Best Day Trips from Copenhagen
Copenhagen is one of my favourite cities in the whole world. But Denmark is so much more than just its capital city, and there is so much to see from the very top in Skagen all the way down to Sønderborg! Being such a small country, its not hard to get around to experience some other wonderful towns and cities! While you might not be able to get around everywhere on your trip, some of my favourite towns in DK are actually just a stone’s throw from the capital and can easily be seen on a day trip! In fact, I did all of these on my recent trip!
When it comes to getting around to any of these destinations from Copenhagen I suggest getting a Rejsekort travel card and downloading the app! You’ll get a full list of all train and bus times. Otherwise it’ll come down to renting a car. It’s important to note that at the moment, masks must be worn on all public transport in Denmark and if travelling by train you might need to book a seat reservation which is separate from your train ticket.
So if you have a few extra days in Copenhagen and want to get out an explore these are some of the best, culturally rich places you can get to and back in a day.
Aarhus
Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark and only about 3 hours away by train. It has a cool mix of new youthful and artistic energy mixed with lots of old world charm. Many of the Denmark’s art and music schools are in Aarhus, so I found that there was a lot of creativity bursting all over the place! Like, the lights at street crossings were little vikings haha, talk about creative. It’s famous of course, for the ARoS art gallery where you can walk through the most amazing rainbow panorama to get views the of the city! I was so excited to go here and spent so much time just walking round and round in the rainbow. My other personal favourite was Den Gamle By, which is an open air museum that allows you to walk through what Denmark would have been like from the late 1500’s all the way to the 70’s. The buildings had been from 20 different townships all over the country, and the rooms are either decorated in style of the decade or using genuine artifacts. Its one of the country’s few top rated museums outside of Copenhagen and it makes for quite the photo op! To get the most out of your time there you can get an AarhusCARD. It gets you free parking, entry into museums, galleries and even discounts in some shops!
How To get there:
Grab the train from Copenhagen Central direct to Aarhus station. It will cost you 396.00 DKK and take approximately 3 hours give or take.
What to do:
ARoS Art Gallery:
Den Gamle By open air museum
Viking Museum
Aarhus Cathedral - Biggest in Denmark!
Check out local architecture, like Isberjet.
Where to eat:
During my time in Aarhus, I was running around so much that I didn’t have much time to sit and relax in a restaurant, but what I discovered is that there is an awesome food market scene!
Aarhus Central Food Market: You’ll find it right in the centre of town on Sankt Knuds Torv. There’s so much to choose from whether you just want to grab-n-go or sit and take a load off.
Aarhus Street Food: I happened upon this place by total mistake (I got lost, typical Ally…) and it was awesome! Two bars, lots of food from all over the world, an amazing popsicle shop. I decided to try some traditional Danish food while I was there, I highly recommend.
SchweizerBageriet: If you’ve been to Aarhus, you know this place is kinda famous. I went first thing on a rainy morning and had my latte and højsnegl, and it was pretty, freakin, mindblowing!
Odense
AKA the place where the fairy tales start. Odense is probably best known for being the birth place and home of famous Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen. Its the third largest city in Denmark, and the biggest on the island of Fyn. I spent the majority of my day just getting lost in the parks and beautiful streets. Fun fact, a lot of things in Odense are closed on Mondays, so lucky for me it was a beautiful day to be outside! St. Canute’s Cathedral was a must see, you can check out Canute and his brother Benedict’s very old viking bones, which are on display! While you’re there make sure to try an Odense pilsner from Albani brewery! A little different from your normal pilsner it kind of has a malty/fruity vibe to it! Otherwise grab a copy of Thumbelina, sit in the park and bask in the inspiration! I love Danish architecture, so I also just wandered around different neighborhoods, and let me tell you, the houses in Odense are worth seeing in themselves.
How To Get there:
Its so easy to get to Odense! Well I say that, I got off at the wrong station and got completely lost haha, but for most people it will be easy! Catch the train from Copenhagen Central, it will take approximately an hour and a half and cost you 290 DKK. The Odense train station is right in town so you’ll be able to walk pretty much every where from there.
What to do:
H. C. Andersen’s House
Funen Village
St. Canute’s Cathedral
Munkmose Park
Where to eat:
Brød: If you haven’t brushed up on your Danish in a while, ‘brød’ is the word for bread, and this place is considered a ‘Danish bread studio.’ So to say the baked goods were next level would be an understatement.
Eydes: I was exhausted and in desperate need of a beer when i saw this cute little purple restaurant with mod-scandi decor! The food was delicious, the beer was cold and the staff went out of their way to chat with me.
Nelle’s: This place had such a cool vibe. Part coffee shop, part wine bar, amazing art everywhere, it was the perfect place to stop. Of course I indulged in a flødeboller as they are my absolute favourite!
Roskilde
You’ve probably heard of Roskilde because of the legendary music festival that takes place just south of the city every summer! Its actually the biggest music festival in all of Northern Europe! Sadly as I was there in September, and during a global pandemic I wasn’t there to dance among the crowds, but there was so much to enjoy, and for sure if you like your Danish and viking history this is somewhere you need to check out! The biggest draw to Roskilde is the Viking Ship museum, it was honestly so cool! So history lesson; Roskilde was one of the main ports vikings would leave from on their raids to Dublin and abroad. The mostly open air museum has four original ships as well as tons of recreations that you can sit in and check out. I was kind of blown away to watch modern day boat builders working away - like what a cool job! Of course the Domkirke is also a must see. The architecture kind of changes as you walk around it and its the official burial place of all the Danish monarchs. Its stunning and has been added to and developed so you can see the changes in church design throughout history in one place to see.
How To get there:
This is by far the easiest day trip, I think I went there and back in less than half a day. You hop a train at Copenhagen Central and take it right to Roskilde, it takes about 25 minutes and it’ll cost you 39.20 DKK. Its so quick to get there so for sure there’s no excuse to miss this town!
what to do:
Roskilde Domkirke
Ragnarok Museum
Viking Ship Museum
Skjoldungernes Land National park
Where to eat:
Polser stand: I ate my bodies weight in hot dogs when I was in Denmark and honestly during my afternoon in Roskilde, I just wanted to grab one and sit by the water. You can find them all over, just make sure you get remoulade and crispy onions!
Snekken: This trattoria is so cool! Its next to the Viking ship museum, right on the water, but the entire restaurant is tempered glass! So along with amazing food you get immaculate ambiance.
Bakkegårdens bageri: Amazing breads and pastries. Next Level. That’s all.
Helsingør
Last, but certainly not least, my favourite day trip from CPH is for sure Helsingør. The former actress in me was so excited to go visit Hamlet’s castle, as the first starring role I played was Ophelia! Let me tell you, nothing was “rotten in the state of Denmark” here, I was blown away by how gorgeous this little town was! My first stop was Kronborg Castle. I went so early that I’m pretty sure I was the first one in, along with a group of school children who were absolutely watching me take my own photos lol. The castle sits on the edge of the water so I took some time walking along the shore that was just covered in bright orange hyben (rosehip) buds! I took a little walk through the marina to check out this cool fish sculpture made of plastic found in the water before heading to Helsingør Havn. There’s this kinda tongue-in-cheek statue called ‘Han’ which kinda plays up the famous little mermaid statue. The town itself is picture perfect, seriously I suggest just getting lost wandering up and down the streets while nibbling on a pastry!
How to get there:
Take a direct train from Copenhagen Central to Helsingør St. Its a 13 stop trip that takes just under an hour and will cost you 53.60 DKK.
what to do:
Kronborg Castle
Helsignør Havn
Maritime Museum of Denmark
The Culture Yard + Ham
Where to eat:
Radmand Davids Hus: Whats cool is the building this restaurant is in dates back to 1694! It specializes in Danish lunch, so you’ll get to fill up on lots of smorrebrød.
Elsinore Street Food: Also called the Værftets Madmarked. I almost missed this place because its kinda hidden away in a ware house but its so cool! It has so much character and the craziest, mis matched decor! Since I was in a seaside town I opted for fish ‘n’ chips, but they had all kinds of super affordable foods!
JFK Juice: Some might say this is a basic choice, but it was refreshing to find such an amazing juice bar that I could refuel at!
I feel like so often we always focus on a country’s capital and don’t make an effort to see the whole picture! I can’t wait to road trip around and see all of Denmark when I move there! But if you are looking for where else to check out on your first trip to Copenhagen, this list is a good place to start! So grab your travel card and get exploring! God rejse!