When planning a trip to Denmark, many falter beyond its capital, Copenhagen. An exciting food scene, kooky culture, and helpings of history, there’s much that justifies its inclusion in an itinerary.

With a thriving food scene, youthful energy, and nearby lakes and wineries, Denmark’s second-largest city, Aarhus, mirrors the best of Hill Country.

The list made its debut in 2005, when world travel was about half of today’s 1.3 billion arrivals and phones were for making calls. Here’s how The Times’s annual travel list — and travel itself — has ...