Kronborg, Roskilde and Louisiana by Rental Car, Before or After a Copenhagen Cruise

Three of the four lie north of the city — Louisiana on the coast, Kronborg further up it, Frederiksborg inland at Hillerød.

Roskilde is the odd one out, due west, so it’s a day on its own, not a stop on the loop.

Our routing measured each one from the quay and back, not between them. Plan the northern loop with your phone’s map, not our table.

Kronborg opens daily 10 AM to 5 PM from Mar 28 to Oct 31; adults pay DKK 150 (DKK 135 online), and children go free. That’s about US$25 at the door or US$20 online.

Public parking is on Nordhavnsvej, about a five-minute walk, at a fee the castle doesn’t print; accessible parking is inside the grounds. Budget for it, though we can’t tell you how much.

Arrive before midday in summer — the castle says that’s when the car park tends to fill.

The drive is 30.1 miles (48.4 km) each way, about 47 minutes on empty roads, our routing.

The coast line from København H takes about 46 minutes, every 20 minutes or so, then a 10-minute walk.

We couldn’t read the train fare, so we won’t say which is cheaper for one person. With a family the car gains ground — kids get into the castle free, but each one still rides the train.

From Nov 1 to Dec 30 it closes on Mondays and shuts at 4 PM on weekdays, 5 PM at weekends, per the castle. Check the day before a November cruise.

The Viking Ship Museum, at Vindeboder 12 in Roskilde, opens 10 to 5 until Oct 18 and 10 to 4 from Oct 19; adults pay DKK 165 in summer and DKK 130 in winter, under-18s nothing.

In dollars, about US$25 for a summer ticket and US$20 in winter — two adults in October pay DKK 330 before the switch, our arithmetic.

It has “a large, free car park by the Museum Island”. Free parking settles most of the car-or-train argument.

The drive is 30.8 miles (49.6 km) from the quay — about 47 minutes by our routing, the same as Kronborg.

By train, regional and InterCity services stop at Roskilde, then bus 203 or a 20- to 25-minute walk.

Go on a weekday morning if you can — winter closing at 4 PM leaves a short afternoon.

Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød opens every day, Mondays too, 10 AM to 5 PM; its page printed no ticket price and no parking details, and several state rooms are shut Oct 15–31 for Christmas preparations.

We won’t guess at a ticket price. Ring the museum on +45 48 26 04 39 or check its booking page before you set off.

It’s 27.4 miles (44.1 km) from Oceankaj, about 43 minutes, the shortest of the castle drives.

Paired with Kronborg it makes a full northern day — or pair it with Louisiana on any day but Monday.

Louisiana, at Gl. Strandvej 13 in Humlebæk, opens Tuesday to Friday 11 AM to 10 PM and weekends 11 to 6; it’s closed on Mondays.

There’s a free car park outside the main entrance, per the museum’s getting-here page, which also confirms the Gl. Strandvej address.

Louisiana says it’s 25 miles north of Copenhagen. From the quay our routing gives 25.0 miles (40.3 km), about 38 minutes.

The train from Central Station takes about 40 minutes to Humlebæk, then a 10- to 15-minute walk.

Louisiana charges DKK 145 (about US$20) for adults and DKK 130 for students, and nothing under 18, per the museum on Oct 5, 2026. The free car park is the only other cost we found.

A Monday disembark rules it out — swap in Frederiksborg that day.

Denmark has environmental zones (miljøzoner) in Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg.

Diesel cars and minibuses need a particle filter or at least the Euro 5 standard, and a car that breaks the rule is fined DKK 1,500 — about US$225.

The zone site doesn’t mention petrol cars at all, so we read the rules as aimed at diesel engines, not petrol ones.

A Danish-registered rental diesel that meets Euro 5 complies; the separate rules for foreign-plated cars don’t apply to it.

We couldn’t find how a zone fine is passed to a renter, or what fee a rental company adds for handling it. Ask at the counter, not afterwards.

We found no toll on the routes north and west of Copenhagen to Kronborg, Roskilde, Frederiksborg or Louisiana. The bridge toll only comes into it if you head for Sweden, and the Malmö page has those prices.

Book a petrol car, or confirm the diesel you’re given is Euro 5 or newer.

The defaults: two adults, one day at our assumed DKK 300 (about US$45), the 60.2-mile round trip and two online tickets.

Before fuel that’s DKK 570, about US$85 — our arithmetic, with tickets of DKK 270 inside it.

Fuel stays at zero until you type a pump price — we couldn’t read an official one for October 2026.

Type a train fare into the comparison row to see where the car stops paying. Add a second stop and it usually doesn’t.

Collect from a city desk on the morning you drive, and return it that evening.

Weekend city counters close at 2 or 3 PM, so a Saturday trip means a morning pickup and, most likely, a key-drop return — the weekend hours are on the hub.

Our dollar conversions use the ECB reference rates for Oct 2, 2026, about 15 US cents per krone, and your bank’s rate won’t match exactly.