While a lot of the places I wanted to see in Copenhagen were only a short walk from my hostel, there were a few on my list that were all a bit further out from where I was staying in the city centre: Roskilde cathedral, Frederiksborg castle and Kronborg castle.

So I did a bit of googling and found a tour group that actually went to all of these places in particular, including a trip to the Viking Ship museum, so on my first night, I booked it: the Grand Trip around Copenhagen by Hamlet Tours.

Booking it was simple and efficient: after picking the tour date, you select your hotel in the list of pick up locations and they give an estimated ‘pick up’ time. They were fantastic with their communication too, because after I’d booked, they got in contact to say as there were fewer people on the tour that day, they would be coming by a bit later for the tour to start at the same time!

First stop: Roskilde Cathedral

From my hotel, it was around a thirty minute drive to Roskilde cathedral. Unfortunately, the cathedral was closed to the public on the day we visited, but our guide Robert took us around the outside of the cathedral telling us about the history of it, and pointing out different parts of the building that were built in different time periods.

Second stop: Viking Ship Museum

The next stop was the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, a 15 minute drive from the cathedral. Our entry was included in the price of our tour, and we had around 45 minutes to walk around and see reconstructed ships originally built by danish vikings, and also learn about read about their culture and beliefs at this time.

Third stop: Frederiksborg Castle

Next we headed to Frederiksborg castle in Hillerød, which was 45 minutes away from Viking Ship Museum, and all the while our guide was telling us interesting information on Denmark and the castle we were heading to.

Before going in, we walked to a cafe down the road called Cafe Valentin, who offer a 10% discount if you’re on the tour, and we had a bit of lunch before heading in. I went for the buffet: it was a nice spread: it basically offered a mixture of what you’d get in a continental breakfast and a full english breakfast.

Then we headed to Frederiksborg castle.

There was so much to be in awe of just by walking from the gates to the entrance (we didn’t even make it to the gardens in the end!), and the tour inside was self-guided, with the option to have an audio guide, and lockers to put your bag in if it’s a bit too big to carry around.

It was so large, and every room was so ornately decorated, with so much to explore. It had an art exhibition at the end of it too.

Last stop: Kronborg Castle

Our last stop before heading back was to Kronborg castle: it was a 30 minute drive from Frederiksborg, filled with more interesting facts about the castle on the way there by our fantastic tour guide.

Once there, our tour guide gave us an in depth tour around the grounds where we had a stunning view of Sweden from the coast (with canons still aimed there!), and the castle rooms itself (which I forgot to take photos of!), as well as going down into the dark dungeons (so dark we had to use the flash lights on our phones).

By the time we came out of the dungeons, the sun was beginning to set, and we had one last walk around the grounds before we started to head back.

It seems like more than a day’s worth of travelling (especially when I look back at all the photos I took that day), but we still managed to get back in time for dinner!

If you had to choose out of Roskilde cathedral, the Viking Ship Museum, Frederiksborg castle and Kronborg castle, which one would you visit first and why? And if you’ve already visited these, which was your favourite?

All photos are my own ♥