10 amazing things to do in Copenhagen – a Complete Copenhagen Travel Guide

Copenhagen has become increasingly popular as a city break destination in recent years – particularly since Dua Lipa broke down her favourite foodie spots around the city.

Copenhagen has a real hipster/artsy feel to it as a city, with lots of high fashion, endless coffee spots and bakeries, vintage shops and underground bars, meaning it has become one of the coolest cities to visit in Europe in recent years.

We were really excited to visit Copenhagen for the first time last year and it didn’t disappoint. There are so many great things to do in Copenhagen, from taking a foodie tour to visiting one of the World’s oldest theme parks and lots more in between.

The one shocking realisation to visiting Copenhagen for us however, is that there are actually colder and more expensive places around than our home in Ireland so do bear that in mind when visiting and pack lots of layers…and money for your visit.

We only got to spend two days in Copenhagen but because it is a reasonably small city and easy to get around, we were able to pack a lot in and found a huge a variety of things to do in Copenhagen during our visit.

Where to stay in Copenhagen

I won’t lie to you, hotels in Copenhagen are expensive, very expensive. If you are looking for a nice hotel on a budget in Copenhagen, or any major Scandinavian city really, it is a tall order.

We found Copenhagen to be probably the most expensive city we have ever visited other than maybe New York but certainly in Europe, with most things noticeably more expensive than Paris, London or Dublin.

With that in mind, when choosing where to stay in Copenhagen, you should typically expect to pay more than you otherwise might be used to for a European city break. For context, an average night in a hotel in Copenhagen will cost x, whereas in Paris it would be Y.

We stayed at Manon Les Suites and while it was more expensive than we would ordinarily pay for a hotel, it was offset somewhat by the novelty of their Bali inspired jungle pool.

There are a few main areas to choose from for hotels in Copenhagen:

• Vesterbro – Trendy area full of shops, funky bars and restaurants
• Norrebro – Lots of bakeries, bars anf filled with culture
• Osterbro – Laid back area with great shops and the little mermaid
• City Centre – Main attractions like Tivoli Gardens and Nyhavn

How many days do you need in Copenhagen

Ideally, we would suggest spending at least 2 days in Copenhagen to get a feel for the city.

Copenhagen is not a huge city so two days is sufficient time to enjoy the key locations, take in the castles, theme parks and trendy neighbourhoods without feeling too rushed.

If you do have more than 2 days available we would also suggest adding another country to your list by taking a day trip to neighbouring Sweden, where you can easily visit Malmo and Lund by train or guided tour.

We didn’t have an opportunity to add that to our time in Copenhagen but it is something we would definitely do if we were to visit Copenhagen again.

Our favourite things to do in Copenhagen

The first thing we would really highlight, is that activities in Copenhagen do not come cheap. Entrance to Tivoli Gardens for example with access to the rides costs over 400DKK (roughly €55) for anyone over the age of 8 so it would easily cost over €200 for a family of 4 before taking the cost of food into consideration.

Despite only being in Copenhagen for a couple of days, we found ourselves quickly racking up costs between entrance prices and transport – spending hundreds on getting around before we know it.

With that in mind, we found that the most cost efficient approach is to get a Copenhagen Card which covers entry to over 80 attractions including Tivoli Gardens (not the price of rides); a canal tour, castle entry and all your public transport (including to the airport).

The card costs around €75 for 24 hours but each adult ticket covers both an adult and two children aged 11 and under so while this does seem expensive initially, it will definitely save you money overall. We travel with our two kids now, meaning we are always looking out for ways to reduce our overall costs with things like the Copenhagen Card.

Explore Nyhavn

The first area we would suggest exploring in Copenhagen is Nyhavn. Running along the waterfront canal, this area is probably Copenhagen’s ‘s most recognisable and the one you are most likely to see in your social media feed.

The area is lined with colourful houses and cobble stone streets, as well as docking a number of wooden ships. If you’re planning to get some nice colourful photos to remember your stay in Copenhagen by then Nyhavn is the area to visit.

When we visited here, we simply grabbed a pastry at Buka bakery and took a walk along the canal, snapping a few photos along the way. If you visit during good weather, it is a nice area to sit along the terraces of a bar/restaurant and people watch for a while.

Visit Reffen Street Food Market

Next up, we would suggest taking a trip to Reffen Street Food Market – almost equally as colourful as Nyhavn. This trendy market is lined with shipping container style food stalls with everything from pizza to Argentinian steaks.

To get to Reffen you need to catch the 2a bus and get off at the last stop, which takes around 20 minutes. Bus tickets generally need to purchased in advance so you can download the Dot app and purchase your bus ticket online before boarding.

The street market is a really good place to visit during the evening for sunset views looking back towards the city.

Tivoli Gardens

As one of the world’s oldest amusement parks, it is hard not to add Tivoli Gardens to your list of things to do in Copenhagen.

The park itself is in the heart of the city so it is really easy to access but as with everything else in Copenhagen, it is expensive.

One thing to note is that there are two separate tickets, one to simply enter the park and another to go on the rides so be careful not to get caught out by that.

The Copenhagen card we mentioned earlier will provide you (+ 2 children aged 11 or under) with entry but not with access to the rides.

Take a walk along Magstraede

Magstraede is a must if you want to get postcard worthy photos in Copenhagen. As the street connects two of the main areas in the city centre, you will naturally find yourself nearby at some stage during your trip.

The street is exactly what you would imagine of Copenhagen before you visit, a narrow cobblestone street, flanked by large colourful buildings on either side that will perfectly frame your photo.

Visit Frederick’s Church

Fredericks church is a stunning building in Frederilsstaden in the heart of the city. It is also conveniently right across from one of its best bakeries, Hart Bageri, so you could easily combine a trio here with one of their specialty cardamon croissants.

The thing that makes Frederick’s church really stand out is its copper green dome and impressive views looking out towards Amelienborg Palace.

You won’t need to spend too much time at Frederick’s Church but it is definitely worth stopping at en route to one of your other activities.

Explore Freetown Christiania

For uniqueness alone, you definitely should check out Christianshavn and Freetown Christiana in particular. This area is lined with canals and lots of colourful houses and house boats, and you can actually rent a boat here to explore the area.

Again, there is no shortage of cafes here running along the canal, like coffee collective, so we were never too far from our next caffeine source.

But the thing that really drew us to this area was the unique settlement of Freetown Christiana. The tour we took was guided by Linea, who gave us such a great insight into the area, including the story behind the self governing settlement, which was founded by anti capitalist squatters in the 70’s and is completely car free – this is one of the most unique things to do in Copenhagen for sure.

Take a food tour

There is a bit of a food theme running through our list of things to do in Copenhagen but that s because food is a central part of the Danish experience. Copenhagen is renowned for its pastries but a you explore the city, you will find that there are high class cafes/restaurants everywhere.

The highlight of our time in Copenhagen was this food walking and tasting tour. Over 3 hours we were treated to a range of Danish classics like Smørrebrød, (which is effectively nice things on bread for lack of a better foodie description), Danish meatballs, hot dogs, a signature cardamon pastry and even some Carlsberg gets thrown in for good measure.

The tour guide was really insightful as well, and provides lots of great insights into Danish culture throughout the journey, including everything from the Vikings to LEGO.

We would highly recommend carving out some time for this tour to get a real feel for Danish food and how it blends in to their culture overall. Plus, added bonus, you definitely won’t have to worry about deciding where to eat that day after sampling everything on offer.

Visit the Carlsberg Museum

Of course, Copenhagen isn’t just synonymous with food, it is also renowned globally as the home of Carlsberg.

We don’t drink much ourselves but have always found trips to these breweries to be quite enjoyable, particularly on days when the weather isn’t in your favour.

The home of Carlsberg tour tickets cost around €30 per person and we found the origin story of how the father and son duo came to set up the factory. The tour was really interactive and engaging throughout and definitely one for the Liverpool fans out there.

Copenhagen Zoo

Copenhagen Zoo is a great option for anyone visiting Copenhagen with children.

This zoo gives you the chance to get up close to lots of unique animals that we have very rarely seen at any other zoo including panda and polar bears.

The thing that really sets this zoo apart is how close you are allowed to get to the animals. Most of the zoos we have been to in the past keep you at a distance from the animals and we’ve found them to be underwhelming, whereas the zoo in Copenhagen is almost like a safari style experience.

Tickets for the zoo cost around €35 for and adult ticket and €20 for a child.

Explore Vesterbro

Vesterbro was once home to Copenhagen’s red light district, as well as being widely associated with the drug trade in the city.

In recent years though, it has taken on a completely new life and as has often become the norm in many cities, it has been transformed by trendy coffee shops, boutiques and nightlife.

Suddenly, this area is now known to be one the cities safest and family friendly areas, full of great coffee.

As we are big coffee lovers, we made sure to include this on our list of things to do in Copenhagen and found some great options including Mad & Kaffe, Orsa and O12.

Vesterbro is also the place to be if you’re looking to go for a night out in Copenhagen. We didn’t go out at night gets but we did go for a drink at Warpigs in the meat packing district, which has on an on site brewery and 22 options on tap, all produced on site.