In the Giacometti Hall at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, pictured above, Alberto Giacometti’s “Walking Man” appears to be entering from the lush woods beyond the glass. The image doesn’t quite do justice to the work—or to its stunning setting beside the Garden Lake, just a few metres away.

It’s an apt image for a museum, located in the quiet town of Humlebæk just north of Copenhagen, that feels less like a conventional gallery and more like a journey through art, architecture and landscape.

Low, glass-lined corridors weave around trees and manicured lawns before opening onto sculpture terraces and wooded trails, with sweeping views across the Øresund Strait to Sweden. Inside, the collection holds more than 4,000 modern and contemporary works spanning painting, sculpture, photography, video and installation, with particularly strong holdings by Giacometti (above) and Henry Moore (below).

Yet the setting is every bit as memorable as the collection. We spent about as much time indoors with a Remedios Varo exhibition (separate post coming soon) as we did outside, wandering through the sculpture park and forest trails, breathing in the sea, the wind and the sky. I left more invigorated than I had felt in weeks. (Experiencing three seasons of weather on that one Copenhagen Sunday contributed to that, too.)

The Louisiana opened in 1958, founded by entrepreneur and publisher Knud W. Jensen to bring modern art to a wider Danish audience. Its origins are still visible in the old villa at the heart of the museum.

The first expansion extended the villa with low buildings that bring added attention to the landscape. Seven later expansions kept the same quiet architectural tone and style, allowing Louisiana to grow from a showcase for Danish modernism into one of Scandinavia’s great international art destinations.

The name?

The villa’s original owner, Alexander Brun, named it after his three wives. All were named Louise.

The museum hosts an annual literary festival, Louisiana Literature, and the Louisiana Channel, which features videos on arts and culture, with new additions weekly.

Humlebæk lies just 40 kilometres north of Copenhagen, but that hour-long train ride and 15-minute walk from the station landed us on an entirely different plane. If you’re in the Danish capital and have the better part of an afternoon to spare, make the trip. Go for the art, but leave time for the woods, the shore and the experience of how the boundary between the museum and the world outside has quietly faded away.

Eight more photos below.

Photos from 20 September 2026.