5 trips around Northern Greater Copenhagen


If you Google "What to visit in Copenhagen "many of the most popular attractions such as Nyhavn, Tivoli, Christiania, Amalienborg or the Little Mermaid may pop up. Most of these spots are worth a visit (NOT THE MERMAID) but are not enough to see what Greater Copenhagen is like. In the following entry I will try to explain 5 short but interesting trips around the northern suburbs of Copenhagen. As I have already told you before DTU is located some kilometers north of the city center so I live in the area as well as many of my friends so I have been able to tour it during the last months. Before I start to describe the different trips I must say that having a bike is essential if you want to enjoy the area. Distances are quite large and even if public transport is very decent, it is much more expensive. Besides that, biking around the lakes, beaches and forests of the area makes you feel completely integrated. You can also burn some calories so don't think it twice: rent or buy a bike!

I hope you enjoy the pictures that I took while I personally went to these wonderful spots.


- Dyrehaven


The "Deer Park" might be the most popular attraction in Northern Copenhagen and it is not surprising. The 11 km2 park is home to a big population of fallow and red deers. The park is a large grassland where you can easily see many  herds of deer. The park is located between DTU and Klampenborg beach. I recommend a bike ride from DTU to the beach. You will probably see many herds along the way besides crossing the hermitage called Eremitagesletten. This small isolated construction is located inside the park and was built during the reign of Christian VI. It served as a house for the royal family during the hunting season. Very close to the beach you can also find Bakken, the world's oldest amusement park. It doesn't have as exciting big roller coasters as Tivoli or Disneyland but it is beautiful and worth a visit. It is important to know that the small roller coasters and the places where to buy food, drinks and ice creams only open on certain days of the year. You can end your trip by enjoying the relaxing views of the sea from  Klampenborg beach. I have to say that I was quite surprised by its beauty (I am Mediterranean, consider that a very nice compliment to the beach). I am really looking forward to the summer season because I have been told that the place becomes packed with people eager to enjoy some of the few sunny days that Denmark has to offer. Tip: There is an S-tog station at the beach so you can take it to be in the city center in less than half an hour.





- Hillerød

This medium-sized town is located in the north of the island of Zealand, 30 km north of Copenhagen. Like most danish towns, its houses and streets are nice and it is always pleasant to stroll around. The special thing about Hillerød is that it is the seat of  Frederiksborg castle, a huge and beautiful Renaissance castle. Take the A line of the S-tog in the city center or in Lyngby and stop in Hillerød to see the castle and  the magnificent gardens and parks that surround it. 

It costs around 10 euros to get inside the museum that the castle hosts and there you can see the wonderful castle from the inside. If you are interested in art, architecture and history you will totally love it.





- Lakes

This is one of my favorite trips. Indeed, it can be either one or many trips as there are plenty of lakes to visit in the area. I have discovered this on my own, no one told me to go and visit these lakes. This is the trip in which biking is essential. I have just used my Google Maps and my bike and have discovered some incredible spots to relax, think and maybe enjoy a date (You never know when you are going to need this tip). My favourite lake is Furesø, located north of DTU between Farum and Holte. Sunsets are beautiful and its surroundings have pathways to walk and bike. Besides Furesø, which is the deepest lake in Denmark, there are also smaller lakes like Bagsværd, Lyngby, Vintapperso or other smaller ones very close to Holte that are incredible. I will not tell you much more about this trip on purpose. Just be adventurous and get lost!






- Skodsborg beach

Let me propose you a crazy plan: swim in the Baltic Sea during the winter. Are you willing to do it? I have the perfect spot for that. Grab your bike and head to Skodsborg beach, close to Nærum and just do it. The beach is similar to the one in Skodsborg but this one has some small changing rooms where you can change your wet clothes after jumping into the cold Baltic Sea. Don't panic, it is cold but it is not a super extreme experience like if you did this in Alaska, Russia or Norway. I did it in December and the water was cold and I could not feel my feet for 10 minutes but it was super refreshing. Some friends told me it was good for your health but don't trust me here and do not sue me if you get sick in the process.






- Helsingør/Helsingborg


The last trip that I will write about is an international one. It starts in the medium-sized city of Helsingør ( located in the northwest of Zealand, Denmark) and finishes in the Swedish city of Helsingborg (over 100.000 inhabitants). Take the Øresund train (name of the natural Øresund strait that divides Sweden and Denmark) in Copenhagen and you will get to Helsingør station in less that an hour. You can't take this train in Lyngby and its surrounding so you need to take the S-train south to Hellerup or Svanemøllen if you plan this trip starting from DTU. Helsingør has a nice harbor, beautiful streets and the magnificent  Kronborg castle, which presumably inspired Shakespeare's Hamlet.After eating a pølsehorn in the harbor you can take the ferry that connects Denmark with Sweden. You pay 10 euros for a round trip ticket. There are two different companies that operate the route so be careful and ask what time is the last ferry back from Sweden if you don't want to sleep there. What I saw in the ferry was quite interesting: many danish/swedish retired people were spending the afternoon drinking beer in the ferry. They didn't stop when we got to Helsingborg (Sweden) 20 minutes after departing from the danish harbor. I guess that it was a better spot than a regular bar. Once you get to Helsingborg you can see a big difference, it looks more like a city while Helsingør looks like a small town. Walk around the city center, visit the town hall square and get close to the Kärnan, a tower from where you can enjoy nice views of the city and of the straight. You can see Denmark from here, only 4 kilometers divide both neighbor countries at this point. To finish, don't forget to do some shopping at Kullagatan street if you want to take advantage of the slightly cheaper prizes of Sweden.





























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