Charlottenlund offers several distinct reasons to stay: the beach park, the old oak forest, historic architecture, art and harness racing. You can choose what to focus on depending on whether you are looking for time by the water, paths through greenery or a particular cultural or event theme. Charlottenlund Beach Park has been a public park since 1932.

Beach Park: Design and Getting Around

Charlottenlund Beach Park covers about 13 hectares and stretches for about 650 metres. The beach has fine sand; the park areas consist mostly of lawns and large trees. This means the beach and green spaces are set within an extensive park. There is public transport on Strandvejen by the park, as well as marked parking spaces along the road. More parking is available at the southern and northern ends of the park.

The bathing water quality also comes with a specific time frame: in 2024, it was rated “excellent”, based on data from 2021 to 2024. If the rating is important to your plans, bear this period in mind.

Charlottenlund Skov: Forest Paths and Getting Around

Charlottenlund Skov consists mainly of old oak forest, with about 300 ancient oak trees. An official walking route passes through the forest and the castle park; it is about 5 kilometres long. There are also 30 orienteering markers in the forest, as well as 11 maps showing routes of different levels of difficulty and lengths. This means that both a named route and mapped routes of varying lengths and difficulty levels are key options for finding your way around.

Accessibility is also relevant for the paths in Charlottenlund Skov: they are suitable for people with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users. This information applies to the paths in the forest. It can help you consider the forest paths as a distinct part of your plans, rather than assuming that one route represents all activities in Charlottenlund.

Castle, Fort and Botanical History

Charlottenlund Palace was originally built as a Baroque palace and later converted into the French Renaissance château seen today. Its history of construction therefore encompasses two distinct designs: the original Baroque complex and the later form the palace has today.

Another historical trail leads to Charlottenlund Fort. It was built between 1883 and 1887 as part of the fortifications for Greater Copenhagen and decommissioned in 1932. The Forest Botanical Garden, in turn, was established in 1799 as a small arboretum to support forest botany teaching at the University of Copenhagen. The palace, fort and garden thus represent different themes: architectural change, military history and forest botany education.

Art and Design at Ordrupgaard

In the art park at Ordrupgaard Museum, visitors can touch, climb on, crawl through, play in and dance among contemporary artworks. Admission to the art park is free; individual works may be closed seasonally. This makes the art park different from a purely observational walk: the activities described also include movement and direct interaction with the works.

Finn Juhl’s House is an integrated part of Ordrupgaard Museum. It offers visitors the opportunity to experience Danish design history and an outstanding collection of modernist art in a domestic setting. Those focusing on art and design will therefore find two different perspectives here: contemporary works in the art park and design history in the home setting of the house.

Kayaking, SUP and Harness Racing

At KAYAKOMAT at Charlottenlund Fort, you can rent kayaks and SUP boards through an unstaffed, self-service operation. Bookings are made online; a code for collection is sent by email and SMS. If you plan to rent, check the current booking and collection instructions in advance.

Charlottenlund Travbane, also known as Lunden, is considered the oldest harness racing track in the Nordic region. In addition to major races, it hosts regular race days featuring harness and Monté races. The Danish Trotting Derby takes place at Charlottenlund Travbane on the last weekend of August. If a race is the reason for your trip, check the dates in advance.

Discover more destinations: Klampenborg, Gentofte, Hellerup.

Go to the main travel overview: Gentofte.