Jewish Tours to Denmark

8-day Jewish Tour in Denmark

From Vikings to a Heroic Rescue

Denmark is a small country with a great moral legacy. Its landscapes are gentle with green islands, quiet harbors, and villages with red-tiled roofs. Yet its history resounds with courage. Among the darkest days of the Holocaust, Denmark shone as a beacon of humanity. When the Nazi occupiers ordered the arrest and deportation of the country’s Jews in 1943, the Danish people – fishermen, farmers, students, priests, and even royalty – rose as one. Within days, nearly all of Denmark’s Jews were smuggled across the Øresund Strait to safety in Sweden. This journey retraces the extraordinary story of compassion and conscience while exploring the deeper roots of life in Denmark – from the Viking age to the world-renowned elegance of modern Danish design. Along the way, encounter the beauty of Danish culture: its graceful architecture, royal palaces, the warmth of its people – absorbing the quiet dignity of places where decency triumphed over fear.

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Day 1 Thursday Arrival In Copenhagen

Welcome to Denmark! Begin your Jewish adventure in the proud Danish capital, Copenhagen – a city of history, beauty, creativity, and moral courage. Denmark’s story is one of light amid the darkness of Europe’s 20th century, and nowhere is that more evident than here. Your introduction begins at the Copenhagen Synagogue, a spiritual home for nearly two centuries and the heart of Jewish life in Denmark. Its stately neo-classical façade hides a Jewish sanctuary rich with memory – a living testament to the endurance of faith and community. Nearby stands Trinitatis Church, where during the Nazi occupation a courageous priest hid sacred Torah scrolls to protect them from destruction. Continue your city tour through Copenhagen’s gracious center to the colorful Nyhavn Canal, lined with centuries-old merchants’ houses and sailing vessels. From here, walk to Amalienborg Palace, home of the Danish Royal Family, whose wartime support for Denmark’s Jews remains legendary. Return to your hotel and unwind. In the evening, gather for a Welcome Dinner, a chance to meet fellow travelers and toast the beginning of your journey. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 2 Friday Copenhagen & North Zealand

This morning, depart the city and follow the Øresund coast, where the calm waters separate Denmark from Sweden. The scenery is serene with impressive residences, tidy villages, boats, and sandy shores – yet these peaceful places once witnessed great acts of courage. At the traditional brick producing factory, Nivågård Rignovn, Jewish families found shelter while awaiting night crossings to safety. Here and all along the coast, ordinary Danes risked everything to help their Jewish neighbors. Continue to Gilleleje, a charming fishing village that became a beacon of hope in October 1943, when word spread that the Gestapo planned mass deportations. Villagers hid Jews in barns, attics, and even in the church loft. Here, tragedy struck when the Gestapo captured dozens, leading to their deportation. Return to Copenhagen and visit the Memorial Park, honoring resistance fighters who gave their lives for freedom and compassion. End the day at the Danish Resistance Museum, whose exhibits tell the full story of the occupation years – and of a nation that chose solidarity over fear. The museum’s message of moral courage resonates deeply with Jewish memory everywhere. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 3 Saturday Copenhagen

After breakfast, a morning walk leads to Christiansborg Palace, seat of Denmark’s Parliament and symbol of a free and open society. Nearby, step into the beautifully designed Jewish Museum of Denmark, conceived by architect Daniel Libeskind. Its small interior space – shaped like interlocking Hebrew letters spelling mitzvah – tells stories of faith, rescue, and renewal. The remainder of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure. Stroll along Strøget, one of Europe’s oldest pedestrian streets, explore Copenhagen’s elegant museums and design galleries, or relax in a café, maybe beside the canals, while watching cyclists glide by. 71 Nyhavn Hotel.

Day 4 Sunday Copenhagen To Aarhus

Depart Copenhagen this morning and drive across the green landscapes of Sealand to the island’s northwestern tip. Board the ferry and sail across the Kattegat to Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city – youthful, vibrant, and full of life. Upon arrival, visit the remarkable Moesgaard Museum, whose architectural design seems to rise naturally from the manmade hillside. Inside, state-of-the-art exhibits bring Denmark’s distant past to life, from early human settlements to the Viking Age. Meet the preserved “Grauballe Man,” a 2,000-year-old body discovered in a peat bog, and learn about his remarkable story, which connects archaeology and myth. Later, check into your centrally located hotel. In the evening, take a stroll through Aarhus’s lively Latin quarter, dominated by its many students.
Radisson Hotel.

Day 5 Monday Aarhus – Fredericia

Begin the day at Den Gamle By (“The Old Town”), an open-air museum that recreates Danish life from the 19th century to the present. Among its many period homes is a carefully restored Jewish merchant’s residence, a window into the everyday Jewish urban life – the shopkeeper, the family table, the Sabbath lamp. Continue south to Fredericia, a fortress town founded by King Christian IV in 1650. The King’s charter granted religious freedom to all settlers,  including Jews, an enlightened gesture that made Fredericia a haven when tolerance was rare. Walk among the gravestones of Denmark’s oldest Jewish cemetery, dating from the mid-1600s, its Hebrew inscriptions remain legible amid the gentle sea air. Here, the story of Danish Jewry’s beginnings is carved in stone. Continue to the nearby hotel in MIddelfart and check in. Comwell Kongebrogaarden Hotel.

Day 6 Wednesday Fredericia – Froeslev – Faaborg – Odense

Today’s journey explores Denmark’s southern borderlands. Cross briefly into Flensburg, Germany, where in 1945 Admiral Dönitz attempted to govern a defeated Reich from this quiet port. His “government” only ruled over ruins and lasted only a few days. Back in Denmark, visit Frøslev Camp, built by the Nazis as an internment center for Danish resistance fighters. Thanks to continuous pressure from Danish officials and the Red Cross, most prisoners were spared deportation – a rare triumph of diplomacy and decency in wartime Europe. The preserved barracks and museum convey both the fear and the quiet dignity of those imprisoned here. Continue to Fynshav, and take the ferry across the calm waters of the South Funen Archipelago to the island of Fyn. Stop in Faaborg, once known as “the Jewish town of Fyn.” The former synagogue still stands, today a private home, and the small Jewish cemetery, with 165 graves, remains lovingly maintained. Its neat rows of stones speak of a once-vibrant community that lived and worked here in peace. Continue to Odense, the island’s main city, and check in to your hotel for the night. Comwell Odense Hotel.

Day 7 Thursday Odense – Copenhagen

This morning, explore Odense, the birthplace of the beloved storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Visit the site of the former Jewish school Andersen attended as a boy, his humble childhood home, and the remarkable Hans Christian Andersen Museum, whose exhibits reveal the timeless humanism at the heart of his tales. His stories of outsiders and dreamers resonated particularly with Jewish readers during the darkest years of the 20th century. In the afternoon, return to Copenhagen and check in at your hotel near the airport. Later, visit the nearby coastal village of Dragør, whose cobbled lanes and yellow-washed cottages conceal a remarkable history. During the war, Dragør’s fishermen quietly ferried Jewish families across the narrow strait to safety in Sweden. Visit one of the original rescue boats and imagine the courage it took to navigate those cold, dark waters under the eyes of occupying forces. Conclude your tour with a Farewell Dinner in this historic setting, a fitting finale to a story of moral strength, compassion, and enduring friendship between Danes and Jews. Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport

Day 8 Friday Copenhagen – Home Flights

Like all fairy tales, this journey through Denmark must come to an end, but the spirit of the Danish people, their integrity, and their humanity will remain with you. Few nations in Europe demonstrated such collective courage. Here, thousands of ordinary citizens came together to save their Jewish neighbors, a light that continues to shine brightly in Jewish memory. Walk to the nearby airport terminal for your flight home, carrying with you the lessons and inspiration of a country that chose righteousness over fear, and friendship over indifference.