Helsingør: The Home of Hamlet
On our very short trip to Scandinavia, we decided to deviate from our usual usual big-European-city itinerary and wander into a small town nestled at the Danish–Swedish border. A short train ride from Copenhagen, through stretches of Danish countryside, brought us to the enchanting town of Helsingør.
The main reason for our visit was Kronborg castle, immortalised in literature as Elsinore in William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. Now, I will be honest here. I’ve never actually read Hamlet (or any Shakespeare play cover to cover, for that matter). But that didn’t dull my excitement to visit the iconic fortress.
The air was filled with intrigue as soon as we walked in the castle. We explored the great corridors and halls which held many unread chapters of the Danish history. With heavy clouds, the whole place carried a distinct “Hogwarts-in-autumn” vibe. Mysterious, moody, and magical. I found myself wondering if Shakespeare had ever truly walked these very halls, and if they might have inspired the first seeds of Hamlet into his mind.
Our day at Helsingør unfolded into three truly memorable experiences. The first one was truly fascinating: a group of Danish actors performing scenes from Hamlet in the castle courtyard. Apparently, this is a regular occurrence at the castle, with a posted schedule so visitors can catch a glimpse of literature at Kronborg. We were grateful for two small mercies: that the weather stayed kind and allowed the play to go on uninterrupted, and that we’d done a bit of homework on Hamlet, so we weren’t entirely lost in the drama. The actors were brilliant, and improvised to make the act very interactive and fun for the audience.
We then climbed what felt like a million stairs to reach the very top of the castle. From there, the view stretched out over the quaint little town and across the Øresund Strait, where Denmark meets Sweden. And while this panorama was nice, it wasn’t quite the unique experience I was talking about.
That came next. As we wandered back down, we stumbled upon a series of enormous empty rooms that had been turned into arts and crafts spaces. There were tables full of coloring sheets, paint, and of course, Legos (because Denmark). The Lego corner was packed with kids, so we sat down and spent a quiet afternoon coloring—definitely not something you expect to do in a Danish castle, let alone a UNESCO World Heritage Site! It was such a clever, heartwarming way to use up the empty rooms in the castle. This might actually be one of my favorite travel moments ever!
While Kronborg castle was our main plan, we had one more experience up our sleeves. Helsingør is not just any charming Danish town, but is an eastern port city perched at the narrowest point of the Øresund Strait. Sounds a bit technical, doesn’t it? Here’s the simpler version: hop on a ferry in Helsingør, and in just fifteen minutes you’ll find yourself in Helsingborg. In Sweden! The two towns are separated by just 4 kilometers of water, and of course we couldn’t resist the temptation to cross a border that easily.
And oh, what fun that little adventure turned out to be! The ferry ride gave us some truly unforgettable views of the Kronborg castle. On the ferry, we overheard a Danish woman telling someone that she often made this trip just to get her nails done in Sweden. Apparently, it’s much cheaper there. For her, this international ferry ride was part of her monthly routine! It made us smile, realizing how different and simple life could be on this side of the world.
Helsingborg was cute, with cobblestoned streets and a familiar Scandinavian calm. We wandered through its lanes, climbed up to a small fortress-like monument, and got another little surprise—a little garden at the top, complete with a swing overlooking the city and the Øresund Strait (though maybe not quite all the way back to Denmark). Naturally, we couldn’t resist. We spent a while on that swing, chatting and soaking it all in, before hopping on the next ferry back to Denmark.
What began as a simple plan to explore an old fortress turned into a day of watching literature come alive and sailing across the waters where Denmark kisses Sweden. It was our first encounter with the quiet magic of Scandinavia, and it left us wanting more…