Art you’re allowed to climb – and definitely not be quiet around

Forget everything about “do not touch” and hushed voices. Right now, street artist HuskMitNavn has taken over Brandts’ annual sensory exhibition, and he has turned the whole idea of a museum on its head. Here you’re allowed to touch, make noise and play: step through the gilded frames and disappear into a Jackson Pollock drip painting, climb around inside a Mondrian installation, put on fly wings and scale a giant poo, or dress up as one of his characters and feed liquorice sweets to the sculptures. It’s silly, colourful and clever all at once.

I love that the sensory exhibition is an old Odense tradition – many of the parents who visit today stood here as children themselves. This is a stroke of genius as a first encounter with art: the kids laugh and crawl around, and without ever noticing, they get their very first sense of what art can do.

Remember to book a time slot in advance – it can get busy during the holidays.

Museum: The Sensory Exhibition HuskMitNavn, Brandts Museum of Art, Odense, until 30 December 2026

The railway station where the children run everything

The Danish Railway Museum is my safe bet when a child needs to burn off energy and the weather won’t cooperate. Among other things, there’s an entire railway station built at child height, where the little ones can play out life and travel at their own scale, and outside, the mini train chugs around the grounds. And then there are the real, big, old trains. Just imagine the journeys people have taken in these carriages!

I’ll send you here without hesitation, because there’s plenty indoors if the heavens open, and plenty outdoors if the sun comes out. And because children up to 17 get in free. It’s hard to have a boring day here, and it’s so close to Odense’s main station that you can practically roll straight in off the train.

Museum: The Danish Railway Museum (Danmarks Jernbanemuseum), Odense

The 1800s, where the kids can simply run free

The Funen Village is not a museum you look at. It’s one you walk into, and I know your children will love it and talk about it for the rest of the holiday.

Old farms and houses moved here from all over Funen, animals in the stables, paths, fields – and a blessed absence of signs telling you what not to do. You step into a farmhouse from Hans Christian Andersen’s time, and suddenly the past isn’t history but something that actually smells – and yes, sometimes stinks – creaks and lives.

The best part is when your child disappears behind a half-timbered house and invents a game of their own. The learning sneaks in while they think they’re just playing. If you can ask for more than that, you’re the demanding one.

Museum: The Funen Village (Den Fynske Landsby), Odense

Try being a child 120 years ago

TID – Museum for Odense is the slightly overlooked card I’d like more people to play. Here you’ll find the Children’s Backyard, a staged city environment where kids can physically feel what life looked like around 120 years ago. Again: not read about it, but try it. There are things to fiddle with, tasks at child height and quirky little stories hidden in the old objects.

For me, its strength is that it makes urban history concrete and tangible rather than dusty. It’s a lovely, calm alternative to the really big attractions, and it sits centrally in Odense, so it’s easy to combine with a stroll through town, ice cream and cobblestones. Bring the curious children – the ones who always ask “why” – and they’ll have plenty to dig into.

Museum: TID – Museum for Odense, Odense

Fairy tales you become part of

Yes, Hans Christian Andersen’s House is the predictable pick on any Funen list. But it’s predictable for good reason. With Ville Vau, the house has become a place where children don’t observe Andersen from a distance – they step into the stories themselves. They meet characters like the Witch, brew magic potions and solve little tasks, and suddenly the fairy tale is their own instead of a grown-up’s act of reverence.

And yes, dear adult, you think you know Hans Christian Andersen. Think again. The “grown-up” part of the house gives you a whole new view of Denmark’s most famous author, his fairy tales and his own fairy-tale life. And while you’re there: take a moment to enjoy Kengo Kuma’s utterly stunning architecture. This is one of the most beautiful places in Odense.

Museum: Hans Christian Andersen’s House, Odense

South Funen’s natural history for all the senses

Naturama in Svendborg is always worth a visit, and you can lose HOURS here. Why? Because it speaks to the senses instead of reciting facts.

You get up close to an impressive collection of mounted and living animals. There are workshops, craft studios and animal dens for the youngest, where the seasons are experienced through the body – the kind of thing that captivates even the child who’s normally running in circles after fifteen minutes.

If you have a child who loves animals and nature, this is home turf. And Svendborg itself is a great excuse for a trip south. Combine it with the harbour and an ice cream, and you’ve got a full day. For me, it’s proof that natural history can be anything but dry.

Museum: Naturama, Svendborg

A real Viking ship – not a replica

This is my nerdy favourite card. At the Viking Museum Ladby lies a well-preserved Viking ship from around the year 925, where a Viking king – the Ladby King – was buried, ship and all. Something happens to both children and adults standing face to face with something that old and that real. No screen or animation can beat the feeling of being right up close to the actual past.

During the summer holidays, they dial up the Viking activities for the whole family, and there’s an entire dressing room where you can put on Viking clothes. It’s close to Kerteminde, a charming old market town in its own right, so you can easily make a full day trip of it with fjord, harbour and ice cream to finish.

And while you’re in the area, stop by the expanded Fjord & Bælt – which probably doesn’t quite qualify as a museum, but is very much still worth a visit.

Museum: The Viking Museum Ladby, near Kerteminde

A real jail. Saw blade in the water pipe included

There’s something strangely magnetic about walking into a jail that was actually in use. Just imagine that pull in the stomach in the youngest visitors.

The Old Jail in Faaborg is no stage set: it’s the town’s original jailhouse from 1840, right on the market square, and it stayed in operation all the way up to 1989. You move through the real cells, the prison yard and the courtroom. Peek through the spyhole, and notice the prisoners’ ingenuity – rumour has it a saw blade was found hidden in a water pipe...

The visit opens up big questions your family can argue about for the rest of the holiday: when is it actually fair to lock a person up?

And then there’s the cellar. Stable lantern in hand, you follow the fate of young Janus, who ended up behind bars. There’s room for six at a time, so book a slot with the host when you arrive.

Children under 18 get in free – see if they can manage a jailbreak before the gate closes.

Museum: The Old Jail (Arresten), Øhavsmuseet, Torvet, Faaborg

An entire castle to get lost in – literally

And finally, the big one: Egeskov is Funen’s most visited attraction, and it’s hard to object once you’re standing there. One of Europe’s best-preserved moat castles, gardens with mazes you can genuinely get lost in – as in, trust me, you will get lost, and so will your children – and some of the biggest and best-kept playgrounds I know. On top of that, the grounds hold several museums: vintage cars, motorcycles, dolls’ houses, camping and a rescue museum, so there’s something to hook the tech-obsessed, the adventurous and the kid who just wants to climb.

This is more than a museum – it’s a full day where you can happily lose track of time and stay until closing. It’s not cheap, and it’s not a spontaneous morning outing, so book a whole day, pack a picnic or eat on site, and let the children set the pace.

Museum: Egeskov Castle, Kværndrup