Ballerup

Pack the car, fill the trunk and get ready for a wonderful car holiday in Ballerup and Copenhagen. Ballerup is a district 10 miles northwest of Copenhagen with almost 40,000 inhabitants. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the centre of Copenhagen by car and half an hour from Ballerup Station to Central Station.

The town church, located near the centre of the district, was built in the 13th century and it is approximately in this period the town originated. However, it was not a very large town. In 1682 the village consisted of just 18 houses and 13 farms. If you want to get a glimpse of this time, visit the Ballerup Museum, where you can experience the country village life of the time and the road to becoming a modern and industrialised town.

Around the museum there is a beautiful rural setting with gardens and old farm houses. One of the more exotic tales the museum offers is the story of Princess Olga Alexandrovna, who fled to Denmark from the Russian Revolution. She settled in Ballerup in 1917 and lived the rest of her life in the district. The museum tells the stories of her and other Russian refugees through a fascinating selection of historical material and her magnificent paintings.

Around the turn of the century, with the construction of the railway, the city establishes itself as a modern city in extension of Copenhagen. The town became part of the capital's rapid growth and urban development, with a number of businesses setting up in the town, following an increase in population. The city finally fully merged with Copenhagen during the 1930s.

One of the big attractions in Ballerup is the city's Super Arena. It can accommodate 6,500 seated guests and more than 9,000 for concerts. The arena is most famous internationally for its six-day races. As the only cycling arena in Scandinavia, the track is UCI approved for track cycling, and in 2002 and 2010, when it was a Danish gold medal, Ballerup hosted the track cycling world championships. The arena has also hosted the World Badminton Championships and in 2011 the Danish Melodi Grand Prix. With 1400 parking spaces, there is plenty of room to park.

If you want to liven up your activities, visit East Kilbride Swimming Pool, named after Ballerup's Scottish twin town. There are both whirlpools and plenty of cubic metres of water to frolic in.

The city also offers a number of wonderful places to eat. At Torvets Brasserie you can enjoy French-inspired lunch and dinner dishes. The menu includes French specialities such as foie-gras, lobster bisque and tasty duck confit.

At Cafe LaQuart, the menu is simpler. Here you can eat delicious Italian pasta dishes, cafe burgers and steaks, as well as a variety of salads, and wash it down with the cafe's refreshing cocktails and freshly brewed coffee.

At Sushi V, the experienced sushi chefs serve many delicious forms of sushi, both in the old Japanese traditions and in the new trends in sushi.

So slow down for a self-paced holiday northwest of Copenhagen's bustling city centre and the capital's many world-famous attractions, but don't deprive yourself of a good meal in one of the city's wonderful restaurants and enjoy an exciting historical insight into Ballerup's past at Ballerup Museum.