Aalborg is a city in the Jutland region of Denmark. With its theatres, symphony orchestra, opera company, performance venues, and museums such as Aalborg Historical Museum and the Aalborg Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg is an important cultural hub. The Aalborg Carnival, held at the end of May, is one of the largest festivals in Scandinavia, attracting some 100,000+ people annually.

The annual Aalborg Carnival usually takes place in the last weekend of May. It consists of three events: the children's carnival (Danish: Børnekarneval), the battle of carnival bands, and the carnival proper. Attracting about 100,000 visitors, it is the biggest carnival in Scandinavia and one of the largest in northern Europe. Hjallerup Market in Hjallerup, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Aalborg is one of the oldest and largest markets in Denmark and is the largest horse market in Europe. Held for three days in the beginning of June, it annually attracts more than 200,000 people and 1200 horses.

In 1999, Aalborg was for the first time one of the four host ports in The Tall Ships Race (then Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race) of that year. The city hosted the world's largest event for sailing vessels again in 2004, 2010, and 2015.

Major venues
Aalborgs Kongres & Kultur Center, designed in a functional style by Otto Frankild, was completed in 1952. The centre's main component, the Aalborg Hall, can be divided into sections. The complex also contains a hotel, restaurant, bowling alley, and a number of meeting rooms. The smaller Europahallen was added in 1991, making the centre the largest in Scandinavia. With over 100 theatrical and musical presentations per year, it offers international stars, opera, ballet, musicals, classical concerts, productions for children as well as pop and rock concerts. It can accommodate audiences of up to 2,500. Aalborg Teater, built in 1878 and subsequently modified by Julius Petersen, seats 870 in the main auditorium. First privately owned, the theatre is now controlled and owned by the Danish Ministry of Culture. While most productions are housed in the main hall, the building can accommodate up to four shows at once in halls of varying sizes. Over the years, the theatre has produced a wide selection of drama and musicals.

Nordkraft is a cultural centre in a former power plant near the harbour. It has theatres, a cinema, and concert facilities. Kunsthal Nord, established in the centre in 2009, arranges up to five exhibitions a year of all forms of contemporary art, especially of local origin but also from other parts of Denmark and beyond. It serves as the exhibition centre for KunstVærket, the North Jutland centre for the arts, and also works in collaboration with the modern art museum Kunsten designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

In the same neighbourhood, a huge concert hall, Musikkens Hus, designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, opened in 2014. It is Aalborg's most ambitious construction project in recent years.

The city also has a wide selection of galleries and arts and crafts outlets operated by local artists. The Academy of Music also has a presence in Aarhus. There are several glass workshops; others produce jewelry, sculptures or exhibit paintings.

Museums
There are various museums in the city. The Aalborg Historical Museum was established in 1863, making it one of the earliest provincial museums in the country. The North Jutland Historical Museum conducted a series of archaeological excavations in the 1950s at Lindholm Høje, revealing ancient burial sites. In 1992, the Lindholm Høje Museum was opened there and extended in 2008. In 1994 and 1995, excavations at the site of the Greyfriars Monastery resulted in the creation of the underground Gråbrødrekloster Museum in the city centre. Several organisations now collaborate under the leadership of the North Jutland Historical Museum. The Springeren - Marine Experience Center is a marine museum on the city's wharf with a wide range of exhibits including "Springeren", an old Danish submarine, whence its name. The Aalborg Defence and Garrison Museum documents Danish defences during the Second World War as well as the history of Aaborg's garrison since 1779. The KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art Aalborg was built from 1958 to 1972; the collection consists of around 1,500 art objects, including paintings, sculptures and other media.

Music
The Aalborg Symphony Orchestra (Danish: Aalborg Symfoniorkester) founded in 1943 presents about 150 concerts a year, frequently playing in the Musikkens Hus. It also plays for the Jutland opera company (Danish: Den Jyske Opera, also based in Aalborg), and at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. It is one of the main organisers of the 10-day Aalborg Opera Festival held every March. Aalborg has the jazz club Jazzclub Satchmo and an annual jazz and blues festival (Danish: Den Blå Festival), also known as the Mini New Orleans Festival. Over four days in mid-August, concerts are performed on squares, in the streets, and in cafés and restaurants. Since 2012, the Egholm Festival, a small music festival on the island of Egholm near Aalborg has been organized in the first weekend of August. It features relatively unknown upcoming pop, rock and hip-hop artists. The festival has two stage areas and was organized by the Musical Association Aalborg (MUSAM) and Aalborg Events.