Kronborg Castle in Helsingør: Everything you Need to Know Before Visiting!
Kronborg Castle is widely known as the Hamlet Castle, also known as Elsinore Castle, where Shakespeare based his play, Hamlet. But do you need to be a Shakespeare fan for it to be worth it? Should you day trip from Copenhagen or should you stay in Helsingør as you visit Kronborg castle?
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About Kronborg Castle
History: Kronborg Castle (Kronborg Slot) is a Renaissance Castle built in the late 1500’s, but was rebuilt after a fire in 1629 and has undergone various renovations and additions through the centuries. I.E Its old! Kronbog Castle is located on the edge of the Øresund straight, conveniently allowing control over access to the Baltic Sea. Essentially, due to its position, the castle was known as the gateway to the Baltic Seas until the early 1800’s. Kronborg Castle was established as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.
Legends: Kronborg Castle is home to the sleeping Holger Danske. If you are Danish, this probably rings a bell. If not, Holger Danske (Holder the Dane or Ogier the Dane) is a viking that is said to be asleep “until Denmark is in danger” and is a symbol of strength and national pride. The concrete statue can be found in Kronborg’s casemates (basement).
Shakespear: Kronborg’s location made the castle an important throughout Europe’s history, however, now, the castle is mostly known as the setting of William Shakespear’s, Hamlet.
Where is Kronborg Castle Located?
Kronbog Castle is located in Helsingør (often called Elsinore), Denmark just under an hour drive from Copenhagen. It’s location makes it easy to get to from both Copenhagen as well as from Sweden!
Cost of Visiting Kronborg Castle
Entrance: $18 USD during shoulder season and around $21 USD during peak season (June-August)
Train Ticket to/from Copenhagen (if you opt to): $43 per person round trip
Book entry tickets to the castle
Should you Day Trip or Stay Overnight in Helsingør
If you are just looking to do day trips from Copenhagen, Kronborg and Helsingør can easily be seen in one day. However, if you are doing a road trip or are open to moving around a little, then Helsingør is a cute place to stay overnight!
The town is small and very walkable, but it is SO CHARMING! I really recommend at least one night to get a small town Danish feel. We enjoyed walking the town after seeing the castle, shopped down the main street, and enjoyed a nice local bar before dinner!
How to Get to Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle is located on the narrowest point of the Øresund Straight. Therefore, it can easily be accessed via ferry if you are coming from Helsingborg, Sweden or it is easily accessible via train from Copenhagen.
Helsingborg, Sweden to Kronborg Castle, Denmark
If you are coming from Sweden (Gothenburg, Stockholm, etc) you can either:
- Ferry from Helsingborg to Helsingør directly
- Drive from Malmö, cross the bridge to Copenhagen or
- Train to Copenhagen and then continue to Helsingør (see details below)
Ferry Details
- Ferry Cost: DKK 199 (about $28 USD) when purchased ahead of time
- Length: The ride is about 20 minutes
- Times: Ferries run 24 hours a day and leave every 20-40 minutes, depending on the time of day.
- Tickets: Tickets can be purchased here, or on sight
Copenhagaen to Kronborg Castle, Denmark
If you are planning to visit Kronborg from Copenhagen, you can drive or train. We did a Scandinavia road trip and came from the direction of Helsingborg. However, if you are JUST staying in Copenhagen and are looking to do a day trip to Kronborg Castle your options are to drive, train, or to do a guided tour from Copenhagen.
Drive: About a 45 minute drive straight north on E47
Train: A little over an hour train ride and about $22 one-way or $43 round trip. Once you arrive in Helsgør you will have about a 15 minute walk from the station to the castle.
Book a train from Copenhagen to Helsingør and Kronborg Castle!
Parking at Kronborg Castle
If you opt to drive, you can’t drive all the way up to the castle (learned that the hard way 🙃). There is a designated parking area on the northwest side of the castle. You have to pay to park, which you can do by scanning the QR code in the parking lot.
- From the parking lot, there is about a 10 minute walk up to the castle.
Address: Parkeringsplads, Parking lot, Nordhavnsvej 1A, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark
Rent a car for your Scandinavia road trip!
Guided Tour of Krongborg from Copenhagen
Many of the guided tours of Kronborg Castle from Copenhagen are private tours and THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE (like $500 USD per person expensive).
So, if you want to do a guided tour, your most affordable option is do a tour that takes you to Kronborg Castle as well as Frederiksborg Castle (a larger and beautiful castle!)
About the Tour:
- The group is 15 people max
- Leaves and returns to Copenhagen with pickup locations at various hotels
- Includes:
- A guided tour through Kronborg Castle with some time to explore on your own ( 2 hours here)
- Time to explore and shop in Hillerød, which is the town where Frederiskborg Palace is located (1 hour)
- Self-Guided tour of Frederiksborg Palace (2 hours)
How Much Time Do you Need?
If you are planning to see the castle on your own, plan to spend at least 2 hours at the castle.
- We got to the castle just before 12:00 pm after ferrying over from Helsingborg, Sweden and stayed until around 1:45 pm.
- This gave us time to walk around the grounds of the castle as well as do a self-guided tour through the inside of the castle.
- Total Time for Day Trip: 2 hours at the castle + 2.5 hours train time + ~1 hour for walking time and other delays= about 5.5 hours minimum to train and visit the castle from Copenhagen
If you plan to do a guided tour, most of those are full day tours of about 8 hours.
Christmas at Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle is home to a cute little Christmas market that occurs in the interior yards of the castle. The Christmas market is typically the first. two weekends of December.
Walk around and see the various crafts, snacks and gifts and enjoy various concerts. For kids, there are craft workshops inside as well as an opportunity to meet Santa!
Dates: November 30-December 1 and December 7-8, 2024
Hours: 10:00 to 17:00
Click here for more info on the Christmas market at Kronborg.
Other Events at Kronborg Castle
Kronborg hosts other various events throughout the year as well. On Halloween, you can experience the Nights of the Ghosts and, being that it is Hamlet’s Castle, there are a few Hamlet events as well including a Shakespeare Festival and a Hamlet Story Hunt.
Click here for a full events calander!
Final Thoughts on Kronborg Castle
As a chronic castle-visitor, Kronborg is not at the TOP of the most impressive castles list. However, Kronborg Castle and Helsingør are definitely worth a visit!
If we had had time, I would have liked to have visited Frederiskborg Castle as well. Comparatively, it is larger and has a more impressive gardens and grounds to explore.
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