Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: The Best Museum Most Visitors to Copenhagen Miss

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is not in Louisiana. It is 35 kilometres north of Copenhagen on the Oresund coast, in the small town of Humlebaek. The name comes from three successive owners of the 18th-century country house that preceded the museum, all of whom were named Louise. The museum opened in 1958, expanded several times since, and is consistently ranked among the best small museums in the world.

The building is the first thing to understand. Architects Jorgen Bo and Vilhelm Wohlert designed the galleries as a series of low pavilions connected by glass corridors set in a sloping garden that ends at the sea. From multiple galleries you see the Oresund Sound directly through the windows, with Sweden visible 10 kilometres across the water on clear days. The architecture integrates collection and landscape in a way that almost no other museum has replicated.

The Collection

Louisiana’s permanent collection spans from the 1950s to the present, with particular strengths in Danish and international post-war art. The Giacometti gallery has a dedicated room of standing and walking figures installed in a way that makes clear what Giacometti was pursuing that photographs never quite capture. The COBRA collection (Asger Jorn, Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky) in the original pavilion section is important and often overlooked by visitors from outside Scandinavia.

The outdoor sculpture park running down to the sea has around 60 permanently installed works. Alexander Calder mobiles, a Jean Dubuffet figure, Max Ernst’s Capricorn near the sea terrace (worth finding specifically): the relationship between sculpture and natural setting here differs from most sculpture gardens, with pieces emerging from the landscape rather than sitting on pedestals against it.

The temporary programme is serious. In 2026, the museum is showing a major Sophie Calle retrospective (“Something Missing?”, March 26-September 6) bringing together seven of her major series, as well as exhibitions by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Lucian Freud, and Tracey Emin across the year. Check louisiana.dk before visiting: a strong temporary show significantly enhances any visit.

Getting There and Visiting

By train from Copenhagen Central Station: take any regional train toward Helsingor (Elsinore) and get off at Humlebaek. The journey takes about 35 minutes and costs around 72 DKK. From Humlebaek station, the museum is a signposted 10-minute walk.

Open Tuesday through Friday 11:00-22:00, Saturday and Sunday 11:00-18:00. Closed Mondays. The extended weekday evening hours are worth knowing: the museum is much less crowded after 17:00, and the gardens at dusk in summer are one of the more quietly beautiful experiences in Scandinavia. Adult entry is 175 DKK (approximately €23). Children under 18 enter free.

The cafe-restaurant has a terrace facing the sea and serves smørrebrød, soups, and cakes. Quality is above average for a museum cafe. Book ahead for Saturday lunch in summer: the terrace fills completely. Bringing a picnic for the garden benches is also a very good option.

Combining With Kronborg Castle

Kronborg Castle (the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet) is in Helsingor, 7 kilometres further north on the same train line. The castle is a genuine 16th-century Renaissance structure. Entry 115 DKK. The combined day trip, Louisiana in the morning with lunch, Kronborg in the afternoon, is one of the better day trips from Copenhagen and works particularly well from June through August when both sites have full hours.