Aarhus: A guide to 2017's European Capital of Culture

Thanks to its delicious Nordic food, its wildly popular crime thrillers and its ability to embrace life's simple pleasures, the world's happiest country has become a trendy travel destination.

While the travel gems of Copenhagen are well known, this year Denmark's much-hyped capital will move aside to give its often-forgotten little sister, the northern port city of Aarhus, the chance to emerge from the shadows as the European Capital of Culture in 2017.

This cute-yet-cosmopolitan city packs a surprisingly large cultural punch for a town with just 300,000 residents. Given its myriad attractions, it's surely only a matter of time before Aarhus becomes a top destination for elegant city breaks.

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Here's what 2017's European Capital of Culture has up its sleeve for travellers:

What to do

The town's main attraction is Den Gamle By (The Old Town), which has been walled off and turned into a museum. Complete with dirt roads flanked by 75 original Danish buildings dating back to the 16th century, Den Gamle By is a quaint, enjoyable time warp of shops and restaurants that are true to the period, complete with staff in historic clothes.

Another thing that really sets Aarhus apart from other Scandinavian cities is the quality and quantity of its museums, from the all-encompassing ARoS Art Museum in the centre of town to the Steno Museum, a joyful hands-on science museum designed to entertain all ages and based at the Universitetsparken, a 25-minute walk from the main square.

Visitors can also stop off at the city's centrepiece: the gargantuan, 800-year-old Aarhus Cathedral, the tallest church in Denmark.

What to see

As the Capital of Culture, Aarhus will be crammed with events throughout 2017.

From 3 June to 6 August, it will host Climate Planet, a giant globe in the centre of the city featuring a number of displays on the challenges facing Earth's climate.

Heading back to Den Gamle By, a permanent exhibit will open on 12 April, known as The Aarhus Story. This will detail the city's growth from Viking village to modern industrial port.

The most hype and anticipation is being saved up for the mysteriously named Tree of Codes. Running from 27 to 29 April, this international collaborative piece is a modern ballet that's hailed as "hypnotic immersion and multi-layered theatre of the sublime".

What to eat and drink

The city offers excellent, wonderfully fresh food, thanks to the abundance of flat, fertile farmland surrounding it. Fresh fish is plucked daily from the Kattegat Strait on which Aarhus sits.

Gourmet restaurants include the Michelin-starred Frederikshoj on the outskirts of town, whose kitchen is run by the celebrity chef Wassim Hallal. Offering (in its own words) "a playful, high level of gourmet cuisine", the restaurant has a series of enticing set menus at prices ranging from £60 to £200. These can be savoured alongside views over the Marselisborg Forest and the Bay of Aarhus.

Back in the centre of town, check out the city's other two Michelin-starred restaurants: Gastrome and Restaurant SUBSTANS. Gastrome's menu is described by The Guardian as a "seven-course race through land and sea", while SUBSTANS, sandwiched discreetly between a British pub and a German beer hall, features mainly esoteric reworkings of Danish favourites from past and present.

Where to stay

The fashionable design hotel Comwell, tucked away inside Aarhus's tallest building, opened in 2014. The hotel has wonderful views of the city and sleek modern furnishings created by the Danish design house HAY.

People with a fear of heights can instead bed in at the Hotel Ferdinand, another centrally located hotel with excellent facilities and several spacious suites, done up in a contemporary style. The award-winning Restaurant Ferdinand is downstairs. Its quality is such that the Daily Telegraph once described the entire establishment as a "restaurant with rooms".

Leaving the lavish until last, Villa Provence is a classy boutique hotel that describes itself as a "small oasis full of atmosphere". Rooms are small, but tastefully decorated to recreate the Danish concept of "hygge", which means living cosily and finding pleasure in ordinary, everyday moments. When it comes to hygge, this hotel – and the city itself – is full of it.