Hotels near Rosenborg Castle and Kongens Have

Rosenborg Castle was built by Christian IV as a summer house in the early 1600s and is a compact Dutch Renaissance building of red brick and copper spires rather than a grand palace. The Danish crown jewels and regalia are in the basement treasury, and the Long Hall upstairs holds the coronation thrones and three life-sized silver lions. It takes about 90 minutes, which makes it one of the more manageable royal sites in Europe.

Kongens Have, the King's Garden, surrounds it and is the oldest royal garden in Denmark and the most used park in the city. The avenues of lime and chestnut turn through the middle of October and the garden is free and open from dawn. This is the best concentration of autumn colour in central Copenhagen and it is a five-minute walk from Norreport.

Pro Tip: Do the garden first and the castle after lunch. Kongens Have in low morning light with the mist still on the lawns is better than anything in the treasury, and the castle queue is shortest in the early afternoon once the morning coach groups have moved on.