Visit Gentofte, originally a small village north of Copenhagen, today one of Denmark's most prosperous areas. There are many green groves and the district offers a royal and international atmosphere with its many embassies and small royal mansions.
Gentofte is built around the magnificent Gentofte Lake, which has been inhabited since the Stone Age. However, Gentofte is first mentioned by name in a letter from Absalon to the bishop of Roskilde in 1186. Gentofte Church was built around the same time, but at that time Gentofte was just a small village. In the 1600s the town had fewer than 500 inhabitants, and was centred around 19 farms.
During the English Wars in 1807, England's firebombs rained down on the city and many of the fragile farms burned, but it wasn't many decades before Gentofte rose from the ashes. Many townspeople, tired of the cramped conditions inside Copenhagen, sought Gentofte's green meadows and forests, and under the motto "Gjentofte, beautifully situated by Gjentofte Lake" and with the establishment of the Northern Railway and the Klampenborg Railway, the village grew to become one of Copenhagen's wealthy suburbs. Today, the district consists mainly of attractive residential areas, including the Ellebækhusene, designed by Arne Jacobsen.
From Gentofte, it is easy to get to the centre of Copenhagen and the other northern suburbs, both by car and by frequent S-train departures from Gentofte Station. It takes just under 20 minutes to take the train from Gentofte to the main station in the centre of Copenhagen.
However, the Gentofte area also offers some of Copenhagen's most famous attractions and rides. Particularly popular, of course, is Dyrehavsbakken with its popular soul and world-famous wooden slide. Bakken, as it is popularly known, is the world's oldest amusement park still in operation.
You can take the playful atmosphere with you from Bakken to Experimentarium. Here, children of all ages can indulge in the museum's scientific experiments in nature and technology in an atmosphere where adults can also learn a lot about science.
And if you want to unwind, you can do so in the green surroundings of the Deer Park with its majestic red deer and the magnificent Hermitage Castle, the old hunting palace of the court. There are also a number of events in the park throughout the year. These include the Hubertus hunt, held on the first Sunday in November, where horsemen race through the beautiful surroundings, and the Erimetagellauf, held on the first Sunday in October, Denmark's most popular fun run. There are also often small theatre performances in the park.
Along the park is Klampenborg Galopbane, known as one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world with the wonderful view over Dyrehaven. You can easily spend a whole day along the track watching the thrilling races from the track's restaurants, bars and picnic area.
If you want to add a historical dimension to your holiday, visit the Open Air Museum, one of the world's largest museums in terms of square metres. Here you can see 50 farms, houses and windmills as they looked when the area was farmland, and take part in some of the everyday activities of the time, such as milking and butter-making.
The area north of Copenhagen is still dominated by the beautiful nature with the Øresund coast and the many lakes. Bellevuestrand is a popular swimming spot, and the boat trip from Lyngby Sø takes you through the lakes and canals in the area.
So bring the whole family and see the wide range of attractions in Gentofte and the rest of the suburbs north of Copenhagen!
