Top 6 things to do in Copenhagen
Lizet Wesselman - 19/08/2022Top 6 things to do in Copenhagen
Lizet Wesselman - 19/08/2022Do you have a trip to Copenhagen planned, but actually have no idea what to do? Don’t panic, I didn’t know either, haha. But thanks to a lot of nice people I met in the 3 weeks I was there, I now know all the hidden places. I will share the best places in Copenhagen with you, plus a few insider tips. Let’s go!
1. Tivoli
If you’ve read up a little bit at all, you’ve probably seen Tivoli come by. This is probably the most popular attraction in Copenhagen. Literally, actually. You see, it’s an amusement park, but also a regular park for walking. It is a special concept. It is a park where you take a walk around the world, as it were. You pass beautiful buildings from Asia and the Middle East, for example. But also parks, beautiful flowers from that region and a huge pond with a fountain and a restaurant boat, where you can enjoy a drink or meal with a view.
At each corner, you’ll also find an attraction and often something of a game, like shooting or a camel race. Not your thing? Then I have good news. You only pay for entry to the park. You can then decide to go on a ride as well and buy separate tickets for that in the park itself. It’s more pricey than the park entry though. But for those who don’t care for the rides, it’s nice to be able to enjoy the park without paying full price. It’s €19,50 for the park (145 DKK). Do you want to go on the rides? Then you can add that for €22.18 (165 DKK) or purchase those tickets in the park. In the evening you are treated to beautifully illuminated buildings and they host regular outdoor concerts or performances.
2 Insider tips:
- At the market halls in the park you can get a stamp when you go out. With that stamp you can get back in. So if you went in the morning but would like to see the lights or go to a performance, you can just come back later without having to pay twice.
- Do you like to meet up with locals? Then check out who has a membership. I have met many people who have a membership and they can take 4(!) people for free! Super convenient, saves you money again. You still have to pay separately for the rides though, unless they have an all-in membership. I always post in local expat groups on Facebook to find people who want to meet up.
2. Nyhavn
Admit it, you saw a picture of the coloured houses in Copenhagen and expected the whole city to be like that, right? This is the first thing you’ll find when you search for Copenhagen, despite the fact that it’s only one little street. The rest of the city is actually quite modern and offers mostly a lot of futuristic buildings with lots of windows and sometimes unusual constructions. No less beautiful, but very different.
Yet that beautiful street with the coloured houses is a wonderful hotspot in the middle of the city. With cozy terraces and always very busy. Of course you pay the top price on these terraces, so you can also walk along. But it is definitely worth a visit!
Are you in a touristic mood? Then you can take a boat from here and make a trip through the city. Copenhagen is full of canals, so it’s no surprise that you can admire them from a boat.
Insider tip:
Although probably not very surprising, but if you want beautiful photos like this one, come early! It gets really crowded really fast and during the day tourist boats go back and forth constantly. Then you can really forget about a nice reflection like this one. This photo was taken half an hour after sunrise. It takes a while before the sun rises above the buildings.
3. Frederiks church
I am not religious at all, but often bring a visit to a local church. So I’ve seen a lot of them, but this was definitely one of the most beautiful ones! It’s a big round dome, so a very different structure than most churches. I really like it just because it’s pretty simple. It’s mostly decorated with marble, which led to it’s nickname as the marble church. This was very expensive, so it took a while to finish and they ended up using chalk stone for the top. But nonetheless very beautiful and everything matches together. There are beautiful drawings running towards the ceiling of the dome, but otherwise it doesn’t have too many paintings. The colours complement each other beautifully though, and it’s just a nice whole.
Insider tip:
Want a great photo with the church but don’t feel like getting up early to avoid the crowds? Then you could go higher up. A little further up you will find the parking garage “Jeudan Parking” where the rooftop gives you a nice view of the church. When I was there, the roof was closed. But definitely try it. And otherwise, the view from the balconies is also not bad, as you can see here.
4. Botanische tuin
Again, in a beautiful dome, you will find a beautiful botanical garden. Like all botanical gardens, you will find unique plants and flowers that you will not find in the wild in Europe. It consists of 2 parts, a large garden surrounding the natural history museum. This is free to visit and is therefore just a nice park to stroll around.
Then there is an indoor part, which you have to pay for. That is 60 DKK for adults, 40 DKK for children up to 17 and students. So about € 8/€6. Inside you’ll find beautiful plants from mostly warm areas and a good collection of beautiful butterflies. The building itself is worth a visit and is especially a popular Instagram hotspot.
5. Foodhalls
There are no less than 3 food halls in Copenhagen! They are obviously quite popular. The first one I had mentioned quickly, it belongs to Tivoli. To be honest, it’s not that special, it’s just a few stands and a boring seating area. So it’s more of a takeaway kind of thing.
The others are really nice though. Reffen is the largest and most popular. It’s therefore packed on hot days! Despite the fact that there are no less than 2500 seats! You can choose from 40 stalls with snacks and drinks and then take a seat at a picnic table or in a lazy beach chair, if they’re still free of course. They also host events here, so it’s definitely worth checking out the website before you go.
The second is Broens Gadekøkken, near Nyhavn. This one is a lot smaller, but very cozy. You can still find a lot of delicious things, like pokebowls, Italian and Greek.
Insider tips:
It is not technically forbidden to bring your own refreshments. It’s certainly not really appreciated, but if you come for a bite to eat and bring your own drink, nobody will turn you away either. By the way, there are also places where you can sit nicely by the water with your own picnic, such as Opheliaplatz.
6. Forgotten giants bicycle tour
Danish artist Thomas Dambo has placed a number of statues of giants all over the world. Of course most of them are to be found in Denmark and a lot of them around Copenhagen. The best known are the 6 “forgotten giants”. Although there are many more in the Copenhagen area, this is a separate project. All 6 giants are made of scrap wood and hidden in remote places. Little Tilde is hidden in a forest and Oscar is under a bridge. You can do a tour along all 6 forgotten giants. Of course you can cycle yourself or book an organized tour. The farthest is about an hour’s bike ride from the centre, if you do the whole tour it would take about 3 hours.
You can also find a few in the city itself. For example Green George in Christianahoeve.
More information about this project can be found on the website. There you can also find a map of the locations in Denmark and other locations in the world where these artworks can be found, for example in Mexico.
