that if you use the local buses you do need to have the local currency

You need local currency for busses.

however you can pay by App or buy tickets at the web for printing. 

Link to App Midttrafik app - Or print print-selv-billet

[puppymama1]

On 4/15/2019 at 3:36 PM, bfgood2 said:

Hi all,

 I heard back from Stromma today, which is the bus company that runs the HOHO bus in Aarhus (and other cities).  I had asked how many buses they will have waiting at the pier and if you have an Aarhus Card purchased on-line if you can skip the line to buy tickets. Here is a quote from Stromma 🈁 "In Aarhus they only have one bus, and if you have a voucher (the Aarhus Card), you will have to exchange it for one of our tickets."

 That's not what I was hoping to hear. In other words, hundreds of people all waiting for the same one bus to make the loop and come back for another load of cruisers.

 Based on that, we won't be buying the Aarhus Card and will get ff the ship and walk to Den Gamble By or possibly take a cab. Glad I asked.  I'd rather be walking than waiting in a line at the pier.

 

Thanks for the info... I agree, it isn't worth waiting in line at the port, but I am thinking it might still be worth getting the Aarhus card... We would walk to Den Gamle By, use the Aarhus card for the admission there, then use it to get on the HOHO bus at Den Gamle By, and stay on the bus for the whole circuit again to see the rest of the town and then get off at the cruise terminal... Anyone know if we would be able to do that?  Also, what is the best route to walk from the port to Den Gamle By, so I can print out a Google Map to take with us?  Thanks!

Edited May 2, 2019 by puppymama1

[bfgood2]

39 minutes ago, puppymama1 said:

Thanks for the info... I agree, it isn't worth waiting in line at the port, but I am thinking it might still be worth getting the Aarhus card... We would walk to Den Gamle By, use the Aarhus card for the admission there, then use it to get on the HOHO bus at Den Gamle By, and stay on the bus for the whole circuit again to see the rest of the town and then get off at the cruise terminal... Anyone know if we would be able to do that?  Also, what is the best route to walk from the port to Den Gamle By, so I can print out a Google Map to take with us?  Thanks!

Hi,

 You can get on and off the HOHO bus whenever  and wherever you want to within the 24 hr. period. I did a Google map search for directions from the pier to Den Gamble By and it's 2.8 miles!  Taxi is $20 and credit card is accepted, according to another poster who was just there.  However, Den Gamble By doesn't open until 10:00 per their web-site.  I'll see

if I can email them to see if they open earlier on a cruise day. Cheers!

[puppymama1]

2.8 miles!  I thought several people had said it was only a 20 minute easy walk?  I guess we will be taking a taxi.. maybe there are some other Cruise Critic members who would be interested in sharing one with us?

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, bfgood2 said:

I did a Google map search for directions from the pier to Den Gamble By and it's 2.8 miles! 

From where? Should not be more than 1,2 miles from cruise terminal to Den Gamle By