Copenhagen, Denmark
The quirky capital of Denmark provides an endless stream of pastries.
GO. Nothing fancy about this one - Easyjet from Manchester. The only unusual part for us is that it wasn’t an early morning flight, so we were able to enjoy the trip through the airport without having to drag ourselves out of bed!
Getting around in Copenhagen is really easy. From the airport the M2 metro runs direct into the city centre. A Copenhagen City pass for the central area covers transport to and from the airport and can be bought on the DOT App - this only costs about €10 a day or less when bought for multiple days. The trains run every 7-10 minutes so this is a very reliable way of getting into the city and then getting around - the pass covers bus and suburban trains as well. Copenhagen is a very walkable city - but we thought the pass was still worth it especially at this good price. Plus, like some of the Paris Metro, you can sit right at the front of the train and pretend to drive it!
STAY. Food - especially eating out - in Denmark is expensive - so we opted for an apartment which allowed us to prepare food and take simple breakfasts from local bakeries. Numa Norrebro was a great base for our stay, located in the trendy Norrebro district with plentiful bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. The location is perfect - 5 minutes from the Norrebro station which is served by the City circle line, suburban trains and also busses direct to the centre of the City.
Numa was fantastic - great communication, simple check in processes and well equipped apartments with everything needed for cooking. We will definitely look at this brand again in other cities.
EAT. Copenhagen is expensive, there is no getting away from this. On average main courses are £15-£25, beers between £6-8 a pint and soft drinks such as apple juice £5. We always had a supply of water on hand and ice tea (B’s favourite) in bottles in the bag.
Restaurant Karla. Highly recommended for a taste of genuine Danish food, Karla had the feel of a traditional restaurant. From roast pork to traditional smørrebrød to danish tasting platters, accompanied by a cosy atmosphere and friendly service, Karla was a great place to stop for lunch. The kids menu is good - B loved the roast pork - and there are good open sandwich options at lunch which can make this a reasonably priced option.
Street Hog Dogs. Hot dog carts and stands are found all around the city, serving a range of different hot dogs. Traditional toppings include tomato ketchup, mustard, crispy onions and pickled cucumber. Our favourite was Kobenhavner Grillen which was found in the excellent Tivoli Food Hall. Whilst this can be accessed from Tivoli Garden, it is also open to those without tickets through an entrance near the main train station.
Hallernes Smørrebrød. We visited Hallernes in both Tivoli Food Hall and Torvehallerne. One of the most famous of the Smørrebrød places, the open sandwiches here are fantastic. Favourites for us were the roast pork, roast beef and potato sandwiches - they look small but they are super filling as well as being tasty.
Strangas Gyros. Another Tivoli Food Hall stand, nothing more to say apart from a hugely tasty gyros! Zocalo. Also located in the Tivoli Food Hall, tasty tacos and burritos with good kids portions.
Bagt Bakery. Quick admission - I made an ordering error here and ended up with an £8 strip of hardcore cinnamon and custard pastry… This was right across the road from our apartment, so on the first morning we popped to get some take out breakfast items. The bread and pastries are so fresh and hugely tasty - and we were still eating the Kanelstang three days later.
Warpigs Brewpub. Mikkeler and Warpigs have teamed up here to land a canteen style beer hall serving up around 20 craft beers and some first class BBQ, from ribs to chicken wings to pulled pork, to deeply flavoured BBQ beans. The ribs appeared from a drawer and were huge and meaty, slices of a massive rack and served on a tray.
Ismageriet. Whilst in Warpigs there was a stream of amazing looking ice creams being carried back past the window - do we ventured a bit further down the row of units to find a great ice cream parlour. Around 25 flavours at pretty standard prices - but most of all really really tasty ice cream. This are has a lot of small bars, restaurants and cafés and is definitely worth a visit.
Cakenhagen. There’s a Cakenhagen inside Tivoli Gardens, but we were too busy trying the food hall stands and going round and round on the rides to sit down for cake. Outside there’s a separate branch attached to the Nimb Hotel, which serves excellent (but expensive) cakes and great hot chocolate and coffee.
DO. It is fair to say that three days is not enough to cover Copenhagen fully, and we could have easily filled a week. We didn’t really get to some of the major attractions such as indoor museums and the Zoo - and there are also other attractions within short train rides of the City which we did not have time for. However - we did a lot, averaging about 25,000 steps a day in a City which is very walkable.
Tivoli Gardens. So first up, this theme park comes at a premium - about £50 a head for everyone over 7 years old - but we felt it was completely worth it. Appreciating that we were there outside of Danish holidays - but during our Easter holidays - we never queued for more than 5 minutes to get on a ride. The rides are all limited by height, despite the age based prices, with limits at 120cm, 130cm, 132cm and 140cm. Unfortunately B came in at an agonising 129cm and they are quite militant with the height restrictions here - however the majority of the 130cm limit rides allow children over 110 on with an adult. There were only 3 or 4 rides that he couldn’t go on.
Best rides? We enjoyed the old style rollercoaster that has a ‘driver’ - which you could essentially go round and round on given the short queues. There was a real ‘upside downer’ which children over 120cm can go on which was great, and the fun house was a hit with B. Then you have all the usual rides - probably around 15-20 in total to go at, and then pick your favourites, rinse and repeat for 10 hours! Food on park is expensive so we’d recommend diving into the Tivoli Food Hall where prices are more standard for the City.
Canal and River Cruise. The main cruise company appears to be Stromma - with prices starting from around £20 a head for a canal and river tour. This does feel pretty steep - so we ventured down the Nyhaven dock slightly to the big sign saying “canal tours 60KR" - about £7. Tihs company was Nettobadene - a little bit more rustic but we all go on an hour’s tour for the price on one Stromma ticket. The guide on this boat wasn’t great - although slightly amusing as he kept forgetting his German words, apologising for being tired, and gave some interesting facts about the City - and this may have been what sets the tours apart. However, we got out on the canals and river, saw parts of the City we had not seen, and it did the trick. A word of warning though - it was cold on the boat, and there’s nowhere near as many landmarks to see as the likes of an Amsterdam boat tour.
Amalienborg and Changing of the Guard. The residence of the Danish Royal Family, whilst Amalienborg doesn’t have the grandeur of a Buckingham Palace, it does have a good Changing of the Guard ceremony. At 12 noon most days (check the website), the band marches on and the guards change in a short ceremony. A nice way of seeing this picturesque square with a bit of action in it.
Freetown Christiania. We’re still unsure what to make of this “intentional community and anarchist commune” in the heart of Copenhagen. It is definitely worth a visit as something quite unique, especially if you read a bit of the history prior. The commune and the City are trying to clean up the reputation of “Pusher Street”, which until 2024 was renowned as a place to buy and sell hard drugs. Whilst there was still a seedy air about this street, and a distinct waft of weed surrounding the whole place, these efforts do seem to be working. It was an interesting place to wander around and look in some of the gift shops - and there are a few bars and cafes which are nice enough for a pit stop.
Botanical Gardens. Part of the Danish Natural History Museum, the Botanical Gardens were a nice start to our Monday morning - a nice walk to dust off the travel cobwebs and orientate in the City. The gardens contain the Palm and Butterfly House. The Palm, Butterfly and Cactus houses can all be accessed for approximately £8 per adult on one ticket. This was definitely worth a visit, especially if you like the natural world. We spent around an hour wandering through the wet and dry zones of the Palm House, and there’s a 12m high platform you can ascend to take a view of the huge palms from above. The Butterfly House has a range of different species who are not shy of humans and you’ll be able to see the creatures up close as they fly around the home. Check the website as the houses appear closed on a Monday, like some other museums in Copenhagen - we came back a couple of days later to explore more.
Rosenburg Castle and Gardens. Located right next to the Botanical Gardens, we wandered into here on our way back towards the city - one of the benefits of not always looking for the nearest transport stop and exploring on foot. The gardens (Kongens Have - the King’s Garden) are pleasant, with places to sit and plenty of walkers - however the main event is the imposing castle at one end of them. We did not go into the castle itself, however you can tour and see the Crown Jewels of Denmark, but a stroll around the outside made for a nice 20 minutes.
Kastellet. This is a star shaped 17th Century fortress located on the edge of the City centre. A walking route to the Little Mermaid status takes you through or round Kastellet. It is a working military base and guarded as such - however is publically accessible and a great way to get from the centre to see the Little Mermaid - you can then walk back along the river front.
The Little Mermaid. Not really sure what to say about this - it’s a statue that will be extremely busy with people trying to get a good photograph so be prepared! The statue is based on the 1837 fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen, hence its popularity, and makes a nice photo - although we were lucky to be visiting at a relatively quiet time.
Torvehallerne KBH. Needing something to eat after our walk around the gardens and palm house, we heading to the nearby Torvehallerne KBH near Norreport station. These two halls are full of great places to try different food and drinks - mostly Danish but some international flavours as well. We were happy to find another branch of Hallernes here so sat at the counter to try more fantastic open faced sandwiches. We also grabbed a custard pastry for pudding, and some of the amazing rye bread which got wrapped and stuck in the rucksack for the trip home!
Nyhaven. I guess you could approximate Nyhaven to Las Ramblas in Barcelona - a much photographed and famous street lined with bars and restaurants charging a premium for food and drink. We sat and rested our weary legs for an hour and had one of these said expensive drinks - the premium is not as bad as some cities and the sun, views and atmosphere were lovely. Nyhaven is sitated alongside the dock of the same name, with multi-coloured buildings.
Skaal Pub. On our way to pick up our bags we had 30 mins to kill so dived into this bar on the Kultorvet square near Norreport. I need say no more than it was welcoming, warm, comfy, and had over 40 beers on tap.
Copenhagen was amazing. We only had three days, but did so much - maxed out one day at 35,000 steps and saw a huge amount of the City. Massive thumbs up and a big recommend.