Where to stay in Copenhagen – 4 Great locations for first time visitors

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Copenhagen has become one of Europe’s trendiest cities break destinations in recent years. It is home to cutting edge fashion, one of Europe’s best food scenes and it is bursting with colour throughout, from the harbour at Nyhavn to the street stalls at Reffen. We found Copenhagen to be very walkable as well, making it perfect for a short weekend away.

One thing we had always been warned about with a trip to Copenhagen was that it would be expensive, but we didn’t realise just how expensive. Coming from Ireland, we are used to hotel prices being a bit dearer than some European counterparts but Copenhagen and Denmark recently ranked as the 3rd most expensive country in Europe behind only Switzerland and Iceland for hotels & restaurants and we definitely noticed a difference in cost overall.

We aren’t saying that to scare you off visiting Copenhagen of course, it is a beautiful city but more so than any other cities, choosing where to stay in Copenhagen will likely be more influenced by your budget.

You can find budget friendly hotels in Copenhagen but they tend to be pod style hotels/shared hostels like Next House Copenhagen, which is an excellent option on a budget and is very central as well. You can get a room there for less than €70 at times during off peak months so it is well worth considering for anyone travelling on a budget.

Naturally, where you choose to stay in Copenhagen will also determine the price, with hotels in the city centre at more of a premium. Because we were only visiting Copenhagen for two days, we wanted to stay somewhere that was quite central and we were comfortable with spending more than we normally would as we had gone there knowing the city to be expensive.

We chose to stay in Manon Les Suites, a luxury, eco friendly hotel in the city centre, which you will often see on Instagram because of its Bali inspired jungle pool. We weighed up the options and considering a day pass for the jungle pool was almost €100 alone, we decided to stay at that hotel.

Where to stay in Copenhagen – at a glance

• Vesterbro – Trendy area full of shops, funky bars and restaurants. Great for anyone wanting to enjoy the nightlife in Copenhagen. We would recommend staying at Villa Copenhagen for a luxury home away from home.
• Norrebro – Lots of bakeries, bars and filled with culture. A better option for budget friendly hotels. We would recommend staying at Numa Copenhagen, which is the best hotel in this area.
• Østerbro – Laid back area with great shops and the little mermaid – great for families. We would recommend staying at Adina Aprthotel, which has an onsite indoor pool and gym available to guests.
• Indre By (City Centre) – Main attractions like Tivoli Gardens and Nyhavn. Great for easy access to the main attractions and suitable for families. Luxury stay at Sanders Hotel, possibly the best hotel in the city.

Our top picks for things to do in Copenhagen

To save you money on the top things to do around Copenhagen, we would suggest purchasing a Copenhagen Card, which provides access to lots of the cities top attractions including Tivoli Gardens (excludes cost of rides); A canal tour, access to castles and all public transport, including to and from the airport.

The card is particularly useful if you are visiting Copenhagen with kids as one adult pass also covers two kids aged 11 and under.

• Tivoli Gardens Amusement Park
• Home of Carlsberg Tour
• Canal Cruise
• Walking Food Tour
• Copenhagen Zoo

Best Areas to stay in Copenhagen

Generally speaking, if you are a first time visitor to Copenhagen you will want to stay as close to the city centre as possible, to allow easy access to the main tourist attractions.

Indre By (City Centre)

If you are visiting Copenhagen for the first time, then convenience is king, particularly if you are only visiting for a couple of days.

It can be very tempting to choose an area that is further out from the centre to save costs on accommodation but we have often found that those costs come back around through increased spend on transport etc.

For first time visitors and families, we would recommend booking a hotel in Indre By purely for ease of access alone. In this area you will easily be able to reach a lot of the key attractions by foot including Tivoli Gardens, one of Europe’s oldest amusement parks; the colourful canal lined area of Nyhavn and some of the cities most beautiful buildings including the Round Tower, Rosenberg Castle and Amelienborg Palace.

The area is also filled with great places to eat and drink with great bakeries like Buka Bakery and Hart Bageri, and we would also recommend Sporvejen for a great burger.

Recommended hotels in Indre By

For a luxury stay in the centre of Copenhagen we would recommend staying at Manon Les Suites (as we did), which has an on site gym, rooftop bar & restaurant and of course that unique jungle pool. Alternatively, we would also recommend staying at 1 Hotel Copenhagen, is like a luxury home away from home and is just a 5 minute walk from the centre’s main shopping street Strøget.

For a strong option on a budget we would recommend staying at Steel House Copenhagen, which is only a few minutes from Tivoli Gardens and has an indoor pool. You can often find rooms here for less than €100 per night.

Naturally the major disadvantage to staying in Indre By is that in an already expensive city, you will be choosing to stay in a more expensive area than some of the others. That choice really will come down to budget and comfort with navigating the city from having to stay further afield.

Vesterbrø (Best for nightlife)

Next up is Vesterbrø, the perfect base for anyone wanting to explore the bars, restaurants and nightlife in Copenhagen.

This area has been reborn in recent years, having previously been renowned as the host area to the cities Red Light District, as well as having a reputation for being associated with the cities drug trade.

In recent years though it has taken on a new lease of life and is now known to be one of Copenhagen’s coolest areas (a big title in a city already known for being trendy & cool). Vesterbrø is filled with great cafes, bars and restaurants as well as still being close enough to key attractions like Tivoli Gardens.

You will also find the Home of Carlsberg Tour in Vesterbrø so you can easily combine your desire to experience Copenhagen’s nightlife with this tour to get an insight into the origins of the world famous beer.

There are tons of great bars to visit in the meat packing district – Kodbyen as well, we loved visiting the great craft beer spots like Mikeller and Warpigs Brewpub while we were in Vesterbrø.

Recommended hotels in Vesterbrø

Our top luxury hotel pick in Vesterbrø would be Villa Copenhagen which has all the facilities you need for a luxury stay with a swimming pool, fitness centre, sun terrace and beautiful gardens for a walk.

If you are visiting Copenhagen on a budget we would recommend CityHub, which is one of the pod style hotels we mentioned earlier. It is clean, receives great guest reviews and you can stay here for less than €70 a night.

Norrebro (For trendy budget friendly stays)

Nørrebro is perfect for those who want a bit of everything from their stay. It was voted the world’s coolest neighbourhood in 2021 and it was to see why when we visited. Nørrebro is very diverse, with a huge range of food options from kebab & shawarma shops to ramen bowls to Michelin star restaurants.

More importantly though, one of the big advantages of choosing to stay in Nørrebro is that we found the hotels to be better value for money than in some of the other areas. The area tends to attract students and younger visitors and those wanting to experience the multi cultural heart of the city.

In Nørrebro we would recommend having a chicken sandwich at Poulette, coffee at coffee collective and going for a drink at bar Torsten. Nørrebro is also where you will find the Assistens Cemetery, which is where many famous Danes have been buried. A cemetery likely won’t be high on your bingo card list for a relaxing getaway but it actually is a beautiful place to visit, more like a big public park than it is a cemetery.

Recommended hotels in Nørrebro

For a luxury hotel in Nørrebro, we would recommend staying at Numa Copenhagen, which is probably the best hotel in the area and is great for families as it is an apartment style hotel which gives you more flexibility.

For a more budget friendly option we would recommend Hotel Nora, which gives you easy access to the metro station and shopping on Købmagergade.

Østerbro (Best place to stay for families)

Our final suggestion is the family friendly area of Østerbro. Østerbro is a very open area with lots of great playgrounds and parks for families to enjoy and has a real laid back feel to it.

It is a relatively quiet area but you can still reach the busier parts of the city quite easily and then take your children to Fælledparken, which is Denmark’s largest public park. Here you will be enjoy nice long walks with a coffee, huge playgrounds and football pitches as well.

The area is most widely known for the little mermaid statue but having been there, we couldn’t necessarily recommend including that on your Copenhagen itinerary.

It is also home to one of Copenhagens best bakeries (of which there are many), Juno the Bakery. This we definitely would recommend trying out, their caramelised brioche would tempt us to book a flight to Copenhagen alone.

We would also recommend trying out Ø12 for coffee/brunch which was one of our favourite spots when we visited and do great pancakes.

Recommended Hotels in Østerbro

For a luxury stay in Østerbro, we would recommend staying at Adina Aprthotel, which has a beautiful indoor pool and gym facilities. The walk to the city centre along the promenade from this hotel is also really beautiful so it makes for a great location overall.

For a great option on a budget we would suggest Fairfield by Marriott, which isn’t exactly cheap but we found it to be the best value hotel to stay at in Østerbro. The hotel is only a few minutes from The Little Memaid and has a fitness centre on site. You can also hire bikes from the hotel to help you experience transport like a local as you navigate the city.