Roskilde (30 km/19 mi from Copenhagen) may be the quaintest town in all of Denmark, which is pretty impressive in a country where all towns have a little hygge in them. The town has served as the first capital of Denmark, an important cathedral town, home to Denmark's premier music festival, and most recently home to the second leg of the Tour de France in 2022. Whether you're looking for a quaint town, good shopping, or a culture and history dose, Roskilde is an easy and impressive day trip from Copenhagen!
Roskilde Station
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Roskilde is easily accessible via trains from Copenhagen Central Station (Hovedbanegården). The journey takes roughly 25 minutes; there are up to seven trains an hour!
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Former City Hall of Roskilde
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Roskilde's center city has some wonderful shopping. Make your way towards the former city hall. The square in front has a farmers market-meet-flee market with great food, flowers, and antiques!
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Roskilde Cathedral
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The Roskilde Cathedral - a UNESCO World Heritage site - is an impressive building that continues to be the coronation site and burial site of Danish royalty to this day. Make sure to look at the website for daily hours as the Cathedral is still used as both a church and a place for community events
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Viking Ship Museum
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The star of Roskilde is the Viking Ship Museum, located at the bottom of the hill from the Cathedral (the park between the two is a lovely 1 kilometer walk).
The museum has the remains of five ships, along with various exhibitions on the Vikings and their ships. The museum also maintains a workshop where you can see Viking ship replicas built based on the remains in the harbor. If you're feeling adventurous, the museum offers harbor tours on replicas around the museum! These tours are additional in price and have a pre-set schedule.
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Roskilde Fjord
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There is an impressive set of paths around the fjord! If you go in spring time, you will see fields of rapeseed flowers in full yellow bloom around the peaceful body of water. If you're willing to leave town for a bit, Skjoldungernes Land National Park provides a number of different recreational opportunities around the fjord, including hiking and biking!
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Sct Hans Have
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Make sure to grab a coffee or a lunch treat while in Roskilde! If you're lucky enough to visit on the weekend, I highly recommend stopping at Sct. Hans Have. The premise has a cafe, a beautiful boutique, and a full garden shop as well as expansive seating among the gardens. In the summer months, you will find the cafe full with locals enjoying the greenery and delicious coffees (you may be the only tourist in the area when you visit!). The grounds are idyllic, and it's a perfect pitstop while walking along the fjords! The cafe is about 1.4 kilometers (1 mile) from the Viking Ship Museum and provide a great place to reset with both savory and sweet dishes.
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Return to the Station to take the train to Copenhagen.
If you are staying in Copenhagen, make sure to use the Copenhagen Card! The Copenhagen Card provides admission to over 100 attractions in and around the capital region, including the Roskilde Cathedral, the Viking Ship Museum, and several other museums in and around Roskilde. Further, the card allows for free public transportation use all around Copenhagen area, including on the trains to Roskilde. I found the Copenhagen card to be a life saver while traveling in Copenhagen and used it almost every day!
While Roskilde is nice in all seasons, it's definitely nicest in the warmer months from May through September. If you go in June, be aware of the Roskilde Festival, Denmark's premier music festival. While it is definitely great fun, if you are not going for the famous local and international acts, it does make it difficult to fully enjoy what Roskilde has to offer.
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