Photo Gallery: Denmark's Castle Country

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

One of the most important Renaissance castles in northern Europe, Kronborg sits at Denmark's northern tip—a mere 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) across the water from what once was arch enemy Sweden. Kronborg's main yard, just beyond the mullioned windows, is huge—befitting the grandeur of the castle, which burned down in 1629 and was quickly rebuilt. Today's visitors can tour the palace, visit the Maritime and Trade Museum located on the first floor, and spend some time in the extensive catacombs.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

Ever since it was built in the 1730s, the Eremitage Hunting Lodge has been used for sporting parties by members of the Danish royal family. A fine example of Danish architecture's late baroque period, the lodge sits on a hilltop in Dyrehaven, surrounded by prime hunting land. Its most interesting curiosity—an apparatus designed to hoist a large table from the basement to the dining room so that the king and his company could dine without any interruptions from waiters—was dismantled and removed in the late 1800s because it never quite worked.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, in the town of Humlebaek, is just over 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Copenhagen. Works by Warhol, Picasso, Calder, Lichtenstein, Arp, and other art world luminaries reside here in gracious surroundings. A real treat is to have lunch at one of the Louisiana Cafe's outdoor tables, where you can see across the sound to Sweden. The genesis of the museum's moniker? The popular story says that Alexander Brun, the property's first owner, named it for his three wives: Each was called Louise.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

Waving from the back of a chauffeured car, the Queen of Denmark—along with husband Prince Henrik—leaves the grounds of Fredensborg Castle on the island of Zealand to head south to Copenhagen, where a new baby princess awaits. Fredensborg, the royal family's spring and autumn residence, is routinely used for important state visits. The French-inspired baroque palace was built from 1720 to 1726, at the request of King Frederik IV.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

Dating from the 1720s, King Frederik IV's baroque gardens at Frederiksborg Castle feature boxwood shrubs in the shape of four royal monograms and landscaping borrowed from palace designs in Italy and France. With the fairy-tale turrets of the castle serving as backdrop, the ornate and elaborately pruned plantings seem to bring the past into the present. Completely restored and replanted in the 1990s, the gardens are host to summer concerts. Visitors can take a ferry ride on the surrounding Castle Lake from May through September.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

Denmark's largest island—Zealand—is home to an intimate cultural monument, the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen—aka Isak Dinesen—is best known for her book Out of Africa, based on her years spent as a farmer in Kenya. She was born in Rungstedlund, Denmark, and her childhood home is where she lived after her Africa sojourn, from 1931 until the time of her death in 1962. The house is open to visitors; the land behind it is preserved as a bird sanctuary, honoring Blixen's wishes.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg & Cotton Coulson, Keenpress

The Danish flag flies high above a thatched-roof house in the town of Humlebaek, on the coast of Oresund, a sound that separates Sweden and Denmark. In times past, this part of Denmark's Zealand island was populated by fishermen. Today, the town is considered part of suburban Copenhagen.

Read more about Denmark in "The Long Weekend" in the September 2007 issue of National Geographic Traveler.