5 Copenhagen Day Trips: Castles and Malmö
Denmark’s regional rail network turns Copenhagen into a hub for day trips that rarely take more than 50 minutes each way, which means the limiting factor is not travel time, it is choosing between them.
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Kystbanen trains from København H or Nørreport reach Humlebæk in about 35 minutes, running every 20 minutes, then it’s a 10-minute walk east along Strandvejen. Louisiana pairs glass-walled modernist pavilions with a coastal sculpture park facing the Øresund toward Sweden, Giacometti’s lakeside wing and Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror room among the highlights. Tickets run 145 DKK adult, and the museum stays open until 22:00 Tuesday through Friday. Louisiana entry tickets are bookable on GetYourGuide .
Roskilde: ships and a cathedral
The 20-25 minute regional train ride reaches five authentic 11th-century Skuldelev ships at the Viking Ship Museum, excavated from the fjord in 1962; visitors can board the sailable modern replicas built in the adjoining harbor, but not the delicate originals inside. Admission is 160 DKK in summer, 125 DKK in winter, and a 50-minute fjord sailing on a replica boat adds 120 DKK from May through September. Roskilde Cathedral , a 10-minute walk on, is a UNESCO-listed Gothic church holding the tombs of 40 Danish monarchs, their burial church rather than their coronation site, tickets 80 DKK. The Viking Ship Museum’s own site has the current sailing schedule.
Frederiksborg Castle
S-tog Line A reaches Hillerød in 38-40 minutes. Frederiksborg, Scandinavia’s largest Renaissance palace, spans three islets on a castle lake and holds the Museum of National History; admission is 125 DKK adult, and the formal Baroque water gardens are free. Frederiksborg day trips from Copenhagen are listed on Viator .
Helsingør and Kronborg
Kystbanen trains reach Helsingør in 45-48 minutes. Kronborg, the UNESCO fortress that inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet, has a 62m ballroom and dark casemates; tickets are 135 DKK online, 150 DKK at the door. The M/S Maritime Museum next door, set into a former 150m dry dock, adds Danish seafaring history for 145 DKK.
Malmö, Sweden
Öresundståg trains cross the Øresund Bridge to Malmö Central in 35-38 minutes, every 15-20 minutes. This is Sweden, not Denmark: prices are in Swedish kronor, a different currency from the Danish krone despite the shared “kr” symbol, and Swedish police run occasional passport checks at Hyllie station. Lilla Torg, Malmö Castle and the Turning Torso fill an afternoon.
The verdict
Louisiana and Roskilde are the two that repay the trip on their own; Frederiksborg and Kronborg work best paired on the same day if you start early. Bornholm is not on this list: it sits a genuine ferry-and-train journey from Copenhagen, not a same-day trip, so treat it as an overnight instead.
Before you go
Buy fares through the Rejsebillet app or tap a contactless card; the physical Rejsekort was phased out in June 2026, and ticket inspection is strict enough that an invalid ticket costs 1,000 DKK. For the sights closer to home, see the Copenhagen sightseeing guide , or extend the trip with the Copenhagen multi-day trips guide .