About East Denmark
Zealand and its islands outside Copenhagen: castles, chalk cliffs, Viking sites and a long coast, all within a few hours of the airport by train.
What this guide covers
In this guide, East Denmark means Zealand (Sjælland) and the islands joined to it by bridge: Møn, Lolland and Falster, plus small ones such as Nyord and Bogø. It runs from Kronborg at Helsingør in the north to the Baltic beach at Marielyst in the south, and west to Trelleborg near Slagelse.
Copenhagen is where you land and where the trains start, and that is all it is here: the guide has no Copenhagen restaurants, hotels or museums. Bornholm, Funen and Jutland are not covered. Sweden appears once, as the ferry day trip to Helsingborg. How to get out of the city is on getting here.
Quick reference
- Country
- Denmark
- Regions
- Region Zealand, and the northern part of the Capital Region
- Arrival
- Copenhagen Airport (CPH), København H
- Language
- Danish
- Currency
- Danish krone (DKK), no euros
- Time zone
- CET (UTC+1), CEST (UTC+2) in summer
- Emergency
- 112
Twelve areas, three lines
The guide is organised by area, grouped by the direction the train takes out of København H.
North
West
South
- Køge26 min · A half-timbered market town on Køge Bugt
- Vordingborg57 min · The Valdemar kings' castle town and the Goose Tower
- Stevns75 min · The cliff that records the end of the dinosaurs
- Lolland-Falster75 min · Flat islands, a long Baltic beach and the tunnel to Germany
- Møn109 min · White chalk cliffs, painted churches and dark night skies
Six World Heritage sites
East Denmark has six entries on the UNESCO World Heritage List, from a medieval cathedral to a chalk cliff added in 2025.
- 1995Roskilde Cathedral
- 2000Kronborg Castle, Helsingør
- 2014Stevns Klint
- 2015The par force hunting landscape in North Zealand, including Gribskov
- 2023Trelleborg, one of the Viking-Age Ring Fortresses
- 2025Møns Klint
Møn is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and Møn and Nyord became Scandinavia's first International Dark Sky Park and Community in 2017. Odsherred is Denmark's first UNESCO Global Geopark.
When to come
Summer is the high season: about 17.5 hours of daylight at midsummer, every seasonal bus running, and Roskilde Festival from 26 June to 3 July 2027. In winter the light drops to about 7 hours at the solstice, beach places close and the bus to Møns Klint stops, but most castles and big museums stay open.
Month-by-month detail, public holidays and the numbers to call are on practical info. For a cold-season trip, read East Denmark in winter.
About East Denmark: questions
In this guide it means Zealand and the islands joined to it by bridge, Møn, Lolland and Falster, outside Copenhagen. Danes call the island Sjælland.
Only as the arrival point. It covers how to get from Copenhagen Airport and København H to the rest of Zealand, not the city's own sights, hotels or restaurants.
Six: Roskilde Cathedral (1995), Kronborg (2000), Stevns Klint (2014), the par force hunting landscape in North Zealand (2015), Trelleborg as part of the Viking-Age Ring Fortresses (2023) and Møns Klint (2025).
Yes, for almost every place in this guide. Trains run from København H to Helsingør, Roskilde, Hillerød, Køge and Vordingborg, and local trains and buses continue to the coast. Møn from November to March is the hard case.
About this guide
VisitEastDenmark.com is an independent guide. It is not run by VisitDenmark, a regional tourist board, a municipality or any business it lists.
We do not claim to have eaten, slept or stood anywhere we write about. Each page is built from primary sources: the venue's or operator's own website, DSB, Lokaltog and Rejseplanen timetables, the museums' own sites and UNESCO. Prices, hours and journey times carry the season or year they apply to, and the facts are checked against those sources, with the check logged.
Hours and timetables change, often in mid-December and again in spring. When a page says to check before you go, it means the source did not settle the question for the coming season.
Found something wrong or out of date? Write to info@visiteastdenmark.com.
Photo credits
Photos from Wikimedia Commons are used under their free licences. Each is listed with its author and licence. Hotel, restaurant and bar photos come from each venue's public Google Maps listing.
- Klint beach and stairsBeech trees in møns klint.jpgby brianriceca, Public domain
- Klint trampestienStevns Klint chalk cliffs 6.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Walking routeNyord.12.JPGby Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ship museum fjord sailingViking Ship Museum, Roskilde 09.jpgby Superchilum, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fjord kayakingRoskilde Fjord and Cathedral.jpgby Wouter Kiel, CC BY 2.0
- Cycle routeNakkehoved - view west.jpgby Guillaume Baviere, CC BY 2.0
- Coast winter swimming, Zealand beachesGilleleje Beach 2.jpgby Guillaume Baviere, CC BY 2.0
- Safari driveKnuthenborg Safaripark Giraf eland ligger ned savannen.jpgby Sorenknudsen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- FestivalRoskilde Festival - Orange Stage - Bruce Springsteen.jpgby Bill Ebbesen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- HelsingorHelsingør - Harbour.JPGby Lestat, CC BY-SA 3.0
- RoskildeRoskilde skyline - panoramio.jpgby dr.eros, CC BY 3.0
- FredensborgFredensborg. Esrum Sø.jpgby Guillaume Baviere, CC BY 2.0
- CoastGilleleje - luftfoto 20190824.jpgby Pymouss, CC BY-SA 4.0
- MoenUlvshale1.JPGby Ipigott, CC0
- StevnsRødvig 2006.jpgby Elgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0
- KogeKøge Havn - evening - panoramio.jpgby Jens Cederskjold, CC BY 3.0
- OdsherredBlick zur Sejeroe Bugt - panoramio.jpgby Sualkdd, CC BY-SA 3.0
- SoroSorø Sø (5111686896).jpgby Martin Nikolaj Christensen, CC BY 2.0
- TrelleborgTrelleborg (Slagelse Kommune).1.111031.ajb.jpgby Ajepbah, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- VordingborgVordingborg - udsigt over byen.jpgby Hubertus45, CC BY-SA 3.0
- FalsterNykøbing Falster - udsigt mod byen.jpgby Hubertus45, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Trips from copenhagen9007128 Aurora af Helsingborg 1992.jpgby Cavernia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- To get around zealand without a carLokaltog and S-train line A at Hillerød Station.jpgby Leif Jørgensen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Klint guideMøns Klint.1.JPGby Erik Christensen, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Klint unesco guide, KlintStevns Klint chalk cliffs 1.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Time to visit east denmarkAutumn Sky (8033662718).jpgby Martin Nikolaj Christensen, CC BY 2.0
- To stay in east denmarkHotel Marienlyst (Helsingør).jpgby EHRENBERG Kommunikation, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Denmark in winterKronborg night.jpgby DanNav, CC BY-SA 3.0
- And manor houses south zealandGavnø Slot 1.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Small islandsSømose, Nekselø, Danmark.jpgby Bob Collowan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- HelsingborgHelsingborg Kärnan 2.JPGby Zairon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- And louisiana2026 Louisiana Museum of Modern Art 1.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- RoskildeRoskilde Cathedral from harbour.JPGby Till Niermann, CC BY-SA 3.0
- And fredensborgFredensborg Slot 126.JPGby Chin tin tin, CC BY 3.0
- KlintMøns Klint 2 (Nylands Nakke).jpgby Bob Collowan, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Klint and kogeStevns Klint chalk cliffs 4.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- CathedralRoskilde Cathedral aerial.jpgby CucombreLibre, CC BY 2.0
- Ship museumView of Viking Ship Museum from Roskilde Fjord.jpgby Jami430, CC BY-SA 4.0
- CastleKronborg April 2026 11.jpgby ArildV, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museum of denmarkMaritime Museum of Denmark 07.jpgby Sintakso, CC0
- MuseumOutside Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.jpgby Lars Plougmann, CC BY-SA 2.0
- HarbourGilleleje Harbour.jpgby Ampo2020, CC BY-SA 4.0
- BeachHornbæk Beach.jpgby Guillaume Baviere, CC BY 2.0
- HegnTroldeskoven-feb-2009.JPGby Ktp72, CC BY-SA 3.0
- CastleFrederiksborg Castle and boat crop.jpgby Casper Moller, CC BY 2.0
- PalaceDenmark 0448 - Fredensborg Palace (4010078474).jpgby Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0
- VejrhojVejrhøj in summer.jpgby Thue, CC0
- KlintMøns Klint chalk cliffs 3.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- LiselundLiselund Gammel Slot from SW.JPGby Ipigott, Public domain
- StegeStegelakeside.jpgby Sandpiper, Public domain
- ChurchElmelunde Kirke sydvest.JPGby Lisachr42, CC0
- Old churchHøjerup Gamle Kirke Stevns 1.jpgby kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- War museum stevnsfortUnderground passage, Stevnsfort Cold War Museum, Denmark-4845.jpgby Slaunger, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Old townKøge - statue af Frederik 7. - Torvet.jpgby Hubertus45, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Abbey churchSorø Klosterkirke.jpgby Toxophilus, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Viking fortressTrelleborg, FM111031.jpgby Logicnet.dk, CC BY-SA 4.0
- TowerGåsetårnet 2021 03.jpgby Leif Jørgensen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Safari parkKnuthenborg Safaripark - en zebra.JPGby Hubertus45, CC BY-SA 3.0
- BeachMarielyst.jpgby Alex2222, CC BY-SA 3.0
- CentreTrebuchets at Middelaldercentret, 2014.JPGby Toxophilus, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bendts churchSankt Bendts Kirke.jpgby Orf3us, CC BY 3.0
- SakskobingSakskøbing - Vandtårnet Saksine.JPGby Hubertus45, CC BY-SA 3.0
- PolakkasernenPolakkasernen forfra.jpgby Økonom, CC BY-SA 4.0
Start with an area
Pick a direction out of København H, then a place to stay and the sights on the way.
Read next
When to go, day trips from the city and where to base yourself.
- Best Time to Visit East Denmark: Weather, Daylight and Closures by MonthWhen to visit Zealand and its islands: DMI climate normals, daylight, sea temperature, festivals and when beaches, buses and visitor centres open or close.
- Day Trips from Copenhagen: 6 by Train, With Real Journey TimesSix day trips from Copenhagen into East Denmark by train and bus: castles, Viking ships, two chalk cliffs and Sweden, with journey times and winter closures.
- Where to Stay in East Denmark: The Best Bases on Zealand and MønWhere to stay outside Copenhagen: Helsingør, the North Zealand coast, Roskilde, Stege on Møn, Stevns and Odsherred compared by train, season and type of stay.
