Denmark, along with Norway and Iceland, is among the few places outside the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world where Maundy Thursday, the first day of Easter, is a public holiday.
Denmark is also strict with shop opening times, with the Lukkeloven, or closing law, requiring most shops to remain shuttered over most of the Easter period, with the exception of Easter Saturday.
Schools are off from Monday 30th March to Monday April 6th, with pupils returning on Tuesday April 7th.
Restaurants, hotels and cafes normally remain open throughout the Easter period, although it is worth checking as some don't.
And if you are planning to do some sightseeing in Denmark over Easter, you'll find almost all museums remain open as normal, including on Easter Sunday itself, with some even extending normal opening hours.
Shops
All major supermarkets in Denmark are required by law to remain closed on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, with only smaller local grocery shops with a turnover of less than 44.5 million kroner a year allowed to stay open.
You'll find some convenience stores from the Dagli'Brugsen and Brugsen chains open, as well branches of COOP's discount chain 365discount, and smaller shops in the Kvickly and Superbrugsen chains.
The closing law allows the Danish Business Authority to grant some grocery stores in rural areas and holiday home areas to stay open on public holidays on a case by case basis, but if you're travelling out to a rural area, don't bet on anything being open.
Petrol stations are also allowed to stay open, as are shops selling bread, dairy products and newspapers, garden centres, second-hand shops and pawnbrokers, and market stalls selling food and household products.
But even smaller shops selling durable goods like clothes, shoes, or other items other than groceries must remain closed.
Thankfully for anyone who has forgotten to buy essentials for the Easter meal, supermarkets are open more or less as usual on Easter Saturday.
READ ALSO: Påskefrokost: What are the essentials of a Danish Easter lunch?
Museums
Many museums in Denmark remain open throughout the Easter period, although some either extend or shorten their opening hours.
Museums open as normal
Den Gamle By, the open air museum outside Aarhus where actors bring historic houses to life, goes big on Easter, with the staff recreating Danish Easter traditions throughout the ages and activities for kids. There will be Easter treasure hunts ‒ a popular part of Danish Easter celebrations ‒ and Easter lunches. It is open every day of the holiday and you can see the programme here.
Denmark's National Museum, in Copenhagen, is closed on Easter Monday, as it is on all Mondays, but otherwise open. Copenhagen's Botanical Gardens, which are part of the National Museum, are however open on Easter Monday.
The Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen is open every day of Easter.
The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is open as usual from 10am to 4pm throughout Easter.
Museums with shorter opening hours
Copenhagen's Glyptoteket art gallery is closed on Easter Monday, as it is on all Mondays, and closes at 5pm on Maundy Thursday (April 2nd) rather than the usual 9pm.
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen has shorter weekend opening hours on all days of the Easter holiday, closing at 6pm instead of the usual 10pm. Louisiana is also closed on Mondays in general.
Museums with longer opening hours
In Lyngby north of Copenhagen, the Frilandsmuseet open air museum is open every day during the holiday, having had more restricted opening during the early part of spring. Like at Den Gamle By, Easter is a big deal here and you'll find daily activities including egg hunts, egg painting and egg chases. It's open from 10am until 5pm each day, but some cafes and activities will close at 3.30pm.
The Moesgaard Museum, outside Aarhus, which features the world's best preserved bog man (festive, we know), is open until 7pm rather than the usual 5pm on all the days of the Easter holiday, and is open until 9pm on Wednesday April 1st, in keeping with its usual Wednesday late opening. It is also open until 5pm on Easter Monday, unlike normal Mondays on which it is generally closed.
The ARoS Aarhus Art Museum is open from 9am-8pm every day of the holidays (it is usually closed on Mondays), apart from Saturday and Sunday when it closes at 5pm.
The Lego House museum in Billund has longer weekend opening times, open between 10am and 8pm from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, closing at 5pm on Easter Monday. The museum should not be confused with the Legoland theme park, also in Billund, which is also open throughout Easter.
Medical
Most Danish primary care centres are closed over Easter from Maundy Thursday until Easter Monday. If you urgently need a doctor over the Easter break you should ring the number of your local on-call doctor (lægevagt), emergency dentist or emergency psychiatrist, which you can find listed for Denmark's regional health authorities here.
The person on the phone will then decide whether you need to come into a hospital or emergency clinic for treatment or examination, or whether you can wait until your normal doctor is open.
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