Forget the diet on a gourmet break to Aarhus, and indulge in a veritable feast of culinary delights as Denmark's second city serves up a plethora of innovative world class cuisine. As Aarhus is celebrating the title of European Region of Gastronomy this year chefs are raising the gastronomic bar and pushing epicurean boundaries to put Aarhus firmly on the culinary map with a number of progressive new restaurants, bars and cafes aimed to suit all budgets.

New restaurants

The restaurant food scene in Aarhus continues to thrive and inspired by the European Region of Gastronomy events the new gastro wine bar and restaurant Aaby&Udengaard has a special RETHINK menu. With individual dishes having unusual names like 'Dansk hygge', 'Sol over Bornholm' and 'The Wadden Sea beaches' diners will be able to choose tasting menus of five, eight or even 15 courses including locally caught seafood and the finest rhubarb.

In the redeveloped old harbour areas Hantwerk combines a brewery, wine bar and restaurant, offering the chance to enjoy great food either in an informal dining area, with traditional Danish long tables, or out on the harbourside.

Meanwhile Sif Orellana, Jonas Langhoff and Steffen Juhl (the team behind Langhoff & Juhl) have taped in to the trend for all things healthy and organic with the opening of Greenilicious, in the Magasin department store.

In the 2017 Nordic Michelin Guide Aarhus gathered another star for Restaurant Domestic where diners will find 4- and 8-course set menus showcasing locally grown ingredients of the very best quality delivered in a cosy atmosphere where everyone can feel at home.

Great food and good prices are behind Michelin starred Frederikshøj's head chef Wassim Hallal's new pizza restaurant in Tivoli Friheden. As the Ambassador for European Region of Gastronomy 2017 Hallal wants to prove that quick food can be delivered in high quality and at an affordable price and his new gourmet pizza bar will be open to guests attending this years Fed Friday concert at Tivoli Friheden in Aarhus.

Value for money dining

Rubbing shoulders with the Michelin-starred establishments, Aarhus offers a wealth of great value for money dining options such as Mexican inspired Vaca and deli style Olinico. One of the hottest trends is for a group of diners arriving at the same time to pay a set price to enjoy a four- or five-course menu with unlimited wine followed by tea, coffee and sweets. Kähler Villa Dining, Det Glade Vanvid and Früd no 16 are some of the best examples. 'Bring-your-own' restaurants are also a  growing trend with Restaurant Olive and Le Basilic providing budget conscious diners with the chance to enjoy modern Danish food with Mediterranean and French influences, while keeping costs down by bringing their own wine.

New food markets

Dining in food markets is growing in popularity with people flocking to a wide variety of markets to enjoy fantastic food stalls with Nordic produce to eat there or take home. Aarhus boasts two brand new food markets. Aarhus Street Food, which was inspired by London's Borough Market, is set in a former bus garage. Offering an international menu from Thai treats to crispy pizzas, and fish & chips to Scandinavian meatballs, all can be enjoyed at traditional Danish long tables. Meanwhile, Aarhus Central Market, offers the chance to shop for Danish delicacies as well as freshly prepared dishes to take away and includes a show kitchen, where chefs and foodies regularly take to the stage to present culinary demonstrations.

A mecca for wine lovers

Despite the Danish tradition as a beer loving nation wine bars are popping up across the city from venue's such as S'vinbar which attracts students, business people and tourists alike to sample the wines from smaller producers in countries like Georgia and Austria. To more Spanish style  'vinbodega', such as the recently opened MasVino and by the same owners, Pica Pica where homemade bread, cheese, sausages, tapenades and olives  combines with a great selection of mainly Spanish wines to a background of live jazz. Another Spanish style newcomer is D'vinos, right on the sunny Klostertorvet. Offering mainly Spain wines by the glass; a gourmet dining menu is available for around £45 per head. Alternatively, at Plan B on Peace Square, the old Apple store has become a cosy wine bar run by five wine enthusiasts and the Vindanmark wine shop on the water at the Port of Aarhus, makes a great location to enjoy a glass of wine. In the summer months' visitors, can even dip their toes in the water with a cool glass of Chardonnay in hand whilst feasting on a self-serve selection of tapas dishes. Or head to new cocktail bar Gedulgt on Fredengade.

New places to stay

Renovating one of the city's former mission houses, local visionary and owner of two of Aarhus's most popular cafes Bogcafé and Vincaféen, Kenny Jess Brandt is set to convert the atmospheric period building into a boutique hotel with a touch of 1920's New York and Parisian flair. Opening in April 2017, it will jazz up the city with suitably themed 'Salon' nights. Perfect for the budget traveller, a new Wakeup Hotel will offer facilities associated with 3- and 4-star hotels at 2-star prices when it opens. Based on relatively small, yet very well appointed rooms, with furniture from top Danish designers, it will offer fabulous views over Aarhus from the top levels of the hotel. With the movement of the main library to its new location at Dokk1 by the harbour, the beautiful old city library building, in Mølleparken, will offer another affordable option when it finishes its transformation into the Library Hostel with 100 rooms, 450 beds and a social space for both locals and travellers.

Getting there

Ryanair has direct flights from London Stansted to Aarhus and Billund from as little as £19.99 one-way. British Airways also has daily flights from Heathrow to Billund with return prices from £120 as well as flights from London City Airport and Manchester to Billund through the airline's franchise partner Sun-Air.

There are also plenty of flights from the UK to Aarhus via Copenhagen. SAS (flysas.co.uk) operates from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Heathrow, Newcastle and Manchester. Alternatives include British Airways (ba.com) from Heathrow; EasyJet (easyjet.com) from Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, and Manchester; Norwegian (norwegian.com) from Edinburgh and Gatwick; and RyanAir from Luton, Stansted, Edinburgh and Liverpool (from 31 October 2017).

Aarhus CARD

It's now even easier to explore Aarhus and the surrounding Central Denmark Region, thanks to the new Aarhus CARD which gives access to more than 20 museums and attractions across the city. Buy a 24, 48 or 72-hour card and enjoy discounts on shopping, free admission to the city's public swimming pool, and free transport by bus all over Aarhus and the surrounding region, including X-buses, night buses, local trains in the city of Lemvig and airport shuttles to and from Aarhus Airport and Billund Airport.

For further information see www.visitdenmark.co.uk