Holstebro

Pack your car and go on a self-drive holiday to Holstebro

Holstebro is an exciting cultural and commercial city located in northern West Jutland. In the streetscape you will find several works of art and sculptures, including the city's crown jewel, the bronze sculpture Woman on Cart, which is located in front of the Old Town Hall. With its central location in West Jutland, Holstebro and the surrounding area is an exciting destination for a great family self-drive holiday. There is a wide range of activities, attractions, culture, shopping and scenic surroundings in the area for all ages.

With both the North Sea and Limfjorden within easy reach, it's ideal to pack the car and take a walk on the beach and enjoy the crashing waves. Examples of good North Sea beaches are Thorsminde Strand, where in summer floating lines are laid out to form a "swimming pool", which can provide greater safety for bathers, and Spidsbjerg Strand and Bjerghuse Strand, both of which have very fine sand, dunes and are surrounded by beautiful scenery and have nearby playgrounds.

Or take a trip to the Limfjord, where you can visit Ejsingholm Strand or Handbjerg Strand at Venø Bay, where there are good opportunities for surfing. In the Limfjord you can also try your hand at catching shellfish, considered among the best in the world. Afterwards you can take a short detour and experience the beautiful nature of Flamingo Nature Park west of Holstebro, where you will find a mixture of park and garden with pavilions, lakes, wishing well, and monastery ruins.

In the Holstebro area you will find a large selection of historical sights that are definitely worth a visit. For example, visit Stubber Monastery by Stubbergård Lake, which dates back to the Middle Ages, or Tvis Monastery, which was visited by King Valdemar I in 1163. Don't forget to visit the Mounds of Death, which consists of 25 listed burial mounds dating back to the Stone and Bronze Ages.

Within a short drive, a visit to the Mønsted limestone quarries is also highly recommended, consisting of old mine galleries and caves where limestone was quarried for centuries. There is a labyrinth of mine galleries stretching for more than 60 km on several levels and there are large caves the size of cathedrals, as well as narrow passages so shallow that it is not possible to stand upright. More than 18,000 bats hibernate in the caves each year, so there should be a good chance of catching a glimpse of bats too.

Other experiences include the Hjerl Hede open-air museum, which is definitely worth a visit. During the summer holidays and at Christmas, the museum is brought to life and you can relive the past by taking a ride in the steam train, watching flint being made into axes and pigs being slaughtered.

For the playful, big and small, Holstebro can offer among other things sumo-fight, bungee-run, adventure golf, lasergame and go-kart at Wild 'n' Fun, as well as slide with sound and light in Holstebro Badeland. Let the kids loose in Herman's Cave, with climbing frames and a cannon room, while the adults can relax on comfortable sofas over a cup of coffee.

Holstebro also offers great shopping opportunities, with Denmark's second oldest pedestrian street (built in 1962). Here you will find a large selection of specialist shops, cafés and restaurants. Holstebro has been voted Denmark's Best Shopping City five times in a row (2006-2014). Should you not find what your heart desires in the many shops of the pedestrian zone, you can also go shopping in the Nørreport Centre or the Nyholm Centre.

Whether your holiday is about culture, history, activities, nature, shopping or a combination of these, you certainly won't go wrong with a driving holiday to Holstebro.