Hillerød is a perfect day trip from Copenhagen.
That’s exactly what we did. On a chilly Saturday in January, we hopped on the A-line S-train (S-tog) from the capital and rode out to this small town that has way more to offer than you’d expect.
Think calm small-town Denmark, a couple of easy local food stops, and one guaranteed highlight: the famous (and deservedly popular) Frederiksborg Castle—with the Museum of National History inside.
Frederiksborg Castle
Frederiksborg Castle is one of those sights around Copenhagen that’s genuinely worth the trip. I won’t go deep into the full history lesson here—when it was built, who built it, what every room is “supposed” to mean. If you want a neat summary, you can find it on Wikipedia or on the castle’s official website.
What matters is this: hundreds of years of Danish history open up in front of you in a way that sometimes makes you feel like you’re walking among kings—or like you might be one yourself.
In a lot of countries, castle collections can feel somewhat incomplete because treasures were looted over the centuries, or you end up looking at objects that were actually looted from somewhere else. Here, you get the opposite feeling. Denmark clearly didn’t get shaken up in quite the same way by history’s storms.
You can visit the castle in a state that feels original (more precisely: largely restored after the 1859 fire to match the original), and just soak it in—the grand halls, the chapel, and all the beautiful objects displayed as part of the Museum of National History that operates inside. Look at the photos—and next time you’re in Copenhagen, make sure you go see Frederiksborg Castle for yourself.
A Walk Around Hillerød
The castle is a little over 1 km from Hillerød train station (the northern terminus of the A-line S-train). So if you come by public transit, you’ll automatically get a quick look at everyday life in this Danish small town—just by walking to and from the castle.
From the station, there are basically two ways to walk to the castle—and on a nicer day, I’d recommend doing one route on the way there and the other route on the way back:
- Through the town center. (Because it was winter and snowy, we did this both ways.)
- Behind the castle, through the beautiful baroque garden, and then through a quieter residential part of Hillerød.
On the way there, we only stopped for photos. This was during one of the coldest stretches of the year in Denmark, and we didn’t want to spend more time outside than necessary. On the way back, though, we took a better look around the center. And since this site is about travel and food, we tried two easy, central places: we ate in one, and in the other we let a slow Danish winter evening settle in with a dessert and a drink.
Our Food Stops in Hillerød
But let’s start with the important part.
You don’t come to Hillerød for the food. That doesn’t mean the restaurants are bad—just that nothing here is really the reason you’d visit. Sorry if I somehow missed a local Michelin-star miracle, but overall, this 30–40k-ish town is about the castle and the museum, not about a big culinary scene.
Still—when you’re here, you’re hungry, and you’re wandering a quiet pedestrian street on a dark winter afternoon… you’ll probably do what we did: stay a bit longer and grab something in town before heading back to Copenhagen.
Slots Arkaderne
First we stumbled into a surprisingly interesting spot. Slots Arkaderne (“Castle Arcades”) is basically a mall that’s special mostly because of its location and layout.
It opens directly off the pedestrian street, and from the outside it looks like just another building in the center. But on this almost empty winter Saturday, it was the only place in town that felt busy. Inside, the whole complex stretches out on a ground level and a basement level and kind of “leaks” out from the center—then continues under the road on the lower level like a widened underground passage filled with shops, and then opens up again a bit further out across two levels.
We headed straight to the food court—because, as I said, you don’t come to Hillerød for the food.
We picked a place called Tacosu+, and from their Asian-inspired selection (with a bit of a taco-sushi vibe), we both went for shrimp fried rice. For a mall meal, it was honestly pretty good—just don’t expect anything life-changing. It did exactly what it needed to do: we weren’t hungry anymore. And yes, it was cheap. By Danish standards, 95 DKK for a filling meal is totally fair.
The dominant flavor in the rice was black pepper, which surprised me at first. But the shrimp was really good and cooked perfectly. I didn’t feel disappointed at all—honestly, I’d come back here anytime if I found myself in Hillerød again.
Cafe Valentin
After our early dinner, we still didn’t feel like going home. So we walked back along the pedestrian street to Cafe Valentin, a place we’d already noticed earlier.
The whole place had a strong 1960s vibe—definitely not in a bad way. That faux-leather + globe-lamp + aluminum-look interior that somehow makes you feel a bit buzzier, even if, in real life, Danish winter makes everything slow and sleepy.
The two screens on the wall showing a burning fireplace obviously killed the 60s vibe completely—but honestly, in the winter cold, the sight of fire was still nice. It added a funny contrast, and overall it just felt good to sit here.
Cafe Valentin is pretty versatile—you can come for just a coffee or a drink, but you can also have dessert or lunch here. We tried a warm apple pie with sweetened sour cream. The flavor was fine, but the crust/base was a little… uncertain, if that makes sense. Not super stable, and it kind of stuck to my mouth. A nice winter-afternoon moment, but out of 5 points I’d give it a 3.5.
The cappuccino we had was very typically Danish: a big drink, not very strong, and definitely not something you’d call Italian-style coffee.
Overall, we liked the atmosphere even with the place being relatively empty. It felt good to sit here for an hour. The food itself, though, is just average—which, again, is kind of the point: you don’t come to Hillerød for the food.
Hillerød and Frederiksborg on a Map
On the map below you’ll find the most important spots in Hillerød. I hope it helps you get oriented and find your way to the castle, and to the pedestrian-street town center.
Hillerød, Denmark
The Hillerød Experience
All in, Hillerød turned into a solid half-day trip from Copenhagen for us—travel time included (about 35–40 minutes by train from the capital). The castle is unforgettable, and I’d recommend it in any season if you’re in Copenhagen and want to see more of Denmark.
Of course, how long your Hillerød day takes depends a lot on how you do museums—how slow you are, how much you like to read, whether you want to linger in front of every painting. In nicer weather, with the gardens and a slower walk around town, Hillerød can easily fill a full day. But if you’re not the type to spend a long time in museums (and you don’t care much about local food stops), you can even fit in another Copenhagen-area sight on the same day.
You won’t go hungry, and we can comfortably recommend the two places we tried. Just don’t expect a life-changing foodie moment—again, that’s not what Hillerød is about. But the Danish vibe often comes through even when you’re simply sitting in a café.
Enjoy Hillerød!
