We have come back from this trip completely spellbound by Denmark. Everything was so clean, bright, cheerful and easy – and surprisingly cheap too! We spent 4 nights and 5 days at a farm outside, Billund. This felt like a good amount of time but as prepared as we were, we could have done with a bit more time everywhere we visited. For more about the how, why, where and how much of this trip, please check out this summary blog. Here, we share our recommendations for things to do with kids in Billund.
Billund has really embraced its Lego history with Legoland, the Lego House, and LEGO accommodation. Even the bin lorries travel around town Lego characters on them! But there’s also culture and history to be had, wild experiences and national parks, Lalandia (Denmark’s answer to Centreparcs), and much more to explore.
Jelling Runes and Museum:
We started our first day visiting the Jelling runes and Viking Museum (before we gave the kids an overload of theme park madness, best get the cultural stop in asap! Located in the heart of Jutland, Denmark, the Jelling Stones are an incredible testament to the history and culture of the region. These massive runestones date back to the 10th century and are considered by many to be the birthplace of Denmark as a nation. As Viking fans, we were incredibly excited to visit the Viking museum and see these ancient artifacts for ourselves.
We started off with the Jelling Museum, which is located on the site and offers a wealth of information about the history and culture of the Jelling Stones. The museum features some of the best interactive exhibits and displays that I’ve ever seen – they really brought the Viking Age to life, and we spent around 90 mins exploring the various galleries and displays. A word of warning – it’s pretty violent! They don’t hold back on the gore of the age, but our kids loved it.
We then headed across the road to the location of the stones themselves, in the courtyard of a Christian church built to commemorate Harald Bluetooths conversion to Christianity. As I approached the site, I was struck by the sheer size of the stones. The largest stone, known as the Jelling Stone A, is over six meters tall and is covered in intricate carvings that tell the story of the Viking Age. The smaller stone, known as the Jelling Stone B, is equally impressive, with carvings that depict scenes from the life of Christ.
As we explored the site, the sense of history and tradition permeated every inch of the landscape. From the ancient church nearby to the Viking burial mounds that dot the surrounding countryside, there was a palpable sense of the past. It is believed that Gorm the Old, first king of Denmark (Harald’s dad) was buried under the tallest mound. We were also in awe of how clean and bright everything was – for 1,000-year-old bits of stone, every inch looked brand new.
Visiting the Jelling Stones was an incredible experience that I would recommend to anyone with an interest in history or culture. The site is a true national treasure and a testament to the enduring legacy of the Viking Age. Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting out on your adventures, a visit to the Jelling Stones is a must-see UNESCO world heritage destination that will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the rich history and culture of Denmark.
Wow Park:
Late morning we took a 20-minute drive to WOW Park Billund, an outdoor adventure park. The park is designed to provide visitors with a unique and immersive experience in nature, with a wide range of activities that are suitable for children and adults of all ages. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine, yet tepid 17 degree temperatures, and were very excited to get a bit more of a Scandi appreciation for the outdoors on such a glorious day!
At WOW Park Billund, you can climb trees, swing on ropes, and navigate obstacle courses in the forest. The park provides a variety of zip lines, high-ropes, toboggans, labyrinths, and different courses and challenges, ranging from easy courses for younger children to more difficult courses for adults and older kids - everything is nicely mixed into different zones so there is something nearby for all ages. At one point we had the 8 and 4 year old up the tallest high-rope climbing activity (which is totally safe but REALLY HIGH!) and the 1 year old floating twigs and leaves down a wooden stream. It was an amazing place, we've seen most the elements of this place in various outdoor parks at home in the UK or on our travels, but the way it was all put together made it feel pretty unique and special.
One of the things that sets WOW Park Billund apart is its focus on nature and sustainability. The park is designed to minimize its impact on the environment, with courses and obstacles that are built around the natural features of the forest. The park also uses renewable energy sources, to help power its facilities. In fact, the surrounding countryside is awash with wind turbines and solar panel arrays across the stunning farms and woodland.
In addition to its outdoor activities, WOW Park also offers a number of other lovely activities, including a playground, a "friendly goat" petting area (an absolute highlight of the day due to the tiny newborn goats, sleeping on our laps!), and a restaurant. The toddler playground has a variety of different play structures little wooden buildings and mud kitchens and games. There is also a workshop where you may build anything that takes your fancy from the large range of natural materials and fixings available. The highlights for us were the “giga nets” (huge elastic nets with giant zorb-style balls suspended in the canopy) as well as the toboggan. Really, the most amazing thing about it was that it was so damn quiet on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!
WOW Park Billund is a great destination for families looking for an active and immersive experience in nature. Whether you're climbing trees, swinging on ropes, or cuddling the "friendly goats", there is plenty to see and do at this unique and exciting park – plan to spend a whole day here if you can!
Legoland:
After a lovely evening and good nights sleep at the farm, we got up early to prepare ourselves a big packed lunch and a cooked breakfast to fuel our exciting trip to Legoland, Billund! We live just 20 minutes from Legoland Windsor and sadly haven’t had the best experience with the run-down park in the UK. I know others that love it, but I always find half the rides broken, queues of over an hour, people smoking while waiting for rides and it just looks as though it’s had no TLC for decades with paint peeling, sun damage and it’s generally just rough around the edges, especially for the price! But this trip is kid focused and they love it!
I was more optimistic about Legoland, Billund and I hoped that our sneaky jaunt during school time would leave us with less queuing. It didn’t disappoint! Again, everything is indeed awesome. The whole experience was just brilliant, every few meters there are bricks arranged in activity stations, some pretty innovative and unique rides, plenty for children of all ages. Max's (8) favourite was Lloyds Lasermaze and the design-your-own ride Ice Pilots School, Quinn loved the classic Dragon when pushed to choose a favourite. Mine was the virtual reality/simulator "Emmet's Flying Adventure - Masters of Flight" - a triple decker flying couch zooms you around a world of Lego bricks and Duplo monsters!
The attention to detail throughout the park was pretty remarkable too. From the impressive Lego sculptures scattered around every corner to the vibrant shows and live entertainment, every aspect of Legoland was crafted with creativity and precision.
As always, (there is a theme here!), everything was so bright and clean – we slum it all over the world and are no strangers to a bit of grime, but everything in Billund just somehow stood out as fresh and polished.
Buying the Legoland-Lego house combi ticket made this special treat £149.50 for our family of 5, which was less than I originally expected and worth the money – we all had a brilliant day out.
Lego House:
Lego House in Billund proved to be the ultimate destination for a family day out, filled with laughter, creativity, and endless fun. It was a really joy to watch the kids imaginations run wild - at a push we would say it might have been better than Legoland itself!
Lego House is obviously a dream come true for Lego enthusiasts of all ages, and we were all absolutely thrilled to explore it! The sheer scale of the building, designed to resemble a stack of Lego bricks, was awe-inspiring – to get you in the mood, watch this 45 min documentary on the creation of Lego House before you go! Expect to spend a good few hours minimum at LEGO House, but for true Lego fans who will spend hours perfecting their creations, allow a full day and book tickets from the opening slot.
We started off in the Red Zone, an enormous interactive play area where we could build and create to our heart's content. The kids’ faces lit up as they dived into massive tubs of Lego bricks, constructing everything from towering towers to whimsical vehicles. We loved creating a Lego face and watch it take on the mood we had selected and dance on the screen. We created a Lego fish and watch it come alive when released into the digital ocean, and planted a Lego flower in the Lego meadow. The Robo Lab allows kids to build and program their own robots, igniting their curiosity and creativity. The Racing Ramps were an absolute hit, as our little ones designed and raced their custom-built Lego cars, cheering each other on. We also made time to just sit by the Lego waterfall and let our imaginations flow. Don’t forget, all our creations can be scanned at one of the many wristband stations, and you can download all your memories when you get home! Above is one of the MoodMixer creations Quinn saved to her wristband!
The highlight of our visit was possibly the Mini Chef restaurant. Order your meal using LEGO bricks fed into a computer and your meal will be served by Lego robots! The food was great, there was loads of it and it was really filling and tasty. Our kids eat like horses but I’d say two of the kids meals was enough for the three of them – they were actually full! Due to budget we decided to make this meal our only eat-out of the trip and had no regrets! It wasn’t the cheapest dining experience, but certainly one to remember.
Another must-visit area was the Masterpiece Gallery, where three massive dinosaurs (built of each of the 3 main Lego systems; Duplo, Lego, and Technic) stand proud among incredible Lego creations made by skilled Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) builders from around the world.
Don’t miss the vault! The underground museum gives a history of the iconic toy and the Lego family, but best of all it has a physical or digital copy of all the Lego sets ever created!
To cap off our visit, we ventured up to the stunning rooftop terrace, offering panoramic views of Billund. It was lovely to see the Lego House from above, surrounded by captivating views of the town and its beautiful landscape. We sure to grab your unique 6-brick combination from the Lego printer before you leave!
I couldn’t recommend Lego House highly enough, honestly, it’s one of the best places we’ve ever been - I can’t wait to go back one day. From the moment we stepped foot inside this iconic attraction, it was clear that we were in for an unforgettable experience.
Summary:
Billund is without a doubt a must-visit destination for families with young children (personally, I will be going back without the kids one day!). After being blessed with our last few trips being long and crazy adventures, Billund was easy, fun and relaxed the entire time – the kids were a rare and wonderful combination of excited, imaginative, curious and chilled all the same time. We spent every evening post-bedtime investigating how we could move here permanently! Denmark has made a real mark on us and re-ignited a craving to do more short and simple trips around Europe in the coming years. I can’t recommend it highly enough; we’ll be back soon!
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