Visit the Frederiksberg Gardens and see the Frederiksberg Palace
For centuries, the Frederiksberg Gardens have been a favorite outing spot for Copenhageners but also tourists. Many bring their picnic baskets for lunch or chill on the grass. And the best part is that you will find the Copenhagen Zoo on the northernmost end of the gardens.
The Frederiksberg Gardens are one of Copenhagen’s largest and most attractive green spaces. It is a beautiful waddle around, and there is a lot to see and discover. The gardens feature several lakes, canals, and exotic trees and shrubs.
The gardens are open from 06:00 through 17:00 to 22:00, depending on the season.
A little bit of history about the Frederiksberg Gardens
- The park was landscaped during the reign of King Frederik IV from 1699–1730.
- They were his new summer retreat on high grounds atop Valby Hill.
- The gardens became the king’s favorite place, and he often sailed on the canals and greeted his subjects visiting the garden.
- First, Italy and France inspired the gardens, but later in the 1790s, as fashion changed, the park was adapted into an English landscape garden.
- The general public had access to the grounds, but sailors, dogs, and people in poor clothing or carrying large bundles were turned away by the guard at the park’s sole entrance.
- Not until 1865 did access to the park become unrestricted.
Read also: Discover over 4 000 animals at the Copenhagen Zoo
How to get to Frederiksberg Gardens
There are two metro stations nearby from which you have to waddle a little bit. One is Fasanvej St., where the lines green M1 and yellow M2 go. We also got off at the station. A little further down the same lines, stop at Frederiksberg’s stop.
Or there are buses you can take depending on where you want to get off. For example, you can get off at Frederiksberg Bredegade (Smallegade) bus stop. Check out lines 9A, 31, or 72.
It depends on which side you want to enter the gardens.
You can also take a bus to the front of Copenhagen Zoo, which is adjusted to the gardens. However, if you plan a zoo trip, the garden is wort to waddle around as well.
Waddling around Frederiksberg Gardens
The gardens have much to offer. There is rich fauna and flora, and the gardens will leave an impression on you. We waddled around them on our way to the Copenhagen Zoo and enjoyed every second spent in them.
We saw the Chinese bridge, but unfortunately, it was closed, so we didn’t manage to go to the Chinese Summerhouse. But the bridge was lovely. The Chinese Summerhouse was completed in 1803, and it sits on a small artificial island that you can only access through the bridge. You can see rich Chinese-inspired decorations there.
Another thing that surprised us on our waddle was the Pacifier Tree. It’s a tree covered in pacifiers, and we didn’t know what to think about it. It is clear it’s some kind of tradition, and only later did we find out more.
The Pacifier Tree (or Suttetræet) is part of everyday life, and the one we saw at Frederiksberg Gardens on the northeast path is the “main” one. You can find Pacifier Trees also elsewhere, but this one is the only one marked on Google Maps.
To put it simply, this is the place where the pacifier is offered up to the tree. It is one of the first ritualized rites of passage for children of Denmark. The pacifiers are given to the tree at the moment when parents consider a child too old or overly dependent on the plastic nipple.
Many of the strings or bags of pacifiers have notes attached to them. “Dear Pacifiers, I love you, but now I’m a big girl.”
Each November, when the trees are prepared for winter, the gardeners strip the tree of a year’s worth of pacifiers.
Frederiksberg Palace
The Frederiksberg Palace is a Baroque residence atop Frederiksberg Hill. It was built at the beginning of the 18th century by King Frederik IV.
The palace used to be a residence for the Royal Danish family and had its fair share of drama.
King Christian VII was born at the palace and lived there with his wife, Queen Caroline Mathilde, and her secret lover Johan Friedrich Struensee. Caroline Mathilde’s famous marble bathroom can still be seen in the basement.
The royal family left Frederiksberg Palace in 1852 and have not lived there since.
Then in 1869, the Royal Danish Army Officers Academy moved in and is still there.
If you want to see the palace from the inside, you must book a tour.
- Guided tours in Danish and English on the last Saturday of each month at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. except in July and December.
- Group guided tours all year after 4 p.m. on weekdays.
If you would like to go on a boat and pretend to be the king 😅 for example, Svendsen’s Boat Service (Svendsens Bådfart) will do the rowing for you. Boat tours operate all summer. Or you can also book a boar for a small fee and row yourself.
The gardens offer a few surprises, and although we didn’t even manage to waddle through the whole gardens, the half we did was delightful.
1 thought on “Frederiksberg Gardens ~ Copenhagen”
Comments are closed.