The 10 Best Day Trips from Copenhagen by Private Car

The best day trips from Copenhagen are Kronborg Castle in Helsingør (45 min), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (35 min), Frederiksborg Castle (40 min), Roskilde’s cathedral and Viking Ship Museum (35 min), Møns Klint (1 h 30), Stevns Klint (1 h), Malmö (35 min), Odense (1 h 45), Dragør (20 min) and Legoland (2 h 45). By car you can combine two or three in one day, for example Louisiana, Kronborg and Frederiksborg on a North Zealand loop.

Copenhagen is small enough to see in two or three days, and Zealand around it is full of castles, chalk cliffs, beaches and some of Europe’s best small museums. Public transport reaches most of them, but combining stops is slow. A private car turns a one-sight day into a three-sight day and lets you stop wherever the coast road looks too good to pass.

Day trips at a glance

1. Kronborg Castle, Helsingør

Kronborg guards the narrowest point of the Øresund, with Sweden 4 km across the water. It is the Elsinore of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore the casemates, the royal apartments and the great ballroom, then visit the M/S Maritime Museum, built into the old dry dock next door. Take the Strandvejen coast road on the way up, past Bellevue beach and the villas of Klampenborg and Vedbæk. See our route page, Copenhagen to Helsingør.

2. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Louisiana, in Humlebæk, is regularly named one of the world’s most beautiful museums: modern and contemporary art in a low building that snakes through a sculpture garden down to the sea. Allow three hours, and have lunch in the café overlooking the Øresund. It pairs naturally with Kronborg, which is 15 minutes further north. Opening hours are on the Louisiana website.

3. Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød

A red-brick Renaissance palace rising out of a lake, home to the Museum of National History and a baroque garden. Nearby Fredensborg Palace is a royal residence with gardens open in summer. Our North Zealand castles tour covers Kronborg, Frederiksborg and Fredensborg in one day.

4. Roskilde

Roskilde Cathedral is the burial place of Danish monarchs and a UNESCO site. The Viking Ship Museum by the fjord displays five original Viking ships and builds reconstructions in its harbour. See Copenhagen to Roskilde.

5. Møns Klint

Denmark’s most dramatic landscape: white chalk cliffs rising more than 100 m above a turquoise Baltic, with forest on top and a staircase down to the beach. GeoCenter Møns Klint explains the geology and fossils. It is a long day (1 h 30 each way), so start early. More detail in our Møns Klint and Stevns Klint guide.

6. Stevns Klint

Closer and quieter than Møns Klint, Stevns Klint is a UNESCO site where the layer marking the extinction of the dinosaurs is visible in the cliff. The half-collapsed Højerup Old Church hangs over the edge.

7. Malmö

Cross the Øresund Bridge into Sweden in 35 minutes: the Turning Torso, the cobbled squares of Lilla Torg and Västra Hamnen’s seaside promenade. Carry ID for every passenger. See Copenhagen to Malmö travel guide.

8. Odense and Egeskov

Hans Christian Andersen’s birthplace, with the H.C. Andersen House museum designed by Kengo Kuma. Combine it with Egeskov Castle, a moated Renaissance castle about 30 minutes south. See Copenhagen to Odense.

9. Dragør

A perfectly preserved fishing village of yellow houses and cobbled lanes, 20 minutes from the city and 10 from the airport. It’s a good half-day, or a short stop on the way to or from a flight.

10. Legoland Billund

For families, the original Legoland plus the LEGO House in Billund town centre. It’s a long drive (2 h 45 each way) and the park is seasonal, so check dates. See Copenhagen to Legoland.

Private car or public transport?

Trains reach Helsingør, Hillerød, Roskilde and Odense easily, and Louisiana is a short walk from Humlebæk station. Public transport works well for one destination. It struggles with combinations, with Møns Klint and Stevns Klint, and with families. A chauffeur by the hour costs from €120 per hour (3-hour minimum; full days are simply 8 × the hourly rate), or €125 per hour for a 7-seat V-Class. For four to seven people that is competitive with a rental car once tolls, fuel and parking are included. See chauffeur vs rental car in Denmark and book through private sightseeing tours.

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Related reading: hire a private driver in Copenhagen · top things to do in Copenhagen · how many days you need in Copenhagen · Louisiana Museum day trip

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