Is Copenhagen Worth Visiting? 10 Great Reasons To Go!
Is Copenhagen worth visiting?
We’d heard some amazing things about Copenhagen from our Danish friends. So we knew we had to check it out as part of our family road trip to Sweden and Norway. We spent a long weekend there, and wow, it was amazing, we had so much fun! We quickly realised why it is named one of the the “happiest cities in the world”. When we’re asked, “is Copenhagen worth visiting” we instantly answer – yes it is a great place to visit!
We want to share why we think it’s so great, along with Oslo is was one of the best cities we visited in Scandinavia. So we’ve put together a list of 10 amazing reasons why you should visit Copenhagen! Sadly our photos were lost when our three year old accidentally deleted them, so please excuse that we’ve used stock images in this post.
10 Amazing Reasons Why Copenhagen Is Worth Visiting
It’s easy to get around the city centre
Getting around Copenhagen city centre is super easy and great fun! It is a very flat city. This means that you can enjoy walking or cycling around most of central Copenhagen, without getting too tired. And if you have you have young kids with you, this means that it’s great for getting around with a pram.
It’s easy to cycle around
You’ll soon realise that cycling is a big deal in Copenhagen. It’s crazy to think that there are more bikes in Copenhagen than residents – the average is 1.2 bikes per person! Because of the fantastic cycling lanes, you can nip between the main attractions in a matter of minutes. Which is why we took our bikes there when we visited. And it is so safe and easy to cycle around that Cam, our three-year-old, cycled there with us.
There are plenty of places that offer bike rentals. And you can also rent these cool cargo trailers if you have kids with you. If you’re not sure where to start, they most bike companies can also offer you a bike tour.
Most of the main attractions are walking distance apart
We’re big fans of free walking tours. These are great as you tip the guide as payment what you feel the tour is worth. There were lots available in Copenhagen to choose from. They’re a great way to find your way around the city centre the first time you visit. Most of them meet outside the City Hall and cover the main attractions.
Public transport is efficient, cheap and easy to use
If you’re not into cycling or perhaps are travelling with young kids, then Copenhagen has a great public transportation system. It is easy to use and very clean. Plus are plenty of metro stations within easy reach of the most popular attractions, so you’ll won’t have too far to walk.
Loads of great tourist attractions to discover
As far as tourist attractions go, Copenhagen has a huge variety on offer. It has a rich history to explore at its palaces, castles and museums such as the Rosenborg Castle. Lots of fantastic entertainment at places such as Tivoli Gardens. As well as a famous culinary scene covering everything from street food to Michelin Stars. As far as cliches go, it really does have something for everyone!
Some of the best things to do and most popular attractions in Copenhagen are:
- Tivoli Gardens and Amusement Park – the second oldest amusement park in the world right in the heart of the city.
- Rosenborg Castle – royal castle and home to the crown jewels
- Christiansborg Palace – a chance to explore The Royal Reception Rooms
- Little Mermaid Statue – based on the fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen
- Freetown Christiania – a perfect place to spend an afternoon discovering this alternative community in central Copenhagen
- Amalienborg Palace – head there for midday to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony
- Canal Tour – with an amazing network of canals a tour gives you a great perspective
- The Round Tower – best views over Copenhagen city centre
- Nyhavn – the colourful waterfront area with bars and restaurants
A rich and interesting history
We took a walking tour in Copenhagen and learnt so much about the city’s history. It’s got an incredibly rich and interesting history, and as a part of this has lots of beautiful older buildings. Originally Copenhagen was a small Viking fishing settlement from the 900’s. It wasn’t until 1416 that Copenhagen became the capital of Denmark.
During the 1600’s the city experienced incredible growth both in size and economically. Today, some of the beautiful buildings built during the 1600’s still stand, such as The Round Tower. We love a city where you can walk through it and feel its history in the buildings as you pass them. Head to Nyhavn to see the old waterfront that Copenhagen is famous for and why it is worth visiting!
It’s one of the happiest places in the world
Copenhagen, actually Denmark as a country, is the 2nd happiest place in the world to live. And has held this coveted spot for the last 5 years (just behind Finland). When you speak to locals it is easy to understand this when they have such a great quality of life and a wonderful work/life balance. Even if the taxes are some of the highest in the world!
And of course, we’re sure that hygge (pronounced “hooga”) has quite a bit to do with it. Hygge is a huge part of Danish culture. It’s often described as “informal time together with family or close friends”. You can see why it’s so popular when in winter all they want to do is get together, relax and get cosy. What better place to take a break than with the Danish culture celebrating happiness? Try a little Hygge for yourself!
Loads of fun outdoor places to explore makes Copenhagen worth visiting
One of the great things about Copenhagen is the incredible amount of outdoor places that there are to explore. As a family that loves to be outdoors, we literally couldn’t get enough of these outdoor spaces. In the city centre, you’ll find attractions such as The Little Mermaid and Rosenbourg Castle are surrounded by grassy areas to enjoy. Or, perhaps try out one of the many harbour baths where you can swim in the harbour. And, if you have a little more time then you can head 20 minutes outside of Copenhagent to some great beaches such as Bellevue Beach.
To get ourselves out and about, we cycled part of the Troll Hunt that has been designed by Thomas Dambo. He’s created these incredible trolls made out of wooden crates that are about 10m high. Whilst there are some in city centre there are also “Six Forgotten Giants” just outside that you can easily reach by public transport or by cycling, like we did.
It is one of the safest cities in the world
A very easy one to add on our list, because Copenhagen is currently the 8th safest city in the world. It has very low crime rates, and this means that one of the great things about visiting is that you feel safe most of the time. If you’re a solo traveller, or family travelling with kids then you can relax and not have to continuously be on high alert.
The food is amazingly good
Copenhagen has a thriving food scene, from complex flavours associated with Michelin-star restaurants to tasty street food. And of course, there’s the local dish of Smørrebrød that’s not to be missed. It is a rye bread slice that’s topped with various ingredients and presented like an open sandwich. A popular local topping would be a combination of shrimp, boiled eggs, and herring.
We were travelling on a budget and still had some great food during our stay there. We headed out to Reffen a few times where there are food stalls serving great food. If you need some food on the go then street food is an easy, quick and tasty bite to eat. Hot dogs are the go-to and can be found on most street corners. We enjoyed some tasty ones in Nyhavn whilst people-watching.
If you’re a foodie then Copenhagen is definitely worth visiting!
Fun fact: Did you know that Copenhagen has 31 restaurants with Michelin stars?
The city has a great alternative feel to it
There is no other city quite like Copenhagen, with an alternative vibe to it. A lot of this stems from Freetown Christainia which was founded in 1971 when a community of locals squatted on a disused military base in the heart of Copenhagen. Today is a self-style democratic community that is made up of 15 local areas and home to anywhere between 750-1,000 residents. Each resident has a right a vote on the way that the community operates. It feels incredibly alternative when you’re there, because for so long it’s been allowed to operate outside of the organised system of political Copenhagen.
We loved visiting with our kids and enjoying the huge amount of street art, artwork and colour you can see and explore. Before we visited we took a walking tour (tour guides are not allowed to go in with tourists), and then headed in to discover it in our own time and pace. We spent a good few hours enjoying it because both of our boys loved the sights and sounds as it was such a vibrant part of the city. And don’t forget to stop by Green George the troll (who you’ll find here) before you leave!
A harbour so clean you can swim in it
Another cool thing about Copenhagen is how clean it is and you’ll not spot much rubbish. They even have a cool system where you return your plastic bottles to a collection site and get some money back, it’s called Pant. If you’re anything like me, you’ll soon have a stockpile of bottles ready to return – they accept them at most supermarkets.
Because of how focussed they are on the environment, the harbour water in the city is incredibly clean – we’ve swam in it ourselves! They’re so confident in how clean it is that there are locations along the harbour called harbour baths where they have set up swimming zones. We visited Islands Brggye Havnebad, and whilst it was cold (yep it’s very cold), it was a refreshing and fun way to spend some time with our boys. They even had a rock pool-style paddling pool that they could enjoy. And the best thing in an expensive city is that they’re free! In fact there are lots of other fun free things to do in Copenhagen too!
It’s one of the best places to go with kids
We’ve done a lot of travelling with both of our boys, Copenhagen (Denmark) was the 18th country that we visited with our 3-year-old son Cameron. And wow, we all agreed that it was the best and we all left having had an incredible time.
The fact that we could easily cycle between places made is very easy to visit, and that when we did use the pram the fact that the city is flat made it very easy. There was lots to see in Copenhagen with kids, from street art, to people watching and some fantastic buildings such as The Round Tower. And of course, not forgetting the Lego Store.
FAQ’s Is Copenhagen Worth Visiting
Copenhagen is the Danish capital city and is found on the islands of Zealand and Amager. It’s separated from Malmö in Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The first Viking fishing village was founded in the 900’s.
Whilst it’s a great city any time of the year, most people agree that the summer months and Christmas time are the best time of year to visit. We visited in June when it was warm enough outside to enjoy walking around without jackets. In the summer months if has an average temperature of around 21°C in July and August. We’ve heard that Christmas is also a great time to visit because Copenhagen has a fantastic Christmas market vibe with ones in the city centre as well as at Tivoli Gardens. Just remember to wrap up warmly against the cold weather in the winter months!
Yes, compared to other European cities, Copenhagen is an expensive city, that’s because Denmark, like other Scandinavian countries is expensive. However, we travelled on a budget and you really can visit without it being too expensive if you do things such as buy food from supermarkets, eat at the street food markets such as Reffen, and make the most of money saving ideas such as the Copenhagen Card.
The currency in Copenhagen is the Danish Krone. You don’t really need to carry cash, we didn’t have any with us as used our cards for our entire stay.
Public transportation is great way to get around Copenhagen. It’s not free, however, it is great value and you can buy an adult day pass for 24 hours starting from 90DKK. You can easily buy your tickets from the ticket machine at the train station.
One of the fun things about Copenhagen is that there is a large amusement park right in the city centre called Tivoli Gardens. And rather incredibly it’s the second oldest amusement par in the world! You pay an entrance amount to get into the gardens and then you can either pay as you go for the rides, or you can buy a pass for unlimited rides. It’ll cost you 499DKK for an adult entrance and unlimited rides pass – which compared to other European amusement parks can feel quite expensive, especially if you’ve got several children with you.
The Copenhagen city card is great way to save money as it combines unlimited access public transportation, a canal cruise, along with free admission to over 80 attractions as well as return journey to Copenhagen airport. The card works out as being great value if you want to use public transportation and you visit enough of the attractions. The best way to check if it’s going to be worth it is to use their calculator which allows you to check off what you’re going to use it for free access to attractions and it’ll generate the saving value for you.
Final Thought On Is Copenhagen Worth Visiting
We had an amazing time in Copenhagen, and it really has become one of our favourite cities. Which is why we wanted to share our reasons for why Copenhagen is worth visiting, because we want to encourage others to visit and explore it. We hope that you do make a trip and that you have a fantastic time there!
