Fredensborgs castle, garden side

Fredensborg is a city in North Zealand in Denmark.

Understand

• 1 Fredensborg Tourist information, Slotsgade 2, ☏ +45 4848 2100. 

Get in

From Copenhagen, the most convenient way to reach Fredensborg is to catch an S-train to Hillerød, and change to the Lille Nord [1] train towards Fredensborg and Elsinore (Helsingør), which sees departures towards the city twice per hour most of the day. It is possible to use the same line from Elsinore. The trip from Copenhagen takes about an hour.

It is also possible to catch a bus from Humlebæk (Louisiana Art Museum, bus 844 and 733E, 25 minutes). From Nørreport station in central Copenhagen there is a is a rushhour express bus (6AM-9AM, 1PM-5PM), which completes the journey in 45 minutes (bus 173E)

If you have your own wheels take the Helsingørmotorvejen highway (E47 and E55) to exit 7 (Kokkedal), turn left, and follow Fredensborg Kongevej to the end.

Get around

For all practical purposes, use your two fine legs. It is a 1 kilometre walk through the nice town to the palace.

See

• 1 Fredensborg Castle, ☏ +45 3340 3187, fax: +45 4847 5470, fredensborg@ses.dk. July 1PM-4:30PM (only guided tours). Built in 1720-1726 and extented until 1770. The royal family lives there, so the castle is closed for the public except for July. The gardens are open to the public, however, and the castle is one of the most beautiful in Scandinavia. 50 DKK. 

• 2 Kunstgalleriet i Arresthuset (The Jailhouse Art Gallery), Tinghusvej 13, ☏ +45 2236 4455. Daily 11-15 except Thursdays. An art gallery fitted into the old Court- and Jailhouse from 1857 sometime in 2006. The house is well-preserved, and still houses much of the original equipment. 

• 3 Local History Museum, Avderødvej 19, Kokkedal, ☏ +45 4828 0176, lokalhistorisk.museum@email.dk. Feb-Oct Tu-Su 1PM-4PM. Museum showing the local history of the area. It is in one of the first public schools in Denmark dating back to the 1720s. Here you can see an old class room and also art tiles. There is also a shop selling historic toys and books. Free. 

• 4 Toy Museum of North Zealand, Hørsholmvej 32, Kvistgård, ☏ +45 4916 2840, hilda@legetojsmuseet.dk. May-Jun W-F, Su 1PM-5PM; Jul-Aug Tu-Su 11AM-5PM; Sep-autumn holidays W-F, Su 1PM-5PM; autumn holidays 11AM-5PM daily. Private museum exhibiting toys from recent history, you might have played with some of them as a kid. The museum shop sells both modern and historic toys. There is also a small café. 40 DKK, children 20 DKK. 

Do

• 5 Falconer Farm (Falkonergården), Davidsvænge 11 (2 km northeast of the centre of town first along Helsingørvej and then left on Davidsvænge), ☏ +45 4848 2583, fax: +45 4848 2583, falkonergaarden@falkonergaarden.dk. Apr-May Su and Easter 2PM; Jun Sa-Su 2PM; Jul We 10AM, 5PM, Th 10AM, Sa-Su 5PM; Aug We, Sa-Su 5PM; Sep Sa-Su 2PM; Oct Sa-Su 2PM until autumn holidays, autumn holidays 3PM daily; special arrangements also possible. Here you can watch falcons, hawks and eagles being trained in historical royal hunting grounds. 80 DKK, children 5-12 60 DKK. 

Eat

Budget

• 1 Buon Appetito, Jernbanegade 16, ☏ +45 4848 8260. 11AM-10PM. Italian restaurant. Pastas around 75 DKK, mains around 150 DKK. 

• 2 Ciao, Chrst Boecksvej 1, ☏ +45 4848 2324. Quite cheap Italian restaurant, which is mainly a pizzaria (also take away), but also has antipasti, pasta and some fish and meat main dishes. Outdoor seating on the square when weather permits. Main dish 80 DKK. 

• 3 Den Fredelige Kinastue, Jernbanegade 19, ☏ +45 4848 4142. Chinese restaurant with few tables, except in summer when you can sit out as well. 

Mid-range

• 4 Da Oscar, Slotsgade 3 A. 

• 5 Passage Caféen, Jernbanegade 11 (Peter Poulsens Passage), ☏ +45 4848 8519. Café during the day transforming into a restaurant in the evening. Danish cuisine. 

Splurge

There are not many high end restaurants in town. The best is the restaurant at the hotel Fredensborg Store Kro, see listing in the sleep section.

Drink

• 1 Cafe 13, Chrst Boecksvej 13. Bar with nice outdoor seatings. 

• 2 Café Pingo, Jernbanegade 12. Bar and café often showing football. 

Sleep

• 1 Højsager Camping, Humlebækvej 31, ☏ +45 4919 4448. Open April-September. 60 DKK each person. 

• 2 Nyrup Camping, Kongevejen 383, Kvistgård, ☏ +45 4913 9103, fax: +45 4917 7540, info@nyrupcamping.dk. 

• 3 Fredensminde, Humlebækvej 30, ☏ +45 4848 0022, hellis1313@hotmail.com. Bed & Breakfast. Doubles 350-450 DKK, breakfast 60 DKK. 

• 4 Danhostel Fredensborg Vandrerhjem, Østrupvej 3. Youth and family hostel, open all year around. The hostel can provide rooms with toilet and bath. The hostel serve breakfast everyday. Doubles from 329 DKK. 

• 5 Fredensborg Store Kro, Slotsgade 6, ☏ +45 48 40 01 11. A Grand old hotel right by the castle, in both the best and worst sense of old - at its best it is elegant and timeless, but the rooms are starting to show its age, and could an update to modern times. The in house restaurant Anna Sophie, fares much better, and serves upscale food in a beautiful old room. 790-2300 DKK. 

Go next

A good one day itinerary, which we could call "a day in the Nordsjælland of the kings", if we were the local tourist organisation - but we're not - so let us keep in nameless, and just tell that it involves the three grand palaces of the region; Take the S-train to Hillerød and see the Frederiksborg Palace and museum and go for a stroll in the nice barque gardens - retrace your steps to the station and jump on the train to Fredensborg to see the palace from the pretty park. Jump back on the same train (though unless you are superman, the same train 2 hours later), and continue the journey to Elsinore, do an L through the old town, pass the harbour and finish the castle viewing with Hamlet's Kronborg, and nice views over the sound and Sweden. Head back to station and take the Kystbanen Railway back to Copenhagen. If you have time to spare, you could stop by the fabulous Louisiana Art museum in Humlebæk on your way back.