Elsinore

Elsinore (Helsingør) lies at the narrowest point of the Øresund, where only a few kilometres of water separate Denmark from Sweden. For centuries ships passing between the North Sea and the Baltic paid the Sound Dues here, and the town grew wealthy and important on that traffic.

Kronborg Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, guards the strait from its point. The Renaissance fortress with its copper spires, grand halls and dark casemates is famous as the setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and the sleeping hero Holger Danske waits in its cellars. Beside it, the M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark is built into a former dry dock, and the Culture Yard occupies the old shipyard buildings. The old town keeps half timbered merchant houses, St. Olaf's Cathedral and one of the best preserved medieval monasteries in Scandinavia. Show more

The coast north of town has beaches, Marienlyst Palace with its garden and views across to Sweden. The Technical Museum of Denmark, the Øresund Aquarium and a harbour food market add variety, and the ruins of Gurre Castle lie in the forests inland. Theatre and Hamlet performances at the castle are a summer tradition.

Elsinore is easily reached by train along the coast from Copenhagen, often combined with the Louisiana Museum on the way. Frequent ferries cross to Helsingborg in Sweden in a short time, so two countries fit into one day. Kronborg and the museums are open year round, with longer hours in summer.