Marguerite Route

Understand

The route can be regarded as the ultimate tour around Denmark. Opened in 1991 and maintained by Naturstyrelsen (governmental nature agency) it has grown in length over the years and as of 2021 the length is 4218 km (some sources give the distance as 3500 km) - surprisingly long given the size of Denmark. It's a circular route, described here from the capital Copenhagen but you can start anywhere along the route. It was opened in 1991 by Queen Margarethe II, and named after her favorite flower and Denmark's unofficial national flower, the ox-eye daisy (leucanthemum vulgare). The symbol of the route is inspired by the gemstone given by future king Frederik IX to his wife Ingrid at their 1935 wedding (they were Queen Margarethe's parents). Designed as a car route, the Marguerite Route can be traveled by car, motorcycle, bike or on foot. Doing the whole journey would be a major undertaking even by motorized vehicle given there are so many things to see. With the notable exception of the Storebælt bridge, the itinerary follows minor roads zig-zagging through the landscape.

Get in

You can start the itinerary anywhere along the way, and as such there are many ways for getting in. Copenhagen is accessible by the Øresund bridge and through the airport. Ferries from Germany take you to Gedser on Falster and Rødbyhavn on Lolland - not on the Marguerite Route but not far from it. The route goes along the land border with Germany and you can start your journey there. Billund has an airport (Denmark's second busiest) with a decent number of international flights and car rental agencies. In northern Jutland, there are ferries from Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland to Hirtshals, and from Norway and Sweden to Frederikshavn. Aalborg and Aarhus, while large cities, do have airports but with a moderate number of international flights. Finally Elsinore is a short ferry hop across from Helsingborg in Sweden.

Go

As this is a circular route, it doesn't have a defined start or end point and you can travel it in either direction. Below it is described going clockwise from the capital Copenhagen.

Copenhagen and Southern Zealand In 1 Copenhagen the route passes near some really grand attractions in the Inner City; the royal Amalienborg Palace, the Nyhavn Canal you can see on all tourist brochures, and Christiansborg which houses the parliament. From there, the route goes through Christianshavn to the island of Amager where it circulates Copenhagen Airport and you can see the Øresund bridge leading to Sweden. Back on Zealand proper, the route then goes through Vesterbro, Frederiksberg and Copenhagen's western suburbs known as Vestegnen before continuing to the historical city of 2 Roskilde. The route goes west a little bit until Kirke Hvalsø, where it heads back towards the coast and the southern part of 3 Køge, then goes south towards the world heritage listed 4 Stevns Cliff. From there the route turns inland past 5 Faxe and 6 Haslev to 7 Næstved and back again to 8 Præstø on the east coast and on to Kalvehave and the bridge leading to the island of Møn.

Møn to Lolland On 9 Møn, the route goes to the main town of Stege, almost to the eastern tip of the island, then back along a parallel route and on to the next small island, 10 Bogø. From there, a short ferry takes you to the island of Falster - a bigger island than the last two with a shape somewhat similar to the one of South America. The ferry lands in 11 Stubbekøbing, and the route goes along the island's east coast for a bit, then turns west to 12 Nykøbing Falster and across a bridge to the still larger island of Lolland. On Lolland, the route first goes to 13 Nysted on the south coast, the zig-zags northwest to 14 Maribo in the middle of the island. Then it goes past smaller localties in the north of the island, continuing to the 15 Tårs ferry pier.

Langeland to Kruså

The ferry takes you to 16 Spodsbjerg on the "long island" of Langeland, part of the South Funen Archipelago. The route goes north for a bit to Tranekær, before heading back to 17 Rudkøbing, the main city of Langeland. Here the route forks in two