Travelling to Aarhus to hear one of the great counter-tenors of our age sounds crazy. Where is it? Why would a superb musician choose here as the coda to a 2024 tour that’s included Sydney, Versailles, and Wiesbaden?
Instead of these celebrated concert halls, Andreas Scholl’s captivating voice swirls up to the vaulted ceiling, of the Domkirke – the cathedral at the at the heart of Denmark’s second city. Inured to London’s Royal Opera House and to Berlin and Munich’s concert halls – accustomed to Versailles and the Venice’s Fenice – this is a revelation.
Aarhus – pronounced Or-huss – was founded by the Vikings in the 10th century and is perched on the eastern coast of the Jutland peninsular. In 2017 It was European City of Culture, is called the ‘City of Smiles’ and is packed with world-class attractions. Both unfamiliar and intimate, calm and vibrant, it is both antique and surprisingly modern.
Right by the cathedral is Royal Hotel, the grandest and oldest in the city, with eccentric staircase murals telling the history of Denmark through the ages and an antique glass elevator. Recently-updated rooms are large, with acres of Molton Brown amenities, deep Skandi baths and huge windows. Breakfast is under a striking glass pyramid: melting salmon and cottage cheese compotes, cold meats, cheeses and ginger shots. The Royal is a fine introduction the old-meets-new nature of this cultural city.
First there’s ARoS, the internationally-celebrated, surprisingly uncrowded modern art gallery with five galleries arranged around an imposing white spiral staircase. One vast room is currently showcasing three of Ron Mueck’s most famous sculptures: two monumental and one tiny. Three and a half meters above the roof of the museum is Eliasson’s spectacular 360 degree glass walkway – the Panorama – in all the colours of the rainbow.
Aarhus also houses Arne Jacobsen’s brutalist 1930’s Town Hall. And its opposite – Den Gamle By: a meticulously-crafted town recreating a walk through the ages from Medieval and sixteenth-century half-timbered houses to 1930’s sweet shops and a functioning 1950’s barber.
The Latin Quarter down by the canal is less formal, with winding cobbled streets, old buildings with burnt-sienna plaster fronts, corner cafes and small boutiques including Audo’s enviable homewares. There are bakers’ shelves packed with sourdough and snurre: addictive cinnamon or cardamom pastries. University students whizz past on sit-up bikes, bells pinging, or they sit chatting or playing chess.
In the centre of Aarhus there are luxury brands including Georg Jensen and Bose. Or head for Salling department store with its rooftop urban oasis and more panoramic city views.
Alternatively, set out east along the broad coastal walkway. Twenty minutes past the harbour and the geodesic dome housing of experimental temporary public space – The Dome of Visions – you’ll reach Aarhus ø– the equivalent of London’s Docklands. Here is the second-tallest building in Denmark, Lighthouse 2.0 . The skyscraper’s lift rises over 43 floors in 29 seconds to a viewing terrace with overlooking the functioning docks below, the forests behind the city, the water stretching towards southern Sweden.
There’s much more to do in Aarhus than you can pack into a weekend: an underground Viking Museum, the Harbour Baths and – for photographers – the pastel-coloured houses of Mollestien Street or the Infinite Bridge . There are Michelin restaurants and a buzzing evening food market. A taxi ride away are Marselisborg Castle and Moesgaard Museum: the world’s most energy-efficient museum, devoted to the history of human civilisation.
A lot’s been written this year of the ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ – of vast crowds flocking to sold-out venues clutching high-priced tickets. The hugeness and the whirl of these events is part of the rush: 96,000 fans packed the first night of her Australian Eras Tour. By comparison, drawn to hear a renowned classical musician, I was lured to a previously unknown city and a concert with an audience of just 100s.
Second cities like Aarhus, in the shadow of their sibling Capitals (and freed by that fact) are often, like Aarhus, calmer, cleaner and walkable: think Porto, Lyon, Hamburg and Rotterdam. Here it’s more about exploration and discovery than tourism.
So, in a world that travels at speed, they are potent alternatives – invitations to move more slowly and to experience world-class attractions on a smaller scale: a knock-out singer, a sculpture or a single piece of art, an exceptional restaurant or a bird’s eye perspective. These cities ease discovery. They are gems that not only encourage you to smile, but offer the space and inspiration for your spirit warmly to expand.
British Airways and Ryanair both fly to Aarhus throughout the year.
