Last Updated:
This is your comprehensive what to see and eat Copenhagen guide. Prior to visiting this pretty picture city, l would have never considered using the word delightful to describe Copenhagen.
I was convinced l would feel about the city the same way l feel about Amsterdam, a place that certainly did not warm the cockles of my heart like it seems to do for everyone else. I, therefore, tried not to get my hopes up high. Wise move, as l finally get why people go gaga for Copenhagen. It is a unique and yes, delightful city.
What to see and eat Copenhagen guide:
Copenhagen is a gem!:
One of Federico’s oldest friends has resided in Copenhagen off and on for over ten years. At various times, we have talked about visiting but never made it happen. The last time we saw him in Rome, we decided once and for all to visit.
We spent a total of 6 days, five in the city, and one night at a wonderful spa hotel called Kurhotel Skodsborg. It worked out well for us as his friend Daniele was off work for four of those days. It was a fantastic time spent with a local who got to play tourist for a bit. As you can imagine, the boys spent most of their time talking about what else… football ;-).
Copenhagen city hall – another wonderful site on your Copenhagen itinerary.
Where to stay in Copenhagen:
We stayed at a private flat, one of the cleanest we had ever been in. It was on the outskirt of the city, about a 15-20 minute walk to the center. She provided everything including some cold beer that was very welcome after a long trip. It was also quite convenient to the train station.
If you prefer a Copenhagen budget stay, consider the Generator Hostel as it is pocket friendly and after staying at one of their hostels in Sweden, we can recommend it.
For a hotel, our friend always has his friends and family stay at Citizen M Copenhagen hotel. Located in the city center, offering all the amenities such as free WiFi plus gorgeous views of the city from their top floor lobby (called living room).
Our days were spent exploring the city on foot, on the train, and on a cruise that showed us the highlights of the city. I have to say l enjoyed not having anything planned.
What to see in Copenhagen: (9 Best Things To See In Copenhagen)
- Stroget Street
- Copenhagen City Hall
- Nyhavn
- Little Mermaid
- Amalienborg Royal Residence
- Tivoli Gardens
- Paper Island
- Rosenborg Castle
- Christiania
Cruise around Copenhagen:
A fantastic and highly recommended way to see the city. There are 2 different places to catch the ferry. Nyhavn is where we caught ours. There are two companies departing from there. Once costs $12 per person for the hour tour.
Walking just a few feet, we saw that the other company charged $6 for the same one hour cruise, so we were happy. The tour takes you around the city and we saw:
Copenhagen Visit to Nyhavn:
This area is what made me think the city would be Amsterdam 2.0 :-). Instead what we found was a vibrant entertainment district that is clearly a gathering place for all Copenhagen locals and tourists alike, especially when the weather turns beautiful like we were lucky enough to have during our visit.
The canal is lined with bright and colorful townhouses and there is an uncountable number of eateries and pubs. Even though it is one of the top touristy stuff to do in Copenhagen, I still recommend doing it.
Every available space seemed to be occupied. Nyhavn was built during the reign of King Christian V. It was where the cargo was handled and it used to be a very dangerous area known for drunken sailors and prostitution.
It is also quite famous for having been home to the world-famous author Hans Christian Anderson for over 20 years, 18 of them spent at #67. Fun fact: He wrote “The princess and the pea” while he lived at #20!
The Little Mermaid: A must on your Copenhagen holiday
Little is appropriate for this statue. It reminded me of the little piss boy in Brussels 🙂 ,. This is another touristy thing to do while visiting delightful Copenhagen and there were plenty of people waiting to have their photographs taken with it.
The little mermaid is perhaps the best-known work of Hans Christian Andersen, so if you’re a fan, it is worth seeing. The brewer Carl Jacobsen donated the statue to the city in 1913 as he was a big fan of the story.
The poor thing has been vandalized a bunch of times, including being beheaded twice, sawing off an arm, and having paint poured all over her, but she always gets fixed! Damn vandals!!!
Amalienborg: (Copenhagen Royal Residence)
This is the official residence of the royal family. It is four identical palaces with an octagonal courtyard. It was originally built for four noble families. Unfortunately, the original royal palace, called Christianborg burned down.
The royal family then bought the place. What was impressive was the array of royal vehicles, mostly Roll Royce that were parked out front. I lost count at 42!!! . Good to be the Queen! 🙂 .
There were a few other places pointed out, but these were my favorites. We all liked this tour as it gave tidbits about the city.
There was no way of course we were going to see everything in such a short amount of time, but now we know where else we want to see if and when we come back. Other delightful Copenhagen places include:
Tivoli Gardens: Top sight to see in Copenhagen
We only passed by this amusement park. We did not go in, and not just because it was always crowded.
To me, it just seemed like a junior Disneyland and I’ve seen that plenty of times ;-), so there was no real desire to enter even though l have heard the gardens are quite lovely.
It was founded in 1843. I suppose it would be a fun place to visit with kids, there are plenty of rides that we could see from the outside, including a roller coaster.
Christiania:
Also known as Freetown Christiania, it is largely considered a failed experiment. It reminds you of a hippie commune with no real hippies if that makes sense.
These are more like new-age hippies who seem to care more about drug dealing than free love.
In 1971, squatters basically took over the old military barracks. They consider themselves autonomous. There is an amusing sign as you leave the commune of about 84 acres that says “Now entering the E.U”.
Please note: You are prohibited from taking pictures once inside, so we don’t have any. It was kind of intimidating. There is a Pusher Street as you enter where there are plenty of cannabis and hash stalls. The vendors have their faces covered with sunglasses and ski masks. Their heads were covered as well.
Lots of guys watching people with cameras and many huge dogs milling about, huge mastiffs and pit bulls with really big spike collars to make them look even more menacing.
The whole place smelled of hash and personally, l found it nauseating and couldn’t wait to leave. I’m glad we saw it, but l would not want to be there after dark.
Stroget: Fun thing to do in Copenhagen – Shopping!
This is the pedestrian and car-free shopping area of the center. It runs about one kilometer long. There are plenty of shops to satisfy any shopping cravings, from cheaper stores to your designer stores like Hermes and Louis Vuitton.
Stroget is the place to buy your souvenir tee shirts and postcards etc. Federico was thrilled to see his favorite store “Superdry”, then was disappointed because it wasn’t scheduled to open till two days after we departed. Haha!
Paper Island for street food:
Update: The bridge is now completed and operational so it should be quite easy to get to Paper Island by just walking or biking across.
Protect your trip with Travel Insurance
If you’re craving street food and looking for what to eat in Copenhagen, this is the place to go. I read about it just before we left. There was supposed to be a joint in there that sold pulled pork that was supposed to be awesome.
Located on the other side of Nyhavn, it is now super easy to get there since the opening of the bridge, so make sure to visit.
The vibe there is really cool and the atmosphere is infectious. They also played the coolest music and we found ourselves hanging out there for a few hours, eating and people-watching.
Pinnable:
Rosenborg Castle and Gardens during your Copenhagen Visit:
This was originally meant to be the country house of the royal family, but l believe it was rarely used.
They do have a tour of the castle, but we preferred to enjoy the good weather in the royal garden. Apparently, everyone thought the same. It makes for one of the many awesome family activities in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen Visit food: Verdict? Delicious!
Some of the things we ate. My favorite thing was the cinnamon roll for breakfast. Best l have ever had. The Danish people also tend to love bread with a lot of butter and slices of cheese for their morning meal. No thank you, bread and butter yes, mix it with cheese and it becomes lunch in my book :-).
We had dinner at an Australian restaurant called Reef N’ Ribs on our last night. I tried crocodile meat for the first time, and l liked it! Mine was won tons while Federico had the crocodile tail burger. It was quite good, better than chicken.
I really liked Copenhagen. It is not a copy of any other place in Europe. Sure, there are similarities, but to me, it felt delightfully unique, a lot like my favorite Ghent. It might be a combination of the place, the people, and the melting pot vibe that you get.
Everyone seems to be enjoying their lives and were out in full force (could have to do with the glorious weather of course). Just watch out for the people on bikes. Do not get in their lane :-). They will take you down! 🙂
Check popular tours and availability here:
Non Touristy things to do in Copenhagen: (Unusual things to do in Copenhagen)
If you would like to do things in the city that are a bit off the beaten path, consider these things that our resident friend advised and what he does on a usual basis as a Copenhagen resident.
- Rent a bike and see parts of the city that tourists don’t visit such as Carlsberg – home to the famous brew that you can still visit
- Discover Nørrebro neighbourhood, a fast up-and-coming area with trendy restaurants
- Visit Assistens Cemetery, the burial place of famous Danes such as Soren Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen
- Swim in one of the canals with locals when the weather is right
- Have the house specialty dumplings at Gao in Blågårdsgade, another cool place in Nørrebro area
- Have one of the 22 beers on tap at WarPigs in the Meatpacking District – formerly home to the meat district, it has since evolved into a hip area full of unique restaurants and cool nightclubs.
- Take a walking architecture tour of Ørestad to see unique Nordic designs in the neighbourhood.
Is Copenhagen worth visiting? : Copenhagen Visit overall thoughts:
As you can see, the city offers both usual and unusual activities to see and do in Copenhagen. We found it an amazingly clean and very efficient city. A bit pricey, but that is to be expected in that part of Europe. We loved our visit and hope to return to discover more about it.
Pin it for later:
Have you ever been to Copenhagen or any other part of Denmark? What did you think of this what to see and eat Copenhagen guide? Would you try exotic foods? Does it look like a place you would like to visit?
What a fun trip to remember!! Your pictures are nice and now I want to get up and go!! I love to travel and I would love to put this on my list.
Thanks for the compliment :-). I’m glad it makes you want to get up and go! It absolutely is a great place to visit. Now we want to see it when it’s cold.
You took some beautiful pictures! I love all the colors of the houses along the canal. It looks like there was a lot to see and do. That’s messed up what people have done to the little mermaid statue but it’s nice that they keep fixing it.
Thanks Marsha. It is a beautiful, and yes..colorful city. It was hard to narrow the count..haha! Vandals suck for sure. It’s like they have no talent and want to destroy great things so nobody gets to enjoy them. I also like how they keep fixing it. They must not win 🙂
I love that everyone bikes there! I saw some king of TV show about Christiania. Interesting. I’m so jealous of all your travels!
It was surreal being inside of the commune Christiania, especially seeing Pusher street. Most of the guys had on battle fatigues. It is definitely interesting. I think they tried once to get rid of it with a lot of protest, both from the residents and the good people of the city knowing it would eventually ruin it 🙂 .
Oh my sister-in-law just got here over the weekend, and I’ve been drooling over all the pretty pictures she’s been sending! I’m going to email her your post now!!:-)
Haha! Drooling over the pictures 🙂 . It was a wonderful place and hopefully we’ll get to back again. Hope your sister-in-law has a blast, but it sounds like she is 🙂
So glad to hear that you fell for Copenhagen! Isn’t it dreamy?! The next time around, we hope to go back in warmer weather. And the next time around, I have to check out Paper Island – I’ve never heard of it before but it sounds like it’s right up my alley. I had zero expectations of the food in Copenhagen, but I was pleasantly surprised.. Whenever we return, I’d love to stay longer as well as road trip to other parts of Denmark.
I was pleasantly surprised. I really did think it would be Amsterdam 2.0 ;-). Imagine we packed for winter as it had been cold and rainy over there. Wouldn’t you know we brought the sun with us. I was so hot and ended up wearing Fede’s tee shirts as l brought all sweaters AND my winter coat! Then we get back to Seville and it rained for days before it got sunny yesterday. It was also cold enough for jackets . The world is upside down. Yeah, we want to go back now to experience the cold. Paper Island is really cool. The atmosphere rocks and the food is really good, one place sells Mojitos in a gallon jug 🙂 .
As always the pics are beautiful!! Crocodile??? It was tasty? Thats interesting…
Very very tasty 🙂 . Those wontons were delicious, really good and his burger was very good too. He has talked about it a lot since then 🙂 . I still prefer them as bags though 😉 .
Cthu!!!! A bag?
🙂 . It’s true l love croc skin bags.
Your pictures are beautiful (as always). I especially love that you were about to get the same cruise for half the price!
Thank you Tia :-). You know it’s such a small amount, but it makes you feel nice to get a discount, like you got one over on them..haha!
The photos are delightful. I love water so I’d love the idea of a sight-seeing cruise.
Thank you Antoinette. It was a really nice way to get a snapshot of the city. I was a bit nervous as it seemed the boats were really low.. l am not a swimmer, but it was nice.. l really enjoyed it.
Great article, as always and clearly a great experience! I didn’t know anything about Christiana and all I can say is that I’m sorry you’re not allowed to take photos inside. It proves, though, that sometimes if you give people too much freedom, they don’t really know what to do with it or at least that it’s the bad elements that always win. Or maybe they were just faking it so no extra people join them since there’s not much room left :)) Jokes aside, I really loved the photos and the crocodile food looked amazing as well!
Thanks C. Yeah.. l don’t think the residents, and especially the sellers want their face plastered all over social media. I understand that since the government has tried cracking down and if you try and buy a house for instance all cash, you have to explain where you got the money since drug dealing is illegal, so most of the pushers buy houses in Thailand etc. where no questions are asked. I think the police tried raiding the place a few years ago and resulted in like 3 deaths, so they pretty much are hands off now. The crocodile food was delightful. I thought it would be tough, but nope..very tender. I would never have imagined it being so good.
It looks like city straight out of a fairytale; no wonder Hans Christian Andersen lived there and found inspiration:) The river cruise sounds so lovely and is a picturesque way of seeing the city. I still remember the one I took on the Seine- pretty but way more pricey than €6. It was the highlight of my trip to Paris- a city I consider overrated despite the hype 🙁
You know, the padlock thing needs to stop I agree, never mind the ‘love symbolism ‘ it’s still vandalism!
Crocodile wontons? Now that is unusual; I can’t imagine eating them- all I would see is that tough leathery skin! You are a brave lady because I couldn’t!
So cute you and Federico are wearing matching shoes! 😉
They told us he actually loved living in the area because it was close to the opera house. Imagine, he was trying to be a ballet dancer. Fortunately for the whole world, he was rejected :-). Haha! I have yet to take the Paris one, every time Fede says no, that it’s too pricey..cheapskate 🙂 . Same for the gondola ride, but this was cheap enough. Funny you mentioned the shoes, he had ordered a pair when we were visiting his family in Rome. It got there the day before we went back to the U.S and they sent him French size instead of the Italian size he had ordered..haha! He was so pissed. I then tried them on, and they fit so l kept them. He later ordered a new pair (his football team color) so that’s the story 🙂 . Those wontons were so good, not chewy like l pictured. Federico ordered his burger after tasting the wonton. I would definitely have it again. Croc! – Not just for leather! 🙂
These pictures are gorgeous! It sounds like you guys had another awesome vacation. If Denmark wasn’t already on my travel bucket list, it is now!
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
The best part was that we got lucky with the weather. It had been super cold, and l packed all sweaters.. We needed tee-shirts! 🙂 . It deserves to be on the list. I am so glad it wasn’t what l expected.
These visuals are exquisite! The food looks so good girl!
I love butter, and so do they.. on bread and anything else 🙂 . The food was really good, and so much fish too..
I think I’d like it–in warm weather. That’s the problem we have living in a colder weather climate. We steer toward warm vacation destinations, even though we really want to check out some cooler weather places. Well, there’s time. There’s time. Your three meat plate looked so delicious. Your photos and descriptions made it sound very lovely and/or interesting. It sounds like it had an energy to it, which is always fun to feel and can’t always be appreciated until visiting. You got me to add Japan, but I’m still on the fence about Denmark. Although the food did look quite nice.—Terri
Yeah! I will take the half victory.. 🙂 . I hear you about the cold weather and wanting someplace warm. We are hoping to visit again when the weather turns ugly cold so we can compare..haha! Daniele has been there over 10 years and he has never gotten used to the cold, so l may regret saying that.. Yeah..there was an energy to the place which was really nice. If you look at the picture (where it says experimental city), you can see how crowded it was outside, and the inside just as much. Even Fede who never likes my kind of music did not want to leave. The Discow bar promises not to stop playing good music till people stop dancing haha! Everybody was there, young, old, and in-between. It was really cool.
You know, that sounds really cool, the young/old/in-between; I have a distaste for segregating ages. Older keeps me centered, younger keeps me flowing. In-between (my age, I guess) keeps me honest. 🙂
Please do compare a cold visit to a warm visit! That would be a fun post/idea.
Hope you’re Tuesday is good!
I’m right in there with you 🙂 . I didn’t feel out of place at all.. That would be a fun post..assuming of course l don’t freeze to death!
Your. Not you’re. Oops.
I always love your post, they temporarily take me off into foreign lands. I love the vibrancy and personality of Copenhagen. It was never a place I thought of but it looks like a really cool place.
Trust me when l say l didn’t really want to visit the city. I just really thought it would be like Amsterdam. What a pleasant surprise. We kept telling Daniele we would have visited sooner 🙂 . It is a really cool place. I get why everyone ooh and aahs about it. 🙂
Having a friend to show you around is great and sounds like you lucked out with the airbnb stay? Was it an expensive city to visit? The food pictures are good enough to eat. I have never been to Copenhagen but your post has certainly inspired me to go.
Yeah. It was really nice to have a local show us around. You know l think l will add her airbnb link to the post. It was a really great place and l think it was reasonably priced too. It’s a beautiful city and one that should definitely be visited. I hope you get there soon 🙂 . It was a bit expensive, but not Amsterdam expensive if that makes sense.
Beautiful photos! I MUST add Copenhagan to my list (also never thought I would be saying that)! Love the buildings
I’m glad to hear it’s going on your list. It is definitely worth it. If it wasn’t, l would be the first to say so, thanks to my big mouth 🙂
What a jaw-dropping sight – FORTY – TWO plus Rolls Royces? 🙂 And I can see why “delightful” was your descriptive word for this amazing city. So much color, beautiful buildings, the canals and on and on! Your photos make me want to pack a bag and check out Skyscanner for a plane ticket! Definitely on my list of “Must Sees” now. Anita
Haha! So glad to hear it makes you want to get up and go! 🙂 . Yeah..it was insane the front of the palace. It’s like someone ordered every hue and model of rolls!!! Everyone on the boat was just awed by the sight. I can’t imagine how many more and on the palace grounds! It’s good to be king 🙂 . It really does deserve to be seen. An absolutely gorgeous place. I get why Daniele loves it so much.
You make Copenhagen look and sound like a place I’d definitely like to visit! The pictures are beautiful and the food looks great! Adding that to my list of places to visit. 🙂
You should add it to the list. It is worthy :-). The food was really good. I love fish, and a lot of the local dishes were with some sort of smoked fish and pickled this and that. Very, very delicious. The breakfast cinnamon rolls were just so delicious and fresh, and that was everywhere..Yum!
I am super jelly right now. Lol! Looks like you had so much fun and your pics are awesome!!!!
Thanks Ty! I have to admit that it was quite a wonderful trip. We had lots of fun 🙂
Totally awesome, my wife is from Copenhagen so we certainly visit quite regularly. I think you covered most of the delightful stuff to see in Copenhagen.
Boom! Just like that, you have totally made my day!!! I couldn’t ask for a better compliment. Thank you so much 🙂
You just inspired the wanderlust in me to start planning a trip for Copenhagen. I loved viewing your pictures and gained great insight on the city. Thanks for sharing such awesome things to do when I travel to the city. I cannot see where you are off to next.
I am so glad to hear that Tia! :-). Thanks for the compliment, it’s very much appreciated. It just so happens we’re off again tomorrow. I really do need a planner, l never thought how close together the past few trips have been..more things to come, and hopefully you’ll like those adventures just as much 🙂 .
The colors are just so vibrant! And the food! I would love to visit Copenhagen. I have actually been told by a few people that I would love Copenhagen, that it has a very eclectic and interesting vibe.
It does have a unique vibe and l think it would definitely suit you just fine 🙂 . I was really pleasantly surprised. The food is awesome!
Good food is more important to me than most things while I travel, as you already know. 🙂
Oh.. I hear you 🙂 . Food first, everything later.. 😉
‘Love this post KemKem!
Yes, I’ve been to Copenhagen a couple of times (always in the winter for some reason), and on the beach / countryside part of Denmark too. Living in Germany, it’s pretty convenient and easy to get to by car, by ferry, and by bus!
The Danes are great, the city is clean and very walkable, and outside of the food prices (Yeeks), it’s a great place to visit. I was planning to go to Copenhagen in the summer, and I’ve now I’ve really got to do so, as you’ve tempted me lol!
We definitely want to experience Copenhagen in the winter now just to get a different experience. I think we would like it as well. How lucky to be able to get there by car or bus 🙂 . The people are definitely wonderful. I hope you get to revisit soon. It’s just as wonderful as you remember it :-). Yeah..the prices are a bit high 🙂 .
Another underrated thing to do is The Blue Planet Aquarium or Den Bla Planet. I was a bit surprised how nice it was. Big fan of Copenhagen.
Good to hear. I have to add those places to the list for next time. I heard about the aquarium, but not Den Bla Planet. I definitely became a fan of Copenhagen 🙂 .
Love the first photo, actually looks like Curacao in the Dutch Antilles.
Looks very pretty.
Frank (bbqboy)
I can believe that judging from all the pictures of Curacao that l’ve seen. It’s another place l’ve been dying to go to ;-). Sigh..the list just keeps growing 🙂
Hi Kemkem,
I fell in love with the beauty of the Gardens along with the full of flavor dishes. So many people around the Little Mermaid, you were lucky you got some photos there! As for the disco cow, well that was fun! Great destination to visit, thank you for sharing your experience and photos!
Zaria
Hi Zaria :-). Yeah, the little mermaid is their best known statue. I preferred seeing her from the boat. I would have been tired waiting for my turn :-). Loved the disco cow, their motto is “we don’t close until you stop dancing” ..haha! Thanks for the compliment… 😉
They have a queen in Denmark. Not king 🙂 Otherwise a nice article
Thanks for the correction Per Erik! :-). Sometimes l get everything all jumbled :-).