Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is the city of fairy tales, the happiest city in the world, home to Hans Cristian Andersen and a city I’ve always wanted to visit. I promised myself at the end of 2018 that I’d have a good go at knocking a few countries off my 40 before 40 list that year, so I knew Copenhagen had to happen. I didn’t expect it to be in February, honestly only I am daft enough to visit cold countries in the winter, but YOLO, right? Spending 48 hours in Copenhagen was a lot of fun and this post shows just a fraction of how lovely this city is so if you’ve never been, you really should. I spent 48 hours in the city, over 3 days, and I saved a fortune by swapping two sets of flights on my Hamburg to Copenhagen to Stockholm trip for two coach tickets. I highly recommend doing this to save money on a trip across Europe.
Where to start a visit to Copenhagen
As soon as I arrived in the city I dropped my bags at Copenhagen Station, paying less than £5 for a locker for 24 hours. Travelling with Fibromyalgia means getting rid of bags as soon as possible is a must and as the station is really central, this worked well. The first place I’d recommend you visit is Nyhavn, home of the colourful houses most people think of when they hear the city’s name. Nyhavn was originally an area full of pirates and prostitutes and I found out all about the area’s history on a boat tour around the harbour and some of the many canals.
The tour cost less than £10 for an hour and a half with commentary in English, Danish, German and another language which changes daily (ours was Spanish). I’d recommend doing a tour like this, it’s the chance for a much needed rest (for me after a long coach journey from Hamburg) whilst seeing a few bits of the city in a short space of time, from a different angle. You usually find out so much information on these sorts of tours too and there were a few different companies providing a tour-think about booking online beforehand if you’re visiting the city during a busier period, so you don’t miss out.
Take a walk along the canal to visit The Little Mermaid
I first spotted The Little Mermaid from the boat during my canal cruise from Nyhavn. She was a gift to the city from Danish brewer Carl Jacobsen and is, obviously, inspired by the Hans Cristian Anderson story. The poor mermaid has been vandalised a few times, but she’s always been restored back to her original form, ready to welcome visitors to the city. Our tour guide told us she wasn’t that impressive close up, but I decided I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t get the famous shot so set off anyway.
The walk along the harbour to get to her, taking photos as the sun set over the city, took me about an hour and I definitely walked slowly. I will say that it’s basically a walk along a pretty river to see a not very impressive statue and most cities have pretty rivers, so if you’re not desperate to see her there may be better ways to spend your time in Copenhagen. She’s a fairly well known attraction though, so chances are you’re going to want to go and see her anyway, just lower your expectations a tad before you do.
Wander the canals of Christianshavn
My next recommendation would be the Christianshavn area. This is still part of the city centre but feels a bit less busy and the many canals give me a real Amsterdam vibe, as you can see from this photo. Christianshavn is known for great food and I could have probably found somewhere really amazing but, mid week in February, when you’re really hungry, isn’t going to be the best time to go hunting for food. I chose a cute looking cafe and went for egg and toast with a cup of tea, to start my day off right. Decent food, friendly people, not particularly photogenic but filled my stomach with fuel for the day. If you’re a bit more of a foodie, Visit Copenhagen has some great recommendations for food in the Christianshavn area.
Walk around to Christiana
Now to my favourite part of Copenhagen, the quirkiest part by far. Freetown Christinana is a commune known for it’s relaxed take on drugs and it’s plentiful street art, and I loved the area so much I wrote an entire post on it so do head over and read that if you want to know more. It’s worth a visit for the photos to be honest. I’d been a bit worried about heading here alone as I’d read people could be weird about you taking photos where they live but I had no issues, and as with everywhere else if you’re being respectful you’ll be fine. Definitely visit Christiana if you’re in Copenhagen, it’s a special little place.
Spend an hour or two hunting for colour
Anyone who knows me, has seen my social channels or has seen this blog before will not be surprised to hear that one thing I did during my 48 hours in Copenhagen was hunt down some street art. Clearly I’d not seen enough in Christiana so I enjoyed a couple of hours just walking, not knowing what direction I was headed and seeing what I could spot. Quite a few pieces, as it turned out. Copenhagen’s street art is plentiful, with lots in Vesterbro and Nørrebro, so it won’t be difficult to find some, but the post I’ve linked to above has a handy map too, and next time I’ll be more strategic with my hunting. You can definitely see a lot in an hour or so if you follow the map.
Head into the centre
Heading into the centre of Copenhagen means you’ve got plenty of shopping, food and attractions close by. I didn’t manage to get to the Botanical Garden, the Marble Church or Torvehallerne but they’d all be places I’d want to see with more time in Copenhagen. City Hall was my next stop, as I wanted to take a photograph and have a look at the building. City Halls in any city tends to be spectacular, and this was no exception, just look at all that gold! I fancied some nice Copenhagen themed things to take home so I also went shopping for an hour before heading along to Rosenborg Slot, the Castle. I didn’t have the time to explore inside so I took some photos and had a rest in the gardens for a while, before heading back towards central Copenhagen for my final stop of the day.
Find some fun at Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s small but jam packed theme park, is just opposite the Central Station so is a really handy location. I had no intention of going in-I’m not a big fan of rides, and theme parks aren’t that fun solo-but everyone told me I should and I realised the ticket wasn’t that expensive (there’s a just wandering around ticket that costs a third of the price of the one with rides included, for those of us not into rides) so I changed my mind. I wandered around for a couple of hours taking photos because everything was so pretty lit up at night, with fake snow everywhere, fairy lights and an ice rink, and I did wish I’d planned to spend more time there. I now know there’s some smaller rides and you can buy single ride tickets on the Tivoli App, if you fancy trying a couple but don’t want to spend your Kroner on the pricier entrance ticket. Tivoli also has plenty of food options and even a couple of ballets, something for everyone.
Climb The Round Tower for aerial Copenhagen views
The Round Tower was on my list as I wanted to walk the spiral path right to the top for the city views. Anywhere with a sloped path rather than stairs is good with me although it turned out the very top did have stairs, but I still made it up there for gorgeous views of the city. The tower is on one of Copenhagen’s busiest shopping streets meaning you can grab your souvenirs at the same time and entrance was 40 Kroner, around £5. For a city meant to be really expensive, that’s comparable to aerial views in every other city I’ve been to, honestly, and the views make it worth it for me.
I really enjoyed my time in Copenhagen and it’ll definitely make it onto my list of cities I’d visit again, if a travel buddy wanted to go or if I ended up with a layover where a few hours in the city worked. I didn’t find the city as expensive as I’d been told either, but that may be because I didn’t eat out at fancy places, drink alcohol or do much shopping. If you enjoy a good meal and a bottle of wine your experience may be different-make sure you’ve got plenty of spending money budgeted just in case.
Have you been to Copenhagen before? If you have, what are your thoughts on the city?
Kate says
I have never been to Copenhagen but it is on my bucket list also. My brother travels alot and he swears Copenhagen and Stockholm are absolute must visits. I am definatly going to make some notes fron your post for when I go, I am pleased u had a great time xxxx
Kate says
Ooooh I love that idea! 40 before 40!! I may have to steal it, although, not sure how I’ll do with only 2 years to go! Copenhagen is on my list of must visits too, it looks incredible but I bet it was absolutely flipping freezing!
Where is next? x
Amy - All about a Mummy says
Copenhagen is on my wish list too! You certainly managed to pack a lot into your short time there.
Charlotte - MamaMakesDo says
O wow, so many interesting sights in such a short trip. I love the street art, there’s something about street art that makes it more interesting to me than more mainstream art.
Sabina Green says
I would love to do some more city style breaks. For some reason Copenhagen has never really been on my radar but it does look like such a beautiful city to explore.
Deborah Nicholas says
oh that looks lovely, ive always thought of it as such a fascinating place to visit too!
Jeri says
Copenhagen looks like a gorgeous city. Nyhavn and Tivoli Gardens are right up my street.