Far from being frozen in time, however, the palace is very much alive and in touch with the current times. It’s the most used residence of the Danish royal family and the site of important state and diplomatic visits to Denmark. While the interior of the palace is inaccessible (it’s someone’s home after all), large parts of the castle grounds are open to the public. The massive palace garden has recently undergone extensive restorations and has been awarded “The European Heritage Award” for exceptional preservation of cultural heritage.
#2: The local atmosphere and speciality shops
Fredensborg is also home to quite a few unique speciality shops, many of them owned and run by locals, with a very different feel from the hustle and bustle found in Copenhagen’s shopping districts. It’s quite likely you’ll find the owner him- or herself behind the cash register or serving you food and drinks.
One such place is Country Market, a combined café and deli store with all manner of local and regional products and produces - from venison from the surrounding forests to award-winning, locally distilled gin. Founded by Marianne Holst, a former business leader and entrepreneur who said goodbye to corporate life back in 2019, Country Market provides a display window for over a dozen artisan food producers from North Zealand.