Day trips from Copenhagen: castles, Vikings, Malmö
All four trips below start at København H and take less than an hour by train, so each fits easily into a day. A City Pass Large or a Copenhagen Card covers the trains to Roskilde, Helsingør and Hillerød, but not to Malmö, across the border in Sweden.
Roskilde: Viking ships and the royal cathedral
Photo: zealot666 / Pixabay, Pixabay License
27 to 28 minRegional train from København H to Roskilde station
An old cathedral town at the head of Roskilde Fjord, west of Copenhagen. Its red-brick cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the burial church of the Danish kings and queens. Down by the water, the Viking Ship Museum shows the ships that were sunk in the fjord around a thousand years ago and later raised from it; in its boatyard, reconstructions are built in the old way.
Tip: See the cathedral first, then walk down through the town to the fjord. The cathedral costs DKK 80 and closes to visitors during services, so check its opening calendar for the day. The Viking Ship Museum is open daily from 10 am, until 5 pm from May to mid-October and until 4 pm in winter; adults pay DKK 165 in summer and DKK 130 in winter, and visitors under 18 enter free. From May to September the museum takes visitors out on the fjord in a Viking ship, with oars and sail; that is the reason to come in summer. Hours and tickets on the museum's site. Both are included in the Copenhagen Card.
55 minRegional train along the coast from København H to Helsingør station
Kronborg guards the narrowest point of the Øresund, with Sweden in sight across the water. Shakespeare set Hamlet here. Inside are royal halls, dark casemates where the statue of Holger the Dane sleeps, and a cannon tower with a view over the strait.
Tip: Outside summer the castle opens 10 am to 4 pm and is closed on Mondays in November and from early January to late March. Tickets cost DKK 135 online and DKK 150 at the door; children enter free, and the Copenhagen Card covers it. A free 15-minute introduction runs several times a day and is a good start. Bring a jacket for the casemates and the windy tower. Opening hours and tours on the castle's site.
39 to 41 minØresund train from København H over the bridge to Malmö C
Sweden's third city lies 30 kilometres away on the far side of the Øresund Bridge. Walk from the station to the Saluhall food market in a converted 19th-century warehouse, see the twisting Turning Torso tower, and end at Ribersborgs Kallbadhus, an old open-air bathhouse on the shore.
Tip: Take your passport, since you cross a national border. Neither the City Pass nor the Copenhagen Card is valid on this route, so buy a separate ticket for the train. By car, the bridge toll for one way is DKK 470 at the toll station or DKK 420 online. Afternoon coffee and cake, the Swedish fika, is the local habit worth adopting. More on the trip in Visit Copenhagen's Malmö guide.
38 minS-train line A from København H to Hillerød station, every ten minutes, then bus 302, 307 or 380R to Frederiksborg Slot
A royal hunting lodge and residence that rises from the lake in Hillerød, north of Copenhagen, and was rebuilt as a museum. It houses the Museum of National History and the national portrait gallery, the Castle Church and the Great Hall, with a Baroque garden on the lakeside.
Tip: The castle is open daily, 10 am to 5 pm. Adults pay DKK 125, visitors under 18 enter free and the Copenhagen Card covers it. Come on a Thursday if you can: from 1.30 pm to 2 pm the Compenius organ of 1610 is played in the Castle Church, included in the ticket. Leave time for the Baroque garden on a dry day. Details on Frederiksborg's practical page.
