Southern Denmark Winter Roadtrip

jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-03

We spent the final days of 2024 and the first days of the new year on a mystery roadtrip, an epic three-country adventure planned entirely by my partner with my only clues being that I needed a suitcase full of winter clothes for ten days.

→ I documented the entire mystery roadtrip on reels; check it out on Instagram!

Heading north out of Munich, where my partner lives, we stopped along the way through Germany including the Eremitage Schlosspark in Bayreuth, the magical Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar and then spent two nights in Lüneburg, a hidden gem of a city just an hour south of Hamburg. From there, we headed to the northern German coastline to catch a ferry across the border into Denmark and spent 24 hours in Copenhagen. After Copenhagen, it was time to cross the Øresund Bridge into Sweden where we spent our first night in Halmstad on the west coast. From Halmstad, we drove to the IKEA Museum, before reaching our final destination of Stockholm!

After ringing in the new year in Sweden's snowy capital, we left Stockholm to drive back across the country before spending a night in Malmö. Then it was time to cross the Øresund once again and return to Denmark. We had visited Copenhagen on the way north on the mystery roadtrip so did not visit it on the return trip.

Instead, we made the most of a gorgeous sunny day with snow covering the country and stopped to visit some iconic spots in the countryside of southern Denmark along the way back towards Germany.

A note: we only had one day to drive from Malmö in Sweden through Denmark and into northern Germany. We did not spend the night in Denmark. If we had had more time, we would have definitely spent much more time exploring Denmark, especially towards the north (Aarhus, Aalborg, Skagen)... next time!

How to Get to Denmark

For the sake of this blog post, I am going to start the winter roadtrip in Copenhagen. As Denmark's largest city and its capital, it makes the most sense to begin here. It also works really well geographically: Copenhagen is in the far eastern side of the country, right on the water and just across the Øresund Bridge from neighbouring Sweden!

Find out how to travel to Copenhagen by car, ferry, flight, train or bus!

jana meerman ferry puttgarden germany rodby denmark-6

The ferry from Puttgarden, Germany to Rødbyhavn, Denmark

jana meerman oresund bridge denmark sweden copenhagen malmo-2

Øresund Bridge connecting Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark

How to Get Around Denmark

By car: As we were on a multi-country roadtrip from Germany ending in Sweden, we had our own car with us.

If you don't have your own car, you can rent one in Copenhagen.

By public transport: Denmark is well-connected by a system of buses, trains and metros. You won't have as much freedom to go wherever and whenever you wish, but it's a fantastic solution for those of us without cars to still see loads of the country!

Plan your route through Denmark with public transport.

jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-6
jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-6

Danish traffic!

Southern Denmark Winter Roadtrip Itinerary

For the sake of this blog post, I am going to start the winter roadtrip in Copenhagen. As Denmark's largest city and its capital, it makes the most sense to begin here. It also works really well geographically: Copenhagen is in the far eastern side of the country, right on the water and just across the Øresund Bridge from neighbouring Sweden!


1. Copenhagen

I won't go into great detail about what to do in Copenhagen because I have a whole separate blog post about it from our 24 hours there from a few days earlier on our way to Sweden. I do highly recommend at least a night or two to explore the city. I visited the city in the summer of 2012 and had so much fun revisiting my favourite spots 12 years later, this time in the winter.

Check out my guide on how to spend 24 hours in Copenhagen including where to stay, what to eat and things to see!

jana meerman copenhagen denmark-31

Nyhavn

jana meerman copenhagen denmark-11

Coffee Collective Bernikow

jana meerman copenhagen denmark-06

Colourful streets of Copenhagen


2. Frederiksborg Castle

After leaving Copenhagen, we drove about 45 minutes north to reach Frederiksborg Castle, the largest Renaissance Castle in the Nordic countries. Alternatively, you can also take the train directly from Copenhagen to Hillerød, the town in which the castle is, and then either walk the 20 minutes through town towards the castle or hop on bus 301 or 302 from the station.

Frederiksborg Castle was built by King Christian IV between 1600 and 1620 with a primary goal of showing off how powerful he was as a European monarch. The castle was used as a royal residence for 100 years before becoming the royal portrait collection from the 1730s. It once again became a home when King Frederik VII and later his wife Louise Ramussen moved in in the mid-19th century which saw many modern upgrades to the castle. Unfortunately, their addition of a new stove to heat a large room cause a major fire in 1859 destroying much of the property. It was rebuilt through nationwide collection funds and never used as a royal residence again. Since its reopening in 1878, it has been home to the Museum of Natural History, funded by J. C. Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg beer. Thanks to the Frederiksborg Museum of Natural History for the history!

We did not visit inside the castle, mostly due to time constraints as we could have easily spent our whole day just here, but did wander the grounds which are free of charge.

Buy tickets to visit the inside of Frederiksborg Castle.

jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-02

Walking up to the castle

jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-02

Looking back towards Hillerød

jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-06
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-06

Hillerød Lake, on the shores of which the castle sits

jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36
jana meerman frederiksborg castle denmark-36

The entrance hall


3. Egeskov Castle

From Frederiksborg Castle, we crossed the Storebæltsbroen (which had another bridge toll to pay) across the Great Belt to the island of Fyn. Here, we drove towards the southern part of the island along beautiful wintery roads before arriving at Egeskov Castle. The total drive between the two castles took us just under three hours.

Unfortunately for us, Egeskov Castle and its stunning moat and grounds are closed during the winter so we couldn't actually get any closer than the photos but it was still a pretty sight at golden hour.

It is considered Europe's best preserved Renaissance water castle, built in 1554. The Bille-Brahe family has owned the castle since 1784.

Buy tickets to visit Egeskov Castle during the spring and summer.

jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-5

Roads on Fyn

jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-5

Egeskov Castle visitor's centre

jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-5
jana meerman egeskov castle denmark-5

As close as we could get in winter!


4. Odense

Odense should be on every Danish roadtrip itinerary! From Egeskov Castle, we drove back up north across Fyn to Odense, a journey of about half an hour.

The third largest city in Denmark, Odense is perhaps most famous for being the place where the famous fairytale author, Hans Christian Andersen, was born. His house has since been turned into a big interactive museum which we would have loved to visit if we had a whole day in Odense! Andersen penned, among hundreds of other works, The Little Mermaid, a statue of which is in Copenhagen, The Princess and the Pea and The Emperor's New Suit.

Buy tickets to visit the Hans Christian Andersen museum.

While in Odense, we wandered through the fairytale-like little streets, lined with pastel-coloured houses. We also stopped for a delicious Vietnamese pho at Vietnam Street Food.

jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20

Hans Christian Andersen's house

jana meerman odense denmark-20
jana meerman odense denmark-20

5. Christiansfeld

I don't have any photos of Christiansfeld, the only UNESCO town in Denmark, as it was dark by the time we arrived. We plan to come back and visit in the summer months one year!

Learn more about the beautiful town of Christiansfeld.


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Jana Meerman

Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.

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