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Daily: April-Oct 10am-5pm; Nov-March 11am-3pm; 45kr; www.frederiksborgmuseet.dk . Hillerød S-Tog, and then bus #701, #702 or a twenty-minute walk. The town of Hillerød is half an hour by train from Helsingør and a similar distance from Copenhagen. Here is a castle, Frederiksborg Slot , which easily pushes the more famous Kronborg into second place. Lying decorously across three small islands within an artificial lake, it was originally the home of Frederik II and birthplace of his son Christian IV, who, at the turn of the seventeenth century, began rebuilding the castle in an unorthodox Dutch Renaissance style. It's the unusual aspects of the design - a prolific use of towers and spires, Gothic arches and flowery window ornamentation - that still stand out, despite the changes wrought by fire and restoration.
The Hillerød tourist office is at Slotsgade 52 (June-Aug Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-5pm; Sept-May Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 10am-1pm; tel 42 26 28 52).
You can see the exterior of the castle for free simply by walking through the main gates, across the seventeenth-century S-shaped bridge, and into the central courtyard. Since 1882, the interior has functioned as a museum of Danish history , largely funded by the Carlsberg brewery magnate Carl Jacobsen in an attempt to create a Danish Versailles, and to heighten the nation's sense of history and cultural development. It's a good idea to buy the illustrated guide (25kr) to the museum, since without it the contents of the sixty-odd rooms are barely comprehensible. Many of the rooms are surprisingly free of furniture and household objects, and attention is drawn to the ranks of portraits along the walls - a motley crew of flat-faced kings and thin consorts who between them ruled and misruled Denmark for centuries, giving way in later rooms to politicians, scientists and writers. Two rooms deserve special mention. The chapel , where Denmark's monarchs were crowned between 1671 and 1840, is exquisite, its vaults, pillars and arches gilded and embellished, and the contrasting black marble of the gallery riddled with gold lettering. The shields, in tiered rows around the chapel, are those of the knights of the Order of the Elephant, who sat with the king in the late seventeenth century. The Great Hall , above the chapel, is a reconstruction, but this doesn't detract from its beauty. It's bare but for the staggering wall and ceiling decorations: tapestries, wall reliefs, portraits and a glistening black marble fireplace. In Christian IV's day the hall was a ballroom, and the polished floor still tempts you to some fancy footwork as you slide up and down its length.
There's a great restaurant in one of the castle gatehouses, Slotsherrens Kro (April-Oct) which serves fantastic smørrebrød for about 70kr a piece - try the air-dried beef and fresh horseradish.
Away from the often crowded interior, the gardens , on the far side of the lake, have some photogenic views of the castle from their stepped terraces and are a good spot for a rest. The quickest way to them is through the narrow Mint Gate to the left of the main castle building, which adjoins a roofed-in bridge leading to the King's Wing. In summer you can also cross the lake on the hourly M/F Frederiksborg ferry (May-Sept daily). Though Frederiksborg is the main reason to come to Hillerød, while here you could also visit the Money Historical Museum (open during banking hours; free) at Slotsgade 16-18. During the reigns of Frederik II and Christian IV, all Danish coins were minted in Hillerød. Besides samples of these, the place displays currencies from all over the world.
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