7 Best Day Trips from Copenhagen

Copenhagen is surrounded by cities, natural areas and castles that are tourist destinations to visit during your stay.

Among the best things to do in Copenhagen you will find a series of day trips that depart from the city. In this way, you will see the interior of Frederiksborg and Kronborg Castles, contemplate the natural environment near the sea at the Møns Klint Cliff and stroll through the city of Malmö and Roskilde, among other places that I will tell you about in a moment.

During your stay of 2 days or more in Copenhagen you can book an excursion to Roskilde to explore its streets and discover all its history in the company of a guide. This is the ancient Danish capital created by the Vikings and the seat of kings and bishops.

You will depart from the center of Copenhagen by car and travel approximately 30 minutes to your destination. Upon arrival your guide will take you on a tour of the city and discover its main attractions while telling you about the history of the place.

The Viking Ship Museum

An essential stop in Roskilde is the Vikingeskibsmuseet or Viking Ship Museum. There, you will see an exhibition of ships found in the Roskilde Fjord, including the largest Viking ship in the world with a length of 37 meters.

You will have the opportunity to board a replica of a Viking ship, where you will feel like you have traveled back in time. In addition, you will learn about the construction process of these fleets.

Roskilde Cathedral

On your way through the city you will see the imposing Roskilde Cathedral, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. In this major temple you will be amazed with its architectural beauty, representative of the Gothic style.

In addition, the enclosure houses an important part of the history of Denmark, preserving about 40 tombs of the Danish Royal House. Among them are the remains of the wife of Frederick IX of Denmark, Ingrid of Sweden.

During this activity, considered among the best day trips from Copenhagen, you will also have free time to explore the town on your own. You can walk the streets, shop for souvenirs and take some pictures. In addition, you can pop into the local bars or restaurants for a drink, a bite to eat and some rest.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 60€ per person.
• Duration: about six hours.
• Means of transport: by train.
• Disadvantages of this option: the excursion does not include admission to any of the attractions visited.

Joining one of the day trips to Sweden from Copenhagen is another of the most interesting options during your stay in the Danish capital. In one of them you will get to know the city of Malmö, whose streets combine the old and the modern.

You will travel by train from Copenhagen to Malmö, crossing the iconic Öresund Bridge, considered one of the largest in the world. Upon arrival in the Swedish city, your guide will accompany you and take you on a walking tour. Among some of the places you will see are:

• Lundagard Park, with a series of runic stones erected by the Vikings around 970.
• Lund Cathedral, a Lutheran compound with great historical importance for Denmark despite being in Sweden.
• The Turning Torso, the tallest skyscraper in Scandinavia. It is a true architectural symbol of the city.
• The Small Square, where you will see preserved medieval buildings of past centuries.

Interesting details

• Price: about 252€ per person.
• Duration: about six hours.
• Means of transport: by train.

Take advantage of your stay in the Danish capital to book an excursion to Roskilde, Frederiksborg and Kronborg and be part of one of the best castle tours in Copenhagen.

Accompanied by a local guide, you will delve into the history of Denmark by visiting two great monuments: Frederiksborg Castle and Kronborg Castle.

Frederiksborg Castle

The first stop on this tour is Frederiksborg Castle, located approximately 45 minutes drive from Copenhagen.

There, you will be amazed with this imposing architectural work of Renaissance style raised on three islets and surrounded by a beautiful baroque garden. In addition, inside you will find the National History Museum.

Kronborg Castle

The next destination is the Kronborg Castle about 40 minutes drive from Frederiksborg Castle-Palace.

It is an important Danish monument declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. You can see the exterior and interior of this Renaissance-style building where William Shakespeare was inspired to write Hamlet.

Interesting details

• Price: from 146€ per person.
• Duration: a little more than eight hours.
• Means of transport: minibus.
• Disadvantages of this option: this activity is not suitable for people with limited mobility, wheelchairs or strollers.

If you like museums and nature, then you will be fascinated by the Louisiana Museum located in the town of Humlebaek. You can take this excursion on your own by car or public transport, which can take from 45 minutes to a little over 1 hour from Copenhagen.

Once at the museum, you will be amazed by the contrasts between the landscaped areas and the art installation, consisting of a series of sculptures. You will walk freely through the different exhibition rooms, which are connected to each other by glassed-in corridors. Some of them overlook the lake.

During the tour you will find permanent collections with works by great artists such as Picasso, Yayoi Kusama, Monet, Andy Warhol and Giacometti, among others. You will also see a series of temporary exhibitions that follow a theme or are dedicated to a guest artist.

Details of interest

• Price: about 20€ per person.
• Duration: approximately six hours.
• Means of transport: private car or public transport.
• Recommendation: if you have the Copenhagen Tourist Card, you can skip the queues and enter directly to the museum. Booking the Copenhagen Card costs about 68 €.

Any time of the year is the best time to go to Copenhagen and explore the natural areas surrounding the Danish capital. Such is the case of the Island of Mons and its cliffs, considered the highest in Denmark.

For this tour you will travel by minibus from Copenhagen, carrying out a route of at least two hours away. During this time you will see different panoramic views while the driver-guide tells you about the history of the city.

Upon arrival, you will go directly to the GeoCenter Mons Klint, where you will learn about the flora and fauna of the site, the characteristic rocky environment, the prehistory and some fossils discovered. Then you will walk along a path discovering these whitish cliffs that reach about 120 meters high. In addition, you can go down some stairs to the seashore.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 192€ per person.
• Duration: about eight hours.
• Means of transport: minibus.
• Disadvantages of this option: due to the route along the cliffs and areas with stairs, the experience is not suitable for people with limited mobility.

If you plan to be in Copenhagen for 3 days or more, then you can incorporate into your itinerary a day trip to the town of Odense, a place with a lot of history and attractions that will surprise you.

The trip to Odense can be by train for about 90 minutes or by private car for a couple of hours. This will depend on the guided tour you connect with. In fact, if you wish, you could go on your own. Among the attractions you will see during the tour are the following:

• The Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Danish writer, author of The Little Mermaid, The Brave Little Tailor and The Ugly Duckling, among others.
• The Railway Museum, with old locomotives and wagons.
• The Funen Village, an open-air museum that recreates a Danish village from 200 years ago. You will see houses, stables, workshops and real people.
• Odense Cathedral; an interesting building in Gothic style, inside which lie the remains of King Knud.
• The H.C. Andersens Park, with sculptures dedicated to the writer and a small Chinese Wall.

Details of interest

• Price: about 190 euros.
• Duration: approximately six to eight hours.
• Means of transport: train or private car.

If you are a fan of the famous Lego blocks and want to remember your childhood, then you should take advantage of your stay in Copenhagen and take a day trip to the town of Billund. There you will find Legoland with more than 50 attractions for all ages.

For this activity, you will have to drive about 2 hours and 40 minutes from Copenhagen to Billund. Upon arrival, you will buy your ticket at the park's ticket office and you will have access to all the fun.

You will ride a medieval roller coaster, navigate a canal aboard a mini boat and the little ones can have their first experience as drivers. In addition, you will discover the world on a small scale through a series of replicas of world-famous constructions: the Taj Mahal, the Burj Khalif, etc. Without a doubt, this is an ideal experience if you have traveled to Copenhagen with children.

Interesting details

• Price: the entrance fee to the park starts at 52€ for adults and around 50€ for children and senior citizens.
• Duration: one day.
• Means of transport: private car.
• Recommendation: due to the high influx of visitors to the park you may not find tickets, so you should book them in advance.

The duration of the excursions from Copenhagen usually varies between six and eight hours approximately. This time frame includes the transfer to and from the Danish capital, and may actually increase a bit more if you do the tour on your own, as in this case the itinerary is usually more flexible.

Whether you join a guided tour or travel on your own, you'll want to start this type of adventure in the morning. This way, you can make the most of the day and return to the city in time for a stroll through the old town and discover Copenhagen by night or embark on one of Copenhagen's pub crawls.

Guided tours from Copenhagen are the most popular option, as you just hop on a minibus and enjoy the ride. Meanwhile, the driver-guide tells you the history of the city and the places visited.

Also, with this type of guided activities you save time and money, because unlike self-guided tours, you don't have to rent a car, drive and even risk getting lost on the way.