The more towns I visit in Denmark the more I can’t decide which one is my favorite.
My latest favorite is Helsingør, a town north of Copenhagen and about a half an hour train ride away.
Helsingør is historic and extremely cute. It has plenty of pedestrian-only streets, town squares, and a vibrant waterfront. It’s also only a quick ferry ride away from the Swedish city of Helsingborg.
The waterfront has a statue of a man (sadly, not a merman), mimicking the Little Mermaid statue that sits on a rock in the Copenhagen harbor.
Here’s where you’ll find the M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark (not pictured). It’s supposed to be a state of the art museum and I’m sure I’ll visit it soon, but haven’t yet.
Mostly what Helsingør has is Hamlet.
The story of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is set in the Elsinore castle, aka Kronborg.
Kronborg is an impressive castle. I’ve visited quite a few of the Danish castles by now and I have to say that Kronborg might be my favorite.
One reason why I really like it is that it’s so imposing on the outside, while it’s quite cozy on the inside.
The royal apartments, once occupied by Frederick II and Queen Sophie, seem very practical, comfortable and not at all excessive.
The castle, in addition to being a royal residence, was also a fortress that managed the boat traffic between the North Sea and the Baltic.
Exploring the castle is a lot of fun. There are the royal apartments, the courtyard…
…and the over 140 step climb to the top of one of the towers.
My favorite part of the castle was the network of underground corridors and little rooms.
Most are lit by oil lamps only, or not at all. It’s a good idea to bring a flashlight, or buy one (20 kr) at the ticket booth.
The big draw to Kronborg this year has been Hamlet performed at the castle. Unfortunately, when we were there the actors were only rehearsing in their street clothes. Still, when they practiced singing, that was nice.
We enjoyed our visit of Helsingør so much, we most definitely plan on coming back soon.
Post-Amerikan 