From Hans Christian Andersen to Legoland in a day

It's well worth stopping in Odense on the journey across Denmark. Especially if your children are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen's stories (which they should be). The author's childhood home is now a museum, and many of his belongings and literature works are here.

Home to around 190,00 people and Denmark's third largest city, Odense is a good stop-off for morning coffee. But be sure to hit the road again soon as possible though as Legoland beckons and after all, this is the purpose of this particular trip.

Legoland is everything you'd expect from a theme park. Accommodation and parking is close by and easy. You queue for a ticket (unless you purchase it in your hotel reception), but not for too long. And from the moment you step inside you can pretty much be sure of spending the next 8 hours on your feet.

There are cool rollercoasters, interactive games, rides though the jungle, the desert and a safari, and miniature lego cities from around the world. There are plastic macs for sale if it rains, plenty of toilet facilities, and fast food places to keep you dry, at least for a while. We can recommend the Knights Barbeque - sat inside a rustic tavern straight out of the middle ages, your own young knights will love this eatery.

Of course there are the shops to tempt you. No child will go home empty handed when you have finished checking out the lego store here. Simply grab a basket, and you can pick up your own lego pieces from mix and match buckets. Find all those pieces you've been missing from your lego sets at home! And come home with with a big bag of goodies for a bargain price. We also found the bionicle card games much cheaper here than anywhere else.