The Viking Ship Museum

Activities all year round at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde

There are always plenty of exciting, historical experiences at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde and fun activities for the whole family all year round, both inside and out...

Book a holiday home with Feline Holidays and enjoy a discount on your tickets! (sponsored). Read more below.

Feel the history in the air

The Viking Ship Museum is the only place in the world where you can walk directly from the original 1000-year-old Viking ships in the Viking Ship Hall to the Museum Harbour, where full-size reconstructions of Viking ships are moored during the summer months and can be admired on land in the winter.

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 focal point of the story of the ships' importance to Viking society. They tell the story of war, raids, trade and travelling - 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.

Guided family tours and activities during school holidays

Take the whole family on an imaginative guided tour for children, where everyone is drawn into exciting stories about Viking mythology, their long voyages and life at sea 1000 years ago.

Depending on the season and current themes, our skilled interpreters bring the old legends to life and share their knowledge of the Norse gods. ‘Viking Talks’ are organised on various topics, or everyone goes on a ‘war cruise’ in the lightning-fast longships. The special family tours are organised so that everyone in the family can join in.

👉 Check the calendar to see what's happening on the day you plan to visit the Viking Ship Museum.

The boatyard is the heart of the Museum Island

In the centre of the museum island is the boatyard. Here, boat builders construct reconstructions of Viking ships and other traditional wooden boats. The smell of fresh wood tar fills the air and the sound of the boatbuilders' axes against wood echoes rhythmically across the yard and inside the boatyard.

Craftsmanship presentation

Throughout the year, the focus is on the many different maritime crafts associated with boatbuilding in the Viking Age. Depending on when you visit the museum, you can take part in warrior training, meet the blacksmith, ‘lay’ rope or carve wood together with the museum's skilled craftsmen and interpreters.

During the summer you can board the reconstructions and other Nordic boats docked in the museum harbour. Most of them have been built at the Viking Ship Museum's boatyard over the last 40 years. Experience the special smell of salt water and tar as you walk around the museum during the summer months. Touch the ropes and oars as you move from stem to stern in the 30 metre long Sea Stallion - the world's largest reconstructed Viking ship. You can do it quietly - or balance from stem to stern like a Viking...

In winter you can walk all the way round the ships on land and touch the clinker-built boats. See the amazing craftsmanship of the Viking Ship Museum's boat builders, who keep alive the unique Nordic clinker boat tradition, which is included on UNESCO's World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

Sail out on Roskilde Fjord from 1 May to 30 September

During the summer months, you can also set sail on the fjord in one of the descendants of Viking ships, a Nordic clinker-built wooden boat built according to the same principles and methods that the Vikings used 1000 years ago. There are day sails, evening sails and courses for those who really want to immerse themselves in the art of wooden boats.

👉 Read more about the summer sailing programmes here.

Eat food inspired by the world of the Vikings

When hunger strikes, we have packed-lunch areas outside. You can also enjoy a delicious lunch inspired by the world of the Vikings in Café Knarr, or maybe just a cup of good coffee and cake or cold drinks and ice cream while you enjoy the view and atmosphere on the museum island.

Enjoy a discount on your visit at the Viking Ship Museum
When you book your holiday home with Feline Holidays, you will get a 30 dkr. discount*​ on your ticket to the Viking Ship Museum in the summer and 25 dkr.* in the winter when you buy the ticket at the entrance. Remember to present our booking confirmation as documentation that you have booked the summer house through us. (*sponsored).

Free entry for all children and teens up to 17 years old

Welcome to historical experiences!