Things to do in Copenhagen, Denmark
This summer, I got so sick of awful European airport experiences that I got this crazy idea in my head: why not Interrail? Plus, taking the train is much more environmentally friendly than flying all over the place. That sealed the deal: I am interrailing to Sweden. Except that’s about a 24-hour train ride… There must be an interesting place somewhere in the middle, right? And that’s how I ended up in Copenhagen for a few days.
Why visit Copenhagen for a city trip?
To be honest, it was a practical decision for me. It’s a big city right in the middle of the distance I needed to cover, and I found a cheap but excellent hostel right next to the train station. However, now that I’ve experienced the city for myself, I can recommend Copenhagen for a city trip or even staying there long term.
Copenhagen reminded me a lot about Amsterdam, but with less water. Copenhagen is a harbor town, but it lacks the typical canals Amsterdam has. The most noticeable thing Copenhagen and Amsterdam have in common are the bicycles. Both these cities are made for cyclists and it’s great! Copenhagen has wide bicycle paths and lots of green in the streets. Another thing I loved about Copenhagen was the mix between old historic buildings and new modern architecture. It’s difficult to combine those two in a tasteful way, but Copenhagen did pretty well.
Nyhavn
When you say Copenhagen, you say Nyhavn. Nyhavn is the harbor street with colorful houses and cute restaurants you see when you Google Copenhagen. Yes, it’s worth a visit, but timing is everything. It’s the most popular tourist destination in Copenhagen, so it can get quite busy. If you want to place for yourself, go early. Okay, it’s probably not realistic to get the place to yourself, but if you go early enough, you might get to keep your own personal space.
Nyhavn is both a nice place to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere and it’s the perfect place to have a drink and eat something while you people watch all the tourists. Nyhavn is right in the middle of the city, so it’s easily reachable by foot, bike, or electric step.
The Little Mermaid
The second most popular attraction in Copenhagen is the statue of the little mermaid. However, I do not recommend going there. The statue is on the edge of the city and always crowded by tourist wanting to take the perfect Instagram photo. If you combine the walk with a visit to St. Alban’s Church, the Gefion Fountain, and a walk through Kastellet, it might be worth it though, depending on how much time you have in the city. If all you want is a quick Instagram photo of the Mermaid, I suggest you skip this one and just Google a picture.
The reality of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen
Frederiks Kirke, Amalienborg and Amaliehaven
Amalienborg is the Royal Residence and Amaliehaven is a small park nearby. You can walk towards Amaliehaven from Nyhavn following the water. You’ll recognize the park with the big fountain in the middle. When you walk to the other side of the fountain, you’ll get your first glimpse of Amalienborg. It’s basically a big, round square with a statue of an important person and his horse in the middle. The square is surrounded by royal palaces.
A must-see at Amalienborg is the change of the royal guard. The shift change starts at the barracks by Rosenborg Castle, a good 1,5 kilometers away from Amalienborg. They start their march through Copenhagen at 11:30 and arrive at Amalienborg Palace at 12:00. When the Queen is at her royal residence, the guard is also accompanied by the Royal Guards marching band.
You’ll find Frederiks Kirke on the other side of Amalienborg. Frederiks Kirke is a round church surrounded by statues of important Danish men. (Unfortunately, no woman, thanks to the oppressive patriarchy of the 18th century. It’s still a pretty nice church, though. Entry is free, but please do respect this church as a place of worship. Take your time to stroll around and don’t forget to look up at the beautiful ceiling. At 13:00 (1pm) during the summer months and during the weekends for the rest of the year, you can even climb up onto the dome for a spectacular view of Copenhagen city.
Natural History Museum of Denmark
As a bio-science engineer, I’m always interested in checking out natural history museums in the cities I travel to, and Copenhagen didn’t disappoint. With one ticket, you get entrance to the natural history museum, the botanical garden and palm house, and the zoological museum.
I got lucky and got the opportunity to visit the zoological museum in one of its last weeks. You see, the old zoological museum was located at Copenhagen University. While the university is a perfect place for a zoological museum, it was quite far from the city center. That’s why they are building a new zoological museum right next to the existing Natural History Museum and the Botanical Garden. Unfortunately, it will take a bit more time before the new museum is ready.
When it is ready, I 100% recommend taking your time for a visit. The museum opens with an impressive collection of polar bear skulls. Next, you catch a glimpse of the one dinosaur at the museum: a diplodocus (I think). The best part about the museum is how interactive it is. An entire “laboratory room” is dedicated to introducing kids to natural science. Kids (and adults) were encouraged to touch the animals’ skulls and stuffed animals. There are microscopes to look at slides and many (somewhat disgusting) animals in glass jars.
Other highlights of the museum are the massive whale skeleton and a real whale heart. I couldn’t believe the size of that thing! There’s also a narwhal skeleton and an entire room dedicated to evolution. You’ll find long extinct species such as mammoths, sabertooth tigers and a 3,5-meter giant sloth.
Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens is another fan favorite in Copenhagen. Tivoli is an amusement park right in the middle of Copenhagen. It’s located between the Central Station and Københavns Rådhus (Copenhagen city hall). There are two roller coasters and two dozen other rides to eyes. Next to the rides, there are lots of live entertainment, beautiful gardens, and more than 30 places to eat all kinds of traditional and non-traditional food.
During Christmastime, Tivoli Gardens transforms into a winter wonderland with more than 1.000 Christmas trees covered in lights and 60 stalls with typical Christmas snacks, sweets, hot drinks, and decorations.
Drinking coffee at Espresso House
America has Starbucks, Scandinavia has Espresso House. I was skeptical at first, because I’m a basic Starbucks bitch and their Pumpkin Spice Latte will forever be my one true love, but I must admit Espresso House isn’t too bad either. They have the best pastries (cinnamon rolls forever), cozy leather chairs, and decent coffee. In Scandinavia, Espresso House is as common as Starbucks is in America, so you’ll find one on every other street. If you’re not into coffee chains, there are more than enough independent coffee places which offer hot coffee and warm cinnamon rolls in the city.
Ørstedsparken
The Ørstedsparken is a public park in the northwestern part of Copenhagen. The park is smaller than the Botanic Garden and Kastellet, but also calmer with fewer people. There is an elongated pond in the middle of the park where you can walk around. There’s also an iron bridge to cross the pond which offers some beautiful views of the park and the pond. There’s a playground for kids and lots of benches to just sit and read or people watch. You can find a surprising amount of Satyr statues around the park.
What I loved about the park was the peace and quiet away from the city and the people watching. Lots of groups were enjoying a nice evening in the park playing frisbee, having a picnic, or having an after-work drink. I even saw a group of women having a full-blown karaoke in the middle of the park. I wasn’t there long enough to determine if this was typical Copenhagen-behavior, but I sure did enjoy it.