Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Louisiana, on the coast at Humlebaek, is celebrated as one of the most beautifully sited modern art museums anywhere, its low glass galleries winding through a sculpture park down to the Oresund with Sweden across the water. World-class changing exhibitions, a strong permanent collection and the seamless blend of art, architecture and landscape make it a destination in itself.

Background

Open since 1958, the museum holds 4,500 works and draws over 700,000 visitors a year, more than any other museum of modern and contemporary art in Scandinavia. It stages 6 to 10 exhibitions annually, and Yayoi Kusama's Gleaming Lights of the Souls is on permanent display. The sculpture garden between the two wings, above the sea, also has works by Richard Serra and Jean Arp. The building is regarded as a modernist landmark of Danish architecture, and a three-storey Children's Wing runs workshops every day. Since 2010 the Louisiana Literature festival has brought about forty writers a year to the grounds, drawing more than 15,000 people, and the web TV channel Louisiana Channel began in 2012.

Source: Wikipedia, "Louisiana Museum of Modern Art"

What to look for

• The sculpture park - the works set through the garden down to the sea, including Calders and a Henry Moore.
• The changing exhibitions - the acclaimed programme of modern and contemporary shows.
• The architecture - the glass corridors framing the garden and sea.
• The sea view - the Oresund and Sweden beyond the lawns.

When to go

Year-round; a fully indoor-outdoor museum, the sculpture park loveliest in warm weather but the galleries good any day. It is an easy train trip from Copenhagen.

Good to know

It is a popular day trip, so it can be busy, especially for headline exhibitions. The train ride and the walk from the station are part of the outing. It is an art museum, so appeal follows your interest, though the setting wins over almost everyone.

Nearby

Kronborg Castle is up the coast at Helsingor; Copenhagen is forty minutes south by train.

Key facts