Legoland

It’s diplomatic to say the city of Billund has a number of tourist attractions, but the truth of the matter is that nearly every visitor to the city comes for one reason: the Legoland Theme Park. If you have children, or grew up with Legos yourself, the trip to out of the way Billund is certainly worth it. Over 45 million of the tiny locks are utilized to make up the Legoland Theme Park, portraying scenes from all over both Denmark and the rest of the world. Seeing Amalienborg Palace, the Statue of Liberty, or a series of Rhineland castles made entirely of Legos certainly doesn’t compare with seeing the real things, but the replicas are quite impressive in their own right.

Legos have a rich and storied history since their invention in the 1930s by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen. By the 1950s, the toy had taken off in popularity, and by 1968 there was enough interest in the tiny blocks that Legoland Denmark opened that fall. The overwhelming success of the park, which has over a million people per year visit it, has led to parks sprouting up in America, England and Germany. Not bad for a company that was founded by an unemployed carpenter during the depression years.

The Legoland Denmark isn’t all just block replicas of historic sites, though. That’s just Miniland, one of the five sections of the park. The main tour involves a train ride across a variety of Lego scenes, while you can also take a short, meandering boat ride through parts of the theme park. Rides and displays mix all across Legoland, as kids and adults can both take a Lego safari featuring a wide array of exotic Lego animals, or visit some of the other specialized sections of the Legoland Theme Park. One of the most popular is PirateLand, with great ships and miniature Lego pirates splayed out everywhere, locked in epic battles and divvying up tiny plastic treasure.

Another feature of Legoland Denmark is the Mindstorms Center, where technology and innovation collide such that children can use computers to build Lego robots. There are also daily building contests and a wealth of “activity rooms” for young and old alike to try their hand at replicating the theme park’s interlocking grandeur.

Prices are fairly reasonable, though dependent on both time of year and age of the visitor. Since Billund has a limited number of lodging options compared to some of the larger Danish cities, there is even a Legoland Hotel, which offers a number of family-friendly amenities, not to mention Legoland discount tickets.