Hillerød

Late spring to early autumn is the best time to visit. Days are long and mild, and the castle gardens are at their best. Winters are dark, cold and often wet, but the castle and its museum stay open every day.

The biggest local event is Midsummer's Eve on 23 June. The town gathers by the castle lake for music, a traditional bonfire speech and a large bonfire on the water, with the castle as a backdrop.

July is usually the warmest and most reliable month. The little castle ferry only runs in summer, so plan for May to September if you want to arrive by boat.

Frederiksborg Palace is the reason most people come to Hillerød. Christian IV built it in the early 1600s on three islands in the castle lake, and it is the largest Renaissance building in Scandinavia. After a fire in 1859 it was rebuilt, and since 1882 it has housed the Museum of National History, with centuries of Danish royal portraits and furnished rooms.

The castle church, Frederiksborg Slotskirke, survived the 1859 fire almost unharmed. Danish kings were anointed here from 1671 to 1840, and its Compenius organ from 1610 is the oldest organ in Denmark.

North of the lake, the Baroque Garden, Barokhaven, is a formal garden from the 1720s, with terraces, clipped hedges and a cascade on the central axis. It was recreated in the 1990s and offers the classic view of the castle across the water.

In the park beyond the garden, Bath House Castle is a small red-brick pleasure palace from the 1580s, one of the few buildings left from the earlier castle. It is reserved for the royal family, but you can see it from the surrounding park.

A few things make a visit to Hillerød more than a castle tour:

• Cross the castle lake by ferry: in summer, take the little ferry from the main square to the Baroque Garden. You get the best views of the castle from the water.
• Hear the oldest organ in Denmark: the castle church holds short concerts on its 1610 Compenius organ. Check the castle's calendar for dates.
• Walk or cycle the royal hunting forests: follow the straight lanes of Store Dyrehave or Gribskov to the star-shaped crossings where kings once gathered for the hunt. Numbered stone posts still mark the lanes.

North Zealand packs royal palaces, forests and coast into a small area, and most of it is less than an hour away.

• Store Dyrehave and Gribskov — the forests just south and north of town, within 15 minutes by bike. Together with Jægersborg Dyrehave they form the par force hunting landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, with straight hunting lanes laid out in star patterns.
• Fredensborg Palace — a short ride on the local train towards Helsingør, then a 1 km walk. The royal family's spring and autumn residence has large gardens that are open all year; the palace interior opens only for guided tours in July.
• Esrum Abbey — about 20 minutes by car, near the shore of Lake Esrum; a Cistercian abbey founded in 1151, now a museum with a shop and café.
• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art — about 30 minutes by car, on the coast at Humlebæk; Denmark's most visited art museum, set in a sculpture park above the sea.
• Tisvildeleje and Gilleleje — under an hour by local train; sandy north-coast beaches, and the ruins of Søborg Castle near Gilleleje.
• Helsingør — under an hour by local train; Kronborg Castle, the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

For a longer stay in North Zealand, these towns are all within easy reach:

• Helsingør, on the narrow strait to Sweden, for Kronborg Castle.
• Tisvildeleje and Hundested, for beaches and harbours on the north coast.
• Frederikssund, on Roskilde Fjord, known for its summer Viking plays.
• Roskilde, with its royal cathedral and Viking Ship Museum.

• By air: Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is the nearest airport. The trip to Hillerød takes about an hour by train, with one change in central Copenhagen.
• By train: Hillerød is the end of an S-train line from Copenhagen. Trains run every 10–20 minutes and take about 40 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station. Local Lokaltog trains also connect Hillerød with Helsingør, Gilleleje, Tisvildeleje and Hundested. See DSB for the S-train.

• On foot: The station, the pedestrian streets and the castle are all within a 10–15 minute walk of each other.
• Castle ferry: From mid-May to mid-September, the small ferry MF Frederiksborg crosses the castle lake. It stops at the main square, the Rose Garden and the Baroque Garden. Buy tickets on board.
• Public transit: Buses and local trains cover the surrounding area. Buy tickets before you board, in the Rejsebillet app or with a Rejsekort travel card. Station ticket machines are limited. See Lokaltog for the local lines.
• Cycling: Cycling is easy on flat roads and forest tracks, and a good way to reach Store Dyrehave.

• Is a car worth it?: Not for the town itself, which is compact and well served by train. A car helps if you want to combine palaces, forests and beaches in one day.
• Parking: The Q-Park Gallerierne garage on Hostrupsvej is open 24 hours and leads straight onto Slotsgade, the pedestrian street to the castle. Pay by card or with the EasyPark app.
• Restrictions: The central shopping streets are pedestrian-only.

Most cafés and restaurants are on Slotsgade, the pedestrian street leading to the castle, and around Torvet, the main square by the castle lake. This is the best area for a smørrebrød lunch or coffee and pastries.

At the castle itself, Rabarbergaarden Slottet serves an organic lunch made from local produce in the former carriage house. It is open Wednesday to Sunday, so it is easy to combine with the museum and the garden.

Hillerød is a very safe town, and serious crime against visitors is rare. Use normal care with bags on busy trains and at the station. After a summer walk in the forests, check yourself for ticks.

Hillerød grew up around the royal estate that King Frederick II acquired in 1550. His son Christian IV, born here in 1577, tore down the old manor and built the new castle between 1599 and about 1620. Only Bath House Castle survives from the earlier estate.

For almost 170 years, Danish absolute monarchs were anointed in the castle church, Frederiksborg Slotskirke. In 1720 the Treaty of Frederiksborg, which ended Denmark's part in the Great Northern War, was signed there. Soon after, Frederick IV laid out the Baroque Garden, Barokhaven, and moved court life to his new palace at Fredensborg.

On 16 December 1859, a fire destroyed most of Frederiksborg Palace. The brewer J. C. Jacobsen, founder of Carlsberg, paid for much of the rebuilding. He turned the castle into the Museum of National History, which opened in 1882.

Quick practical facts for Denmark at a glance: