around the world: coastal Copenhagen

Charming as Copenhagen is, and much as there is to do there, if you're visiting in a warm season, we'd highly recommend getting out of the city at checking out the coastline just north of it. There's still plenty to see and do, but it adds such a nice bit of relaxation to the trip. Think lovely Scandinavian style with a cottagey/beachy/cute fishing town twist.

You don't have to go far at all, and getting to this area from Copenhagen is super easy: trains leave every 20 minutes from the central station, it takes 30-40 minutes on the train, and the tickets don't cost much - even better, if you've got the Copenhagen Card that gets you into all of the museums and sites, your train tickets are free!

Stay

There are a bunch of little towns along the coast in the region of Helsingor, and you can pretty much stay anywhere in this region as it's easy to get to by train from Copenhagen and then easy to travel up and down the coast by bus (or bike, if you can get your hands on one). Walking from town to town would be a bit far, but in general walking here is great as there is a nice sidewalk, all with beach views.

We were in an adorable AirBnB guest house (next to a gorgeous, larger beachfront house) in Snekkersten. Had a bus stop right outside our door and public beach access and groceries within 5 minutes' walk. Perfect base for exploring the area, and for relaxing - though you should note that the bus comes by only once an hour so you have to pay attention a bit (pro tip: if you map it on Google Maps and get the public transit directions, it'll tell you when the bus is scheduled to arrive at that stop).

Do/See

• Louisiana Museum of Modern Art: this was just a few kilometers down the coast from our AirBnB and is a great modern art museum on an even better waterfront property. The grounds are just gorgeous, with plenty of places to roam and/or to have a meal on the terrace with a view. Highly recommend.
• Kronborg Castle: also known as the castle featured in Shakespeare's Hamlet, this castle is an interesting look at Renaissance-era castles and history in Denmark. The "live" Hamlet production going on around the grounds was a little cheesy, but otherwise we really liked the history part and also the view from the tower.
• Walk around Helsingor: lovely water views, plenty of pedestrian shopping areas, and a great town square to sit outside and have a beer. (Note: the English name of the town is Elsinore, so don't get confused if you see both.)
• Go to the beach! We had such gorgeous weather while we were there, so we joined all of the Danish families in their Saturday beach time, and it was lovely. Sitting on a nice sandy shore, with a view of Sweden and the most adorable little ice cream hut - what more could you want for a relaxing interlude in your tour of the Copenhagen region?
• Bike: sadly the bike rental shop right by our AirBnB was shuttered, otherwise we would have absolutely loved biking on the dedicated path that runs all along the coast. We did get to leave from Copenhagen to do a ride with a colleague who lives in the area as our guide, including through the lovely woodland Deer Park and some time along the coast. It's pretty flat and easy biking thanks to all of the dedicated bike lanes.
• More Copenhagen Card things in the region that we didn't get to but would have liked: Fredriksborg Castle (more inland but easy to get to by train from where we were staying; the grounds look gorgeous in photos), Frederiksborg Ferry (water views of the lovely castle).

Eat

• Elsinore Street Food: perfect stop when you are visiting Kronborg Castle, this is a converted shipyard with whimsical decor and a whole bunch of street food options from around the world, plus beer! Over the course of 2 meals we tried 4 of the vendors, so we can vouch for the tastiness of Gastrotrucken (get the kimchi burger), Suki Ramen, and Gastro Grillen for the Danish twist on BBQ (yum).
• Louisiana Museum Cafe: we didn't eat here, but the food looked good, and it's an amazing spot to sit for the view.

Combined with Copenhagen, this really should be your next vacation destination... it's so great! And if you do go, here's what to pack for the winter or for the summer.