Denmark
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
7,031km²
Area
961km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
124m
Highest point
Gyldenløves Høj
2,302,074
People
18°C
Warmest sea
August
1km
To the mainland
When to go to Zealand
Best to visit from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (18 °C) and coolest in February (2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Denmark
Zealand is an island in Denmark. It covers 7,031 km², with 961 km of coastline. Its highest point, Gyldenløves Høj, rises to 124 m. About 2,302,074 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1 km away.
Getting there
- Copenhagen Roskilde Airport (RKE)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at CPH airport (Copenhagen)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKulhuse - Sølager, Hundested-Rørvig Færgefart, Odden - Aarhus, Odden - Ebeltoft
- 1 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Zealand.
- 282beachesBellevue Strand, Vedbæk Sydstrand, Hellerup Strand and 279 more
- 183viewpointsVeddinge Bakker, Høje Sandbjerg, Bjerget and 180 more
- 5lighthousesOrehoved Fyr, Løserup Fyr, Stevns Fyr and 2 more
- 50ferry terminalsFærgeoverfarten Sølager - Kulhuse, Hundested-Rørvig, Molslinjen Odden and 47 more
- 84marinasSvanemøllehavnen, Kalkbrænderihavnen, Stubbekøbing and 81 more
- 334named peaksGyldenløveshøj, Kobanke, Højbjerg and 331 more
- 1waterfallsKildegrotten
- 45castles and fortsTinghøj Batteri, Charlottenlund Fort, Lyngbyfortet and 42 more
- 4,615ruins and archaeological sitesHvedshøj, Thorsbjerghøj, Bukketornehøj and 4,612 more
- 2dive centresDykkercentret
- 3surf spotsVeddelev Surfklub, Sydhavnens Windsurfer Club
- 245waymarked walking routesSydsjællandsleden, DTU løberute, European long distance path E6 - part Denmark and 242 more
- 364campsitesRoskilde Camping, Landgangsstedet Åsevang, Hørhavegaard teltplads and 361 more
- 383hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 3,038restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Zealand in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Zealand, each with its own numbers.
30beaches and covesCoastya
66mountainsPeakyas
35lakesLakeyas
Highest point
126m
Gyldenløves Høj
according to Peakyas
Largest lake
37.7km²
Arresø
6 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
38m
Furesø
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
24.9°C
Gentofte Lake
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
18.5°C
Solbakken Naturistcamping - beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
30 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Copencabana17.9°C
- Bellevue17.9°C
- Charlottenlund Søbad17.9°C
- Næsbystrand18.1°C
- Gisseløre Sand18.1°C
- Solbakken Naturistcamping - beach18.5°C
- Dalbystrand18.1°C
- Bildsøstrand18.1°C
22 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
66 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Gyldenløves Høj126m
- Kobanke123m
- Lindebjerg86m
- Oxbjerget40m
- Klippinge Bjerge40m
- Vejrhøj
- Esterhøj
- Vågehøj
58 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
35 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Arresø6 m deep37.7km²
- Lake Esrum22 m deep16.1km²
- Tissø14 m deep11.9km²
- Furesø38 m deep8.5km²
- Sjælsø2.5km²
- Lake Bagsværd4 m deep1.1km²
- Farum Sø0.95km²
- The Lakes, Copenhagen0.48km²
27 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 26 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 90 %0–50 m
- 10 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Copenhagen1,153,615 people
- Frederiksberg95,029 people
- Hvidovre53,527 people
- Klinteby Frihed53,443 people
- Avedøre53,443 people
- Roskilde51,916 people
- Hørsholm47,680 people
- Greve47,671 people
- Valby46,161 people
- Næstved44,331 people
- Rødovre40,652 people
- Charlottenlund40,000 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Night low (°C) | 0 | -1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Sea (°C) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 48 | 42 | 35 | 48 | 68 | 70 | 82 | 55 | 69 | 61 | 63 |
| Wet days | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 0.4 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 24 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 23 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +2.3 | +2.7 | +2.5 | +2.2 | +0.5 | +1.4 | ±0.0 | +1.2 | +1.4 | +1.5 | +2.0 | +1.8 |
| 2021 | +1.3 | −0.2 | +0.4 | +0.5 | −0.5 | +1.5 | +2.4 | ±0.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +0.9 |
| 2022 | +1.2 | +2.0 | +1.9 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +0.6 | −0.3 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.9 | +0.8 |
| 2023 | +2.3 | +1.5 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +0.3 | +1.7 | ±0.0 | −0.5 | +2.1 | +1.2 | +0.5 | ±0.0 |
| 2024 | +0.2 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +2.8 | +1.8 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +1.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Sweden
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q25535) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
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canyons
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