How to Visit the Home of LEGO | 24 Hours in Billund, Denmark
This post is Part 2 in my Danish Honeymoon series. Click here to read more about our time in Copenhagen and Aarhus!
A few years ago, I read a book called The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell. In the book, Helen chronicles her family’s experience of relocating from London to Denmark after her husband accepted a job at a little company called LEGO. Through reading this book, I learned that LEGO was actually invented in Denmark, and its headquarters is in the small town of Billund!
We knew that we wanted to explore parts of Denmark outside of Copenhagen, and Billund seemed like a perfect place to spend 24 hours. Billund is home to both LEGO House, an interactive museum about the history of LEGO, and LEGOLAND, a LEGO-themed amusement park for adventure seekers.here
About Billund Denmark
Billund (aka the home of LEGO) is a small Danish town located about 3 hours outside of Copenhagen. It was once a small town consisting of just eight farms, but Billund's population rose significantly between 1970 - 2006, driven by the expansion of LEGO headquarters. Billund is now home to just under 7,000 residents but receives over 1 million visitors each year!
© LEGO House
Getting to Billund, Denmark
Train & Bus
If you are already in Denmark, the easiest way to travel to Billund is by public transport. Train: Copenhagen —> Vejle | Transfer | Bus: Vejle —> Billund
This is a very easy journey with only one transfer, although we learned the hard way that having a train ticket does not equal having a reserved seat - you have to book these together through the DSB Train app or website. Because we only booked a train ticket and not a seat , we spent about two hours squatting in the area between train cars. (Although if you don’t mind this, it is less expensive to only purchase the train ticket without an assigned seat.)
To guarantee yourself a seat on the train, be sure to reserve your tickets and seats in advance, as they do sell out. If you’re traveling without children, the quiet car is a great option!
Airport
Billund also has a small airport, which is a great (although more expensive) option if you’re not planning to visit anywhere else in Denmark.
Getting Around Billund, Denmark
Billund has far fewer public transit options than Copenhagen or other major European cities. The easiest way to get around the city is on foot or bicycle! I recommend choosing a hotel that is within walking distance to LEGO House and/or LEGOLAND.
Uber and Lyft do not operate in Billund (or anywhere in Denmark), but there is a bus line that runs throughout town.
And, you can always rent a car from Copenhagen (but this is a less popular option).
Where to Stay
Hotels
We spent one night at Hotel Svanen Billund, a modest hotel that is about a 20 minute walk from both LEGO House and the main LEGOLAND bus stop/park entrance. To be honest, this was our least favorite hotel of our trip, but I would absolutely stay here again. We didn’t want to spend major dollars to stay at one of the themed LEGOLAND hotels, so this was the next best option in a small town! The breakfast buffet was great, and the hotel let us leave our bags before check-in and after check-out.
REFBORG Billund is another great choice, and it’s located right across the street from LEGO House.
Airbnbs
If you prefer a bit more privacy, there are also many Airbnbs in Billund like this one and this one. Just be sure to check the distance to the main bus stop and to any excursions before booking.
Where to Eat
MINI CHEF was our favorite meal experience that we had in Billund. MINI CHEF is located in the lobby of LEGO House, meaning that you don’t need a LEGO House ticket to eat here! This interactive restaurant lets you build your order out of LEGOs - each meal item corresponds to a certain color and shape of LEGO. It is then prepared by the MINI CHEFS and delivered to your table in a giant LEGO box. We thought this entire concept was so fun as adults, and probably even more so for kids! There were so many vegetarian and vegan options to choose from, and the food was delicious, healthy, and well-balanced to refuel you for an afternoon of play. We especially liked the organic & crispy falafel with homemade pea hummus and the 3-in-1 mushroom symphony with fried, creamy and pickled mushrooms. A reservation is required to dine here!
Billund Gastropub: We stumbled upon this English-inspired pub as we were walking around the town square and stopped in for dinner. We split a DELICIOUS beet veggie burger, fries, and a Carlsberg pilsner before heading back to crash at our hotel. This was exactly what we needed after passing so many non-veggie hot dog stands in Copenhagen.
Billund Bageri is the best bakery in town, offering dozens of traditional Danish pastries, salads, sandwiches, and coffee. They’re also one of the only restaurants that opens early in the day, so this is a great place to stop on your way to LEGO House or as you’re headed out of town.
Hotel breakfast: Our hotel, Hotel Svanen Billund, offered a complimentary breakfast with our stay, so we took advantage of this before heading to LEGO House.
Where to Explore
LEGO House: LEGO House was the main reason that we visited Billund, and I would give it a 10/10. It is both a museum and an interactive a science/creative center, and there is truly something for everyone of every age to enjoy.
© LEGO House
LEGO House is organized into four Experience Zones, with each one featuring themed LEGO activities and displays. Our favorite was the Green Zone, where we made our own stop-action LEGO movie and built a skyscraper that we inserted into a large LEGO city. The lower level of LEGO House is a museum that chronicles the history of LEGO and showcases LEGO products that have been manufactured throughout the years. It was so fun to see toys from our childhood that have been discontinued (like the DUPLO safari set and WALL-E), and learn about how LEGO came to be! For example, the name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well”, and the very first toy produced and marketed by LEGO was actually a wooden duck!
We spent over 7 hours at LEGO House, with a break in the middle to eat at MINI CHEF, and we loved every second of it. The attention to detail in every display was just incredible, and it was so much fun to play like kids again. One of our favorite exhibits was the Tree of Creativity, which stands at the center of LEGO House. Spanning multiple floors, the installation is 15 meters (nearly 50 feet) tall and built of over SIX MILLION LEGO bricks.
Be sure to book your tickets, entrance time, and MINI CHEF reservation in advance. When we arrived for our 10am entrance slot, LEGO House was already sold out for the entire day! As far as an entrance time goes, the earlier the better. LEGO House only got more crowded as the day went on, and we did end up skipping one of the interactive activities because the line was too long.
If you have more than 24 hours in the city, Billund is also home to LEGOLAND, Scandinavia’s largest water park, Lalandia, and the Teddy Bear Art Museum.
Other Travel Tips
Book your train tickets in advance with a reserved seat.
October is a great time to visit Billund and all things LEGO. The weather is generally mild but the crowds are lower than in the Summer, with one exception. Calendar week 42 is Potato Holiday in Denmark, a week-long holiday where children would traditionally stay home from school to assist their families with their annual potato harvest. Nowadays, children simply have the week off school! Book your accommodation and any tickets in advance, but especially if your visit falls over Potato Holiday.
Most everyone that we encountered in Denmark was at least bi-lingual, speaking Danish and English. This was especially true in Copenhagen, but English did become less common the further we traveled out of the Capital. I’d recommend learning a few key phrases before venturing up to Jutland, including “hej” (hi), “har du siger engelsk?” (do you speak English?), and “tak” (thank you).
Save room in your luggage. There are a few collectors items that are only sold at LEGO House (they’re not even available online outside of an auction site like Ebay), and they range in size from a keychain to much larger kits. I wish we had had room for the buildable model of LEGO House, but we settled for a small keychain that we repurposed into a Christmas ornament.
From Billund, you can either head back to Copenhagen or continue further into Danish Jutland. We opted to head further north to Aarhus, a Danish city known as The City of Smiles.
24-Hour Itinerary in Billund
Day One
Depart Copenhagen for Billund
Arrive in Billund. Check into accommodation and drop off bags.
Head into town for dinner at Billund Gastropub.
Day Two
Wake up bright and early and grab breakfast at your hotel or Billund Bageri.
Walk to LEGO House and get ready for a great day of play! Have lunch at MINI CHEF, and be sure not to miss the LEGO Museum on the lower level.
After you are played out, walk back to your hotel, collect your bags, and hop on the bus towards Vejle! From here, either transfer back to Copenhagen or continue north to Aarhus.
And there you have it! For more Danish travel tips, be sure to check out my Copenhagen and Aarhus travel guides.