Drive
Hiring a car at Copenhagen Airport is straightforward, and there are many rental companies that will be eager to oblige you. We have five destinations for you that are worth the drive and are easily manageable in a day. After all, Denmark is not that enormous…
Do you feel like taking a trip out of town?
Møns Klint
The White Cliffs of Denmark
Denmark is a very flat country, but when you get to the little island of Møn, you’ll immediately notice that there’s something unusual. The image of the chalk-white cliff, the blue sea and the green forest extending right down to the edge of the cliff is emblematic of the Danish landscape. The white cliffs formed from the coral reefs that existed here 75 million years ago. The island of Møn and the surrounding islets have been designated by UNESCO as Denmark’s first biosphere reserve, thanks to its unique natural characterisics. The ‘capital’ of Møn is the cosy little town of Stege, which celebrates its 750th anniversary this year.
Getting there: It takes an hour and 40 minutes to drive from Copenhagen Airport to Møns Klint. You have to drive across a small bridge between Zealand and Møn, but there’s no toll fee. The final stretch of the road is highly picturesque.
Møns Klint
UNESCO World Heritage Site near Copenhagen
Just over an hour’s drive from Copenhagen lies Stevns Klint (Stevns Cliff), which is the tip of a peninsula that projects right out into the Baltic Sea. During the Cold War it was feared that this would be the spot where a Soviet-led invasion of Denmark would take place. This is why you’ll find Stevnsfortet (‘Stevns Fort’) here, which today is a museum that is dedicated to this period. However, the most impressive places are Stevns Klint and the Højerup church, which for decades has looked as if it is about to topple down the cliff and be swallowed up by the sea.
Getting there: Usually, it ought not to take more than an hour’s drive except during the evening rush hour, when you should allow an extra 30 minutes. On the way, do yourself the favour of visiting the cosy medieval town of Køge, or the small fishing village of Rødvig right next to Stevns Klint.
Getting there: Outside of the rush hour, Tisvilde is an hour’s drive from the airport. Feel like taking a boat ride? If so, drive to Sølager, catch the little ferry to Kulhuse and take the scenic route across the Hornsherred peninsula back to Copenhagen. The crossing takes a ’dizzying’ eight minutes, and the ferry operates until the end of September during the daylight hours.
Tisvilde
The place to study Copenhagen’s creative class
The seaside towns along the northern coast of Zealand are arranged like pearls on a string. All the seaside towns have their particular clienteles and boosters, but for the past 20 years there’s been a consensus among Copenhagen’s cultural and media elites that Tisvilde is the place to be seen.
And it’s true that the old fishing village has a certain charm thanks to Helenekilde, the beautiful, classically styled seaside hotel, as well as its several kilometres of sandy beaches which have the forest as their closest backdrop.
If you’re out to study the Copenhagen elite as they give their fashion-forward children, sunglasses and sports cars an airing – and you may even hope to catch a glimpse of the crown prince – then week 29 (15-22 July) is the perfect time to come to Tisvilde. Once you’ve finished your observation of well-known Copenhageners, a walk along the coast is to be recommended.
Dragsholm Slot
(Dragsholm Castle)
Ghosts and Michelin stars
Dragsholm Castle in western Zealand dates back to the 13th century and has naturally witnessed many dramatic events. During renovation work in 1910, a walled-up woman was discovered, fuelling the presumption that it must be one of the most haunted places in Europe. But in 2017, the castle came under the media spotlight for a different reason: the awarding of a Michelin star to the castle’s gourmet restaurant. However, there’s also a somewhat more budget-friendly bistro, and you can visit the castle for one of the historic tours that take place there every Saturday and Sunday.
Getting there: Outside the rush hour, from Copenhagen Airport the drive takes 1 hour and 15 minutes. The area is also known for its beaches, such as those at Ordrup or Gudmindrup Lyng.
Getting there: The trip takes an hour and 45 minutes, which to foreigners may not seem too bad. But in eastern Denmark it’s almost the greatest
distance you can drive without crossing one of the main bridges.
Knuthenborg Safari Park
The Tigers on Lolland
The island of Lolland, a couple of hours’ drive south of Copenhagen, has many impressive manor houses, but the best-known among them is undoubtedly Knuthenborg. Back in the 1960s, the owner of the property decided to import exotic animals which were allowed to walk around in the huge castle garden, and Knuthenborg has been the district’s biggest attraction ever since. Here you can drive completely inside the enclosures, which contain tigers, giraffes and rhinos. Something new for 2018 is a dinosaur forest. However, what it contains is actually some realistic-looking robots.