Spring by the fjord
The spring season is a very special time at the Viking Ship Museum, where the five original Viking ships in the Viking Ship Hall stand silhouetted against the sky above Roskilde Fjord and the museum is once again buzzing with life and craftsmanship.
Now you can go sailing on Roskilde Fjord in the traditional, Nordic wooden boats - built using the same principles as the Viking ships. Take part in the sailing with the museum's experienced skipper and feel the wind fill the sails as it has done for centuries. If you don't dare climb the waves of the fjord, you can also board the Sea Stallion, which is moored at Strandengen - it is the museum's longest ship.
On land, the experiences continue: meet the craftsmen at the boatyard, where boat builders recreate archaeological ship finds with the tools of the past, and explore the audio guide that brings past journeys and everyday life to life. Children can let their imaginations run wild in the Hamlet, build their own boat in the workshop or see if they can catch the Master Thief Heidenreich before he steals the museum's treasures.
There are also guided tours, live storytelling and the opportunity to meet the museum's maritime archaeologists who work with real ship finds. Whether you're at sea or on land, powerful stories, craftsmanship and great experiences await you.
Welcome to a new season by the water!
Discover the secrets of the Viking Ships
Join one of the daily guided tours in the Viking Ship Hall and hear the stories of the five world-famous original Viking ships and life at sea during the Viking Age.
Visit the Boat Yard
At the Viking Ship Museum’s boatyard, visitors can watch the ships being built.
The scent of fresh pine tar fills the air, and the rhythmic sound of the boatbuilder’s axe striking oak echoes across the yard.
A window into the Viking world
Bring your children or grandchildren to The Hamlet located in the lower level of the Viking Ship Hall. The Hamlet is a children's universe where the story of the people who stayed behind when the ships sailed to distant shores in the Viking Age is unfolded.
Activities all year round at the Viking Ship Museum
There is always plenty of exciting historical good experiences and fun activities for the whole family at the Viking Ship Museum, both indoor and outdoor - at land and at sea...
Feel the breath of history
The Viking Ship Museum is the only place in the world, where you can go directly from the experience of the original 1000-year-old Viking ships in the Viking Ship Hall and out to the Museum Harbor, where reconstructions of full-size Viking ships are moored.
Explore the reconstructions and the other Nordic boats in the harbor, feel the smell of salt water and tar. Touch ropes and oars as you move from bow to stern in the 30-meter-long Sea Stallion - the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship. You can do it calmly - or jump from seat to seat like a Viking ...
Historical guided tours
The Viking Ship Museum is built around the five original Viking ships from Skuldelev, which are exhibited in the Viking Ship Hall.
The five impressive Viking ships are the focus point of the story of the ships' importance to Viking society. It tells of war, raids, trade and travel - and life in the north 1000 years ago. Our skilled guides bring the original ships to life and put the discovery of the five Skuldelev ships into perspective in relation to the maritime culture of the Viking Age.
It is also the story of how the museum use experimental archaeology by reconstructing Viking ships at the shipyard, and then sail the reconstructions to learn more about the specialized travelling by sea in the Viking Age.
Family tours and activities during school holidays
Take the whole family on an imaginative tour at child's height, where everyone is involved in exciting stories about the mythology of the Vikings, their long journeys and life at sea 1,000 years ago.
Depending on the season and current themes, our skilled communicators vividly tell the old legends and share their knowledge about the Nordic gods. 'Viking Talks' are held on various topics and everyone can go along in a 'battle' in the lightning-fast longships. The special family tours are organized so that everyone in the family can join.
» See in the calendar what is happening on the day you plan to visit the Viking Ship Museum...
The Boatyard is the heart of the Museum Island
In the middle of the Museum Island is the boatyard. Here, boat builders reconstruct Viking ships and build other traditional wooden boats. The smell of fresh wood tar fills the air and the sound of the boatbuilder's axe against the tree echoes rhythmically across the shipyard.
Craft dissemination
During the year, the focus is alternately on the many different maritime crafts linked to boat building in the Viking Age. Depending on when you visit the museum, you can go through warrior training, meet the blacksmith, 'lay' rope or carve wood together with the museum's skilled craftsmen and mediators.
Sailing reconstructions of Viking ships
In the summer, you can board the reconstructions and the other Nordic boats that are docked in the museum harbour. Most of them have been built at the Viking Ship Museum's shipyard over the past 40 years. Smell the salt water and tar. Touch ropes and oars as you move from bow to stern in the 30-metre-long Sea Stallion - the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship. You can do it quietly - or balance from tuft to tuft like another Viking...
In the winter, you can walk all the way around the ships on land and touch the clinker-built boats. See the fantastic craftsmanship carried out by the Viking Ship Museum's boat builders, who uphold the unique Nordic clinker boat tradition, which is included in UNESCO's list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.
Sailing on the Roskilde Fjord
Every day during the summer from 01 May to 30 September you can experience what it was like to be a Viking on board one of the traditional Nordic boats, which are the direct descendants of Viking ships. Everyone on board takes part in rowing, setting the sail and other ‘sailor’s work’.
» Learn more about the sailing trips and book for 2025 here
Café Knarr at the Museum Island
Enjoy the atmosphere on the Museum Island and eat New Nordic Viking food in the Café Knarr, which is located with a view of the shipyard and the Viking Ship Museum's many beautiful Viking ships and historic wooden boats.
Read more about all the things happening at the Viking Ship Museum below
Events
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Meet a maritime archaeologist (weekdays)
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11:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (ENG)
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13:00: Guided tour in the Viking Ship Hall (ENG)
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Visit the Boatyard – Weekdays from 10:00 to 16:00
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The Hamlet
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Download Audio guide and listen to dramatic stories
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Help Astrid to solve the MuseumMystery
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Special exhibition: In the Wake of the Vikings
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25 October: The Viking ships are hauled ashore
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Christmas at the Viking Ship Museum: Open every day from 10:00 to 16:00