North along the Øresund coast to Elsinore, then across the strait to Sweden. The DSB coastal train to Helsingør takes 45 minutes through the prosperous northern Copenhagen suburbs; the Scandlines ferry to Helsingborg takes 20 minutes across the 4.2-kilometre strait that has been crossed continuously since the 14th century. Helsingborg to Malmö by regional train is 50 minutes. The return from Malmö to Copenhagen Airport is 20 minutes direct on the Øresundståg.
Getting There
DSB coastal train from Copenhagen Central to Helsingør: 45 minutes, running north through Charlottenlund, Klampenborg, Humlebæk, and the fishing villages of the northern Øresund coast. Trains run frequently. At Humlebæk, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is visible from the train - a major art institution in a converted villa above the strait, worth a half-day detour (entry approximately DKK 185/€25; the sculpture park and garden paths are flat).
Nights One and Two: Helsingør
Helsingør (Elsinore in the Anglicised form Shakespeare chose for Hamlet) is a town of 45,000 built around its ferry terminal and the great maritime fortress that controlled the Øresund toll from 1429 to 1857. The town is flat at harbour level; the walk from the station to Kronborg Castle is 10 minutes along level ground.
Kronborg Slot (UNESCO World Heritage Site, entry approximately DKK 135/€18) was built by Frederick II between 1574 and 1585. The great hall, at 62 metres the largest in northern Europe at the time of construction, is the set piece. The casements (vaulted underground passages where Holger Danske, the mythological Danish hero, is said to sleep until Denmark needs him) are the atmospheric surprise. The castle grounds and ramparts are level; internal staircases between floors are manageable at Day Two recovery pace. The view from the ramparts across the strait to Sweden - 4.2 kilometres of water, Sweden sharp and close on clear May days - is one of the better views in Denmark.
Shakespeare had never been to Elsinore; he borrowed the Danish setting from saga traditions available in London. The castle has leaned into the Hamlet association with comfortable confidence.
The Kulturvaerftet (Culture Yard), in the converted 19th-century shipyard buildings adjacent to the castle, houses the M/S Museet for Søfart maritime museum (entry approximately DKK 130/€18) - built in the dry dock of the original shipyard, the dock walls visible through glass. A Bjarke Ingels Group building from 2013. The exhibition is flat throughout.
The old town between the castle and the station has half-timbered houses on cobbled streets and the 15th-century Church of Saint Olaf. In May, with the Øresund visible at the end of every cross-street, the town has an openness that summer crowding partly obscures.
May in Helsingør: 12-16°C, sea breeze keeping it fresh. The Hamlet Festival (performances in the Kronborg courtyard) runs in August - May is before it, the castle accessible without performance season crowds.
Where to stay: Hotel Hamlet on Bramstraede, short walk from the castle. Marienlyst Strandhotel on the beach north of the castle is the sea-facing alternative.
Where to eat: Madame Sprunck in the old town: traditional Danish cooking; the aebleskiver (round Danish pancakes with jam and powdered sugar) at weekend breakfast are the correct start to a May morning.
Nights Three and Four: Malmö
The Scandlines ferry from Helsingør to Helsingborg runs every 20 minutes, takes 20 minutes, and costs approximately DKK 50/€7 for foot passengers. Helsingborg is the Swedish town directly opposite. The Pågatågen regional train from Helsingborg to Malmö Central takes approximately 50 minutes, running south through the flat Skåne coastal plain.
Malmö is Sweden's third city - 370,000 people on the flat coastal plain of Skåne, which was Danish until 1658 and still has a cultural connection to Copenhagen that the Øresund Bridge (opened 2000) has reinforced. The city is flat and bicycle-saturated.
The Västra Hamnen (Western Harbour) waterfront promenade is the post-marathon recovery walk: a flat, wide path running from Santiago Calatrava's Turning Torso (190 metres, the tallest building in Scandinavia at the time of its completion in 2005) south past the residential harbour district to the Kockums Crane and Scaniaparken on the Øresund shore. The Øresund Bridge is visible from here.
Stortorget (the main square) and Lilla Torg (the smaller medieval square) are the social centre of the old city - flat, lined with 17th-century buildings, outdoor cafe terraces in May. Malmöhus (Malmö Castle, begun 1537, the oldest surviving Renaissance castle in Scandinavia) sits at the northwest edge of the old city behind its moat. Entry approximately SEK 40/€3.50.
May in Malmö: 13-18°C. The Swedish spring cultural calendar includes the approach to Midsommar (late June). Malmö's food reputation has been earned largely since the 2010s; the city is now one of the better food destinations in southern Scandinavia.
Where to stay: Story Hotel Studio Malmö on Gustav Adolfs Torg: design-conscious, city centre. Mayfair Hotel Tunneln on Adelgatan, in a 14th-century building: the historic alternative.
Where to eat: Lyran on Norra Vallgatan: New Nordic-influenced Scandinavian cooking, seasonal and local. For something more casual: Bastard on Master Johansgatan, the charcuterie-focused restaurant that helped make Malmö's food reputation in the 2010s.
Getting to the Airport
The Øresundståg train from Malmö Central to Copenhagen Airport (CPH/Kastrup) runs directly across the Øresund Bridge in 20 minutes. No bus, no transfer, no re-entry to Copenhagen city. One of the most efficient cross-border airport connections in Europe.