The Smørrebrød Pilgrimage

Smørrebrød (literally "butter bread") is the Danish lunch tradition raised to an art form: a slice of dense, dark rugbrød (rye bread), buttered, then topped with one of dozens of possible arrangements - pickled herring with capers and red onion, hand-peeled shrimp with mayo and lemon, roast beef with remoulade and crispy onions, smoked salmon with horseradish cream, egg with prawns and chives. Each is a single open-faced sandwich, eaten with a knife and fork, and the tradition is to order several and work through them - fish first, then meat, then cheese - with snaps (aquavit) and beer to accompany.

You have Copenhagen on the site for stegt flæsk; Aarhus is Denmark's second city and, in the eyes of many food writers, its current food capital. The New Nordic movement hit Aarhus hard - there's Michelin-level ambition alongside the traditional frokost (lunch) restaurants that still do smørrebrød the old way, with rye bread from a local baker and fish from the harbour. The city is young, compact and lively (Denmark's biggest university), with a world-class art museum (ARoS, with the rainbow walkway on the roof), a Viking museum, and a waterfront that's been beautifully reimagined. A smørrebrød lunch here, with a snaps and a harbour view, is Denmark at its most complete.