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Dragor, Open Air Museum, Frederiksborg Castle & Roskide; or Odense, Aarhus & Aero

I will be in Copenhagen for 5 days from the end of June to early July visiting friends and touring Copenhagen and northern sealand sites (Louisiana, Contemporary Art Museum, Helsingør, and the Maritime Museum and Castle Kronborgand). I then have 2-3 extra days on my own before I board a Baltic cruise. I need some advice about several possible activities for the extra days. 1) spend extra days staying in Copenhagen and seeing some sites there that I otherwise would not see including perhaps day trips to Dragor (a Steves suggested fishing village alternative to Aero), the Open Air Museum, Frederiksborg Castle and Roskide; 2) visiting Odense & Aero; or 3) visiting Odense & Aarhus. I saw on the internet today that Aarhus and Tallus, Estonia are in the top 7 undiscovered places to see in 2017! I have the Rick Steves Scandinavia guide book plus have the Europe Through The Back Door videos of Denmark so I would like some advice from people who have been to these places. After seeing the videos, I am not sure if the train trips to Aero or Aarhus are worth the quick trips or If less is more and I would be better off just staying in my same hotel as a base and seeing some of the sites around Copenhagen that I would otherwise not see keeping in mind that I have a Baltic cruise after Copenhagen where I will see much more visiting Baltic Countries. Help!

Posted by
398 posts

We did two nights in Odense (about a 90 minute train ride from Copenhagen) and seven nights in Copenhagen, and really liked our division of time (although obviously we wish we could've done even more!). The five days you are in Copenhagen - are you actually staying in Copenhagen, or spending a night or two in northern Zealand? Just asking because if you do Kronborg/Helsingor/the Maritime Museum/Louisiana in one day, it is a very full day (we did it, but we left pretty early and got back to Copenhagen in time for a later dinner).

I am assuming your cruise leaves form Copenhagen. If you have three days, I would consider spending two of them in Odense, and one more in Copenhagen. From Copenhagen, do a day trip to Roskilde (UNESCO World Heritage Site cathedral, absolutely awesome Viking Ship Museum). You could also definitely do a half day trip to Hillerod for its castle. Aarhus is like a 3 hour train ride, which isn't so bad, but if you have just 2-3 extra days, I personally would stick to the things closer to Copenhagen, considering there is so much to do. Also, I don't think you can get a train to Aero. I think you take a train to Odense and switch to a bus, and then a ferry. Would be beautiful no doubt, but sounds like a lot to me given the time you have.

Posted by
398 posts

Correction, for Aero, you take the train to Svendborg (with a change in Nyborg, the first stop on the island of Funen), and then a ferry I believe.

Posted by
971 posts

First of all use www.rejseplanen.dk to plan all public transport in Denmark.

Generally speaking I would say that Copenhagen itself warrants 3 days at least and then there are the most popular day trips. 1) Helsingør and Louisiana (can be done in a long day). 2) Roskilde. 3) Hillerød and Frederiksborg Castle. Dragør is indeed a nice fishing village alternative to Ærø. It's fairly small, but a nice place for lunch at the harbour and a stroll around. It's 45 minutes by bus from Copenhagen. If you decide to do these day trips, look into the Copenhagen card for discounts on public transport and entrance fees.

Ærø, Odense and Århus are a bit far a way for day trips. Personally I think Odense is overrated, but if you are interested in Hans Christianian Andersen, you could stop by his birthplace and museum in Odense for a few hours on your way to Ærø or Århus.

Posted by
153 posts

Thanks for the responses. Can one make a day trip to the Frederiksborg Castle and the Open Air Museum in the same day? What would be the travel arrangements using trains and/or busses? Is a visit to the Open Air museum worth the time? Would the Copenhagen card cover entrance and travel? Is it possible to visit the Frederiksborg Castle and Roskide in one day trip? Would the entrance fees and transportation be covered by the Copenhagen card? How would one travel arrangements using trains and/or busses?

Posted by
971 posts

Sure you can visit Frederiksborg and the open air museum on the same day, they are fairly close to each other. The open air museum would not be my top choice, but I have been there many times, so perhaps I am not the best person to ask.
Frederiksborg and Roskilde are only connected by bus and it's quite slow. The travel arrangements can be found on the link I posted above. Transport is included in the Copenhagen card and you can find which entrance fees are included on the cards website http://www.copenhagencard.com/whats-included

Posted by
153 posts

Thanks for the information. I believe that we will keep our hotel in Copenhagen as a home base and see sites we would otherwise be unable to see, and we will also plan day trips from there. I will continue reviewing the Copenhagen card to see if it works for us. That information and the travel site is are very helpful.