Castles and Palaces in Copenhagen: Rosenborg, Amalienborg, Christiansborg and the Two a Day Out
The castles and palaces in Copenhagen: Rosenborg's crown jewels, Amalienborg's guard, Christiansborg's reception rooms, prices in DKK, winter hours, and Kronborg and Frederiksborg (Oct 2026).
Copenhagen has three royal palaces of its own, a short walk apart in the centre: Rosenborg, Christian IV’s castle in the King’s Garden with the crown jewels in its Treasury; Amalienborg, the royal residence, where the guard changes every day just before noon; and Christiansborg, the palace on Slotsholmen with the Royal Reception Rooms. The two great castles, Kronborg and Frederiksborg, are a day out of the city. If you have time for one palace in town, make it Rosenborg: the ticket is from US$22 an adult on GetYourGuide (checked October 2026), with timed entry, and its calendar is below.
The three palaces in the city
| Palace | What you see | Adult entry, October 2026 | Under 18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rosenborg | Christian IV’s rooms and the Treasury with the crown jewels and regalia | DKK 140 online, 150 at the door | Free, with a ticket |
| Amalienborg Museum | The royal family’s rooms of the last 150 years, in Christian VIII’s Palace | DKK 125 online, 135 at the door | Free |
| Christiansborg | The Royal Reception Rooms, the Royal Kitchen, the Royal Stables and the ruins under the palace | DKK 215 online, 225 at the door, for the Palace Ticket | Free |
Prices are those of the Royal Danish Collection, which runs all three. Its Royal Palace Pass covers Rosenborg, the Amalienborg Museum and Christiansborg for 72 hours from your first visit, at DKK 245 online or 255 at the door: if you will see two of them, it costs less than two tickets.
Rosenborg
Rosenborg began as Christian IV’s pleasure house in his new garden: the garden was laid out from 1606, the first building dates from about 1611, and the castle was finished in 1624. He is the same king who built Frederiksborg and rebuilt Kronborg, and his rooms are kept here. Below them, the Treasury holds the Danish crown jewels, the royal crowns and the regalia.
From 2 November to 23 December 2026 Rosenborg is closed on Mondays and open 10:00 to 16:00 from Tuesday to Sunday. It closes on 24 and 25 December. Under-18s go free but still need a ticket, and the Copenhagen Card is accepted for a free ticket at the desk, though not for booking a time slot online.
Amalienborg
Amalienborg was built from 1750 as the centrepiece of the Frederiksstaden district, four palaces around one square, and it is the royal residence. The changing of the guard happens every day: the parade leaves the Royal Life Guards’ barracks in Gothersgade at 11:27 and marches onto the palace square just before 12:00. Watching it is free. The museum, in Christian VIII’s Palace, shows the royal family’s rooms as they were left. From 1 November to 23 December 2026 it is closed on Mondays and open 10:00 to 16:00 from Tuesday to Sunday.
Christiansborg
The palace on Slotsholmen is the third Christiansborg, built between 1907 and 1928 over the ruins of the castles before it. The royal family uses its Reception Rooms for state occasions, and when they are not in use you can walk through them, the Great Hall with the Queen’s tapestries among them. The Palace Ticket also opens the Royal Kitchen, the Royal Stables and the ruins below. Its winter hours for November 2026 to March 2027 were not posted when we checked in October 2026; in summer 2026 the Reception Rooms, the ruins and the kitchen were open daily from 10:00 to 17:00.
More Around Copenhagen
Other Castle Tours and Tickets
Castle tours, palace tickets and day trips from Copenhagen, with dates and cancellation terms on each listing.
Book a palace in town
Pick by what you want to see:
Rosenborg Castle Entry Ticket
Christian IV's own castle in the King's Garden, and the Treasury beneath it.
Check times →Christiansborg Palace Entry Ticket
The Royal Reception Rooms, the kitchen, the stables and the ruins on one ticket.
See Christiansborg →Amalienborg Museum Entry Ticket
The preserved rooms in Christian VIII's Palace; time it with the noon guard change.
See Amalienborg →Prices, ratings and review counts from our October 2026 data check of GetYourGuide; operators use seasonal pricing, so treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote.
The two castles a day out
The city palaces are royal homes and state rooms. The castles of North Zealand are something else: Frederiksborg, Christian IV’s great Renaissance palace on its lake at Hillerød, and Kronborg, the fortress on the Sound at Helsingør that Shakespeare made Elsinore. Both are about 40 minutes to an hour from Copenhagen Central Station by train, and the castles day takes in both with Roskilde Cathedral in about eight and a half hours. The castles day covers that tour, and tour or train the trip on your own.
How these facts were checked
Written 30 October 2026. Prices, hours, the Royal Palace Pass and the palaces’ dates are from the Royal Danish Collection (denkongeligesamling.dk); the third palace’s building dates also from the Danish royal house (kongehuset.dk), and the changing of the guard from kongehuset.dk; ticket prices, ratings and review counts on GetYourGuide were read in US dollars on 30 October 2026. All read in October 2026.
Rosenborg Castle Entry Ticket
A timed ticket to Rosenborg in the King's Garden: Christian IV's rooms and the Treasury with the Danish crown jewels. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, as listed in October 2026.
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