North Coast (Zealand)

The municipality runs several tourist information offices in the area, but the general phone number is ☏ +45 48 30 01 74, and emails can be sent to info@visitgribskov.dk:

• 🌍 Gilleleje Tourist Office, Gilleleje Hovedgade 6f, ☏ +45 48 30 01 74. Open year round, but hours vary. 
• 🌍 Helsinge Tourist Information, Gadekærvej 17, ☏ +45 48 71 67 79. Open June-mid August; M-F 10:00-16:00, Sa 10:00-13:00. 
• 🌍 Tisvildeleje Tourist Information, Banevej 8, ☏ +45 48 70 71 06. Year round; M-F 12:30-16:30, Sa 10:00-12:00. 

A quaint seaside town during much of the year, Tisvildeleje bourges with visitors during the summer, and many of the houses outside the small centre, is vacation houses - or sommerhuse in Danish, greatly contributing to a mushrooming population during good weather. When you arrive at the small train station, follow the crowd, and you'll be on the beach after a 300-metre walk, it's kid-friendly, and there are lifeguards stationed during bathing season. If you head northwest along the beach, you'll reach Helenekilde, one of the country's most famous springs, legend has it that it can cure incurable diseases; if you draw water from the spring on St. Johns eve, and find the two boulders leaning against each other, Helenes tomb (on Sankt Helenevej), lye in grass and drink the wate of life until the red sun rises, you will be cured of your disease. With the coast due north, head west or north if you want to escape the crowd, where Tilvildeleje is bordered by the Tisvilde Hegn forest, it's large and quite nice, a good walk takes you to the Troldeskov or Trolls forest, where gnarled old trees create interesting shapes and figures, it's signposted from the entrance.

• 🌍 Tibirke Kirke, Tibirke Kirkevej 2. build on top of a heathen place of sacrifice from the antiquity, this church is thought to date back to around 1100, though the current church is a patchwork of later additions. The Gothic altar inside the church is from Lübeck, dating back to 1475 and was returned to church after being stored and later restored by the National Museum, it's well worth a look. Also inside there is a Baptismal font presumably from monastery ruins, thought to be very old, it's decorated with several cross of St. George 

Gilleje is the main town on the coast with around 7000 full-year residents, it's an important local fishing harbour, and was indeed founded by fishermen as early as the 16th century, the fishermen are also famous for organising the escape of Danish Jews to neutral Sweden during World War II on the cutters, though unfortunately many were captured during a Gestapo raid, you'll find a few memorials commemorating the tragic night, as well as fishermen who lost their lives hitting sea mines during the crossing, around the town.

You'll usually arrive at the train station which is about 500 m south west of the harbour, and a bit longer from the beach, you'll walk through the nice city centre to get there, which has preserved some of the narrow alleyways and half timbered houses of the original fishing hamlet. The whole place has an aura of sleepy sophistication it's hard to find elsewhere, and Danes have jokingly dubbed the area; the North Zealand Riviera - in fact the great tormented philosopher Søren Kierkegaard used Gilleleje to escape from his world.

The beach is immensely popular in the summer, and locally famous for its white sand - many of the outlying houses are vacation homes, so you can count on the beach being full on weekends (Jun-Aug) if the weather is good. During the season, there is life guards stationed here - if you walk around 1 km north west along the beach, you'll reach Zealand's northernmost point, if you walk around the same distance in the opposite direction, you'll find Nakkehoved Lighthouse, which along with a sister in Sweden, marks the entrance to the Øresund sound.

• 🌍 Gilleleje Museum, Vesterbrogade 56, ☏ +45 48 30 16 31. Sep-May W-F 13:00-16:00, Sa 10:00-14:00; Jun-Aug: W-M 13:00-16:00. A 350-m² museum detailing local history from the antiquity up until today, through archaeological exhibits and recreations of rooms of 19th century businesses and schools. The historical evacuation of the Danish Jews to Sweden, is represented through a fishing boat on the lawn, featuring details on how the Jews were transported. Free. 
• 🌍 Skibshallerne & Det Gamle Hus, Gilleleje Hovedgade 49, ☏ +45 48 30 16 31. Jun-Aug: 13:00-16:00 (closed on Tuesdays). 3 halls with 3 full fishing vessels from the 20th century and exhibits on the history of fishing in the area. Det Gamle Hus right next to the ship halls is a preserved 19th century home. 35 kr. 
• 🌍 Fyrhistorisk Museum på Nakkehoved, Fyrvejen 25 A, ☏ +45 72170240. Mar-Nov: Th-Su 12:00-16:00; Sep-Oct: Tu-Su 11:00-16:00. A small museum portraying the history of the Danish lighthouse service, from the first humble non-electric lighthouses in the 1500' hundreds, up until the automated lighthouses of today. The Lighthouse itself dates back to 1772, and along with another lighthouse in Sweden, marks the entrance to the Øresund strait. DKK 40. 

A small village with less than 1000 permanent residents, but one of the best beaches on the north coast with shallow water and a lifeguard service in season, makes it a very popular destination for day trippers and guests to the vacation homes which stretches 2km inland. The name means "Queens Mill", and dates back to the 16th century, but which mill this name refers to remains uncertain.

• 🌍 Tegners Museum & Strandpark, Museumsvej 19, ☏ +45 49 71 91 77. Tu-Su 12:00-17:00 (Jun-Aug: 09:30-17:00). Rudolph Tegner (1873-1950) was a controversial Danish sculptor with links to the Symbolist movement, and strongly inspired by classic works from Greece and Italy. His works are rather bombastic and monumental, at odds with the normally restrained Danish expression in arts. As the only one in Denmark, the museum was designed by the artist himself, and like many of his works, the museum itself is rather grandiose, but nicely contrasted with the surrounding park, which apart from a number of his sculptures also is a unique natural habitat.
  Next to the museum there is a small cafe (da: traktørsted) where you can get a cup of coffee or a beer. 50 kr. 
• 🌍 Munkeruphus, Munkerup Strandvej 78, ☏ +45 49 71 79 06, kunst@munkeruphus.dk. hour vary. A beautiful mansion from the turn of the last century, which besides hosting various changing art exhibitions, also has a café and sometimes host cultural events. 

While this small village of around 3,500 people, roughly half way between Gilleleje and Elsinore, has more than 500 years of history as a fisheries harbour on its back, there is now little fishing going on, and the village is above all known as popular vacation spot full of day trippers from Copenhagen and many guests in the vacation homes during the summer months. And the old harbour is now a marina for private yachts - this transformation is all mainly thanks to its popular good, sandy, beach that extends on both sides of the harbour. Besides the beach there is not many attractions here, but a small church dating back to 1737, but there are some good strolls around the area to be had, and its also a popular spot for fishing.

• 🌍 Bymuseet Kongensgave, Østergade 55 (Helsinge). hours varies greatly, but W-F 13:00-16:00 is generally a safe bet. A small museum of local history in Helsinge. A small collection of archaeological finds along with interiors from local homes from various times in history. 25 kr (free for children under 18). 
• 🌍 Laugø Smedje, Laugø Byvej 2 (Laugø), ☏ +48 48 79 79 00. An old blacksmith dating back more than 150 years, it's now a living museum with working blacksmiths on select days throughout the year. 25 kr. 
• 🌍 Ramløse Mølle & Håndværksmuseet, Møllelodden 4 (Ramløse), ☏ +45 48 30 16 31. 
• 🌍 Hammermølle, Bøssemagergade 21 (Hellebæk), ☏ +45 49218972. Th-Su 10:00-17:00. Restored watermill with exhibition and workshop 10 kr. 

• 🌍 Bakkefest (Summer festival) (Gilleleje), ☏ +45 48 30 23 50. A 3-day festival with music, amusements, BBQ, drinking and generally just the organisers best shot at summer cosiness (hygge). Tickets can be bought at the entrance for 50 kr per day.