Copenhagen Travel Guide : Things You Need to Know

Your Copenhagen Weekend Break is coming closer and you’re looking for things to do in Copenhagen ? Hiya, you landed on the right page ! Copenhagen is the kind of city where it doesn’t matter if it’s your very first or 10th time there, there will always be plenty of things to do. Here’s your much needed 3 days Copenhagen Travel Guide, and some Scandinavia Roadtrip Ideas.

Before we head to the fun part of Copenhagen travel ideas, here is all the practical information you need to know. If you’re already aware of all those things, skip to the “Things to Do in Copenhagen” Part !

Where is Copenhagen ?

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, Europe, which has been recently nominated as the second happiest country on earth. Denmark is made up of 400 islands and the capital is in the South West. To find out the time in Copenhagen, if you need to check the UTC+2 time zone. 

When to travel to Copenhagen ? What’s the Copenhagen weather ? 

You can honestly travel there any time of the year, the temperature in Copenhagen is not too extreme : it rarely goes below -2°C or above 20°C. We personally visited in late October.

Do I need a visa to travel to Copenhagen ? 

Denmark is part of the European Union’s Schengen Agreement. It means you won’t need a passport or visa if you’re from another European country, but you may need one otherwise.

Is Copenhagen expensive to travel ? 

It totally depends on your way of travelling. Set your budget and I’m sure you’ll be able to stick with it. To give you an idea, 10 euros = 74 in danish krone (kr). You can find pretty cheap flights, cheap hotels or hostels. The restaurants are pretty overpriced, a cheap meal costs 12 eu (90 kr) and a pint 4 eu (30 kr). But the nordic city who owns the “most expensive city” title definitely is Oslo ! Here is an Oslo 3 days itinerary.

If you’re travelling on a budget like us and can’t eat out at every meal, here’s a tip : make your own sandwiches for lunch breaks and enjoy restaurants or a dinner at your guesthouse during the evening !

Is Copenhagen solo female traveller friendly ? 

Copenhagen is 100% solo female traveller friendly ! You must always be careful with your belongings, as in all big cities, but even at night, it feels very safe for everyone. 

Cheap Flights to Copenhagen Airport

The best way to travel to Copenhagen if you’re not in a nearby country is by plane. To travel from Copenhagen Airport to the city center, you can take the metro (around 30 minutes).

Best Way to travel around Copenhagen ?

Depending on how long you’re staying here, the different plans of the Copenhagen Travel Card Rejsekort are more or less rentable ! We bought two 72h zone 1-4 cards at the airport, for 200kr each (around 26€).

Copenhagen Hotels : where to stay in Copenhagen ? 

There are several accommodation options depending on your budget : hostels, airbnb or hotels. I’d personally recommend Nicholas’ airbnb, offering a nice sized room in a very cool flat near to public transport. The whole airbnb concept allows you to get to know a city from the locals’ point of view, which is really nice. Here’s an airbnb discount to get until 29 euros off : Soline Promo Code 😉

Things to do in Copenhagen 

Copenhagen Travel Guide : Day 1

And now, here’s what you landed on here for : the long awaited 3 days Copenhagen Travel Guide! When you arrive in a new big city, you can easily feel overwhelmed by all the people, the many things you want to do and the little time you have there.

Copenhagen Parks

Once you got out of the airport and checked in your accommodation, we highly recommend starting the Copenhagen tour with a walk in a park to set the tone and organise yourself a bit. We loved Kongens Have and the Botanisk Have of København. The second one has an impressive Botanic greenhouse, full of plants from the floor to the roof (literally!). You can even take a small stairway to go upstairs (not to mention the 40 degrees celsius inside). If you like those green refreshing atmospheres, I recommend checking out the best parks in Central Copenhagen.

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Freetown Christiania

After this great experience, we headed off in the fresh air to the place I consider as the most stunning spot of Copenhagen : Freetown Christiania. It’s basically an old hippies neighborhood who autoproclaimed their independence. I had never seen this much art in one single place. I’m losing words to describe this place so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

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The atmosphere of this neighborhood is unreal, it feels like leaving the EU with all your issues behind for a short moment when passing the sign “Freetown Christiania”. All this colorful art gives life to the place. You can spend one or three hours there : even with your eyes wide open, you won’t be able to catch it all. Do not miss the “Stadens Museum for Kunst”, at the top of an old building of the neighborhood. You’ll be able to hear about the place history and you can get awesome memories for very little money.

To end the day smoothly, you can head downtown to eat at some of the best Copenhagen restaurants or take a drink at Madame Chus, one of the best bars Copenhagen.

Copenhagen Travel Guide : Day 2

Copenhagen Kastellet

Ready to discover Copenhagen ever more? Let’s start day two! To dive into Denmark’s history, you can start your tour with a visit of one of the best preserved fortresses of Northern Europe : Kastellet. There is a park surrounding a little island with a castle and military base on the top of it. The funny thing about this place is we had absolutely no idea about it, we just ran into it and I can’t recommend it enough. Some guards were still doing the “traditional walk” while playing cornemuse. In the past, this place used to show the puissance of Copenhagen. I love getting lost in cities and discovering places we would have never thought to go to otherwise!

Denmark Design Museum

Then, we walked past the Denmark Design Museum and couldn’t not stop. If you like modern art, it’s a must go. All kinds of objects were transformed in art and you’ll be surprised every time you enter a room. Ps : it’s free for students and under 26.

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Marmokirken Church

From this point, we had a really nice walk in the port, next to the river and modern buildings. There were a few churches along the way, such as Marmorkirken, that we stopped inside to view. The roof was definitely as impressive from outside than from inside!

Best Copenhagen Restaurant : Copenhagen Street Food

There are tons of street food markets in Copenhagen. On the opposite side of the river, there’s one specific place you can’t pass : Copenhagen Street Food. This is a huge alternative hangar full of street food trucks, with nice decoration and life quotes, either funny or deep, literally everywhere (keep your eyes open !). It’s really animated and there are many different food options : you will find something you like for sure.

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Copenhagen Nyhavn

With your tommy and heart full, you can walk to THE most touristic place in Copenhagen : Nyhavn. You know, the famous waterfront colorful houses cliché? Yeah, that’s exactly what we are talking about. Well, its amazing reputation is well-deserved : this street is stunning. I would advise going there when the sun is reflecting on the canal, it enlightens them in a beautiful way.

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Shopping Copenhagen

If you’re interested in Shopping in Copenhagen, you can end the day at the most known street is Strøget Copenhagen, which is not far from Nyhavn. There are many known shop brands such as WeekDay, Urban Outfitters, H&M or Vans but also some luxury shops. I found a book I was craving to buy since the release day : The Sun and the Flowers by Rupi Kaur. It is a poetry book full of quotes and life advice.

Copenhagen Travel Guide : Day 3

Waking up naturally by the sun light is the best way to start the day, don’t you think ? It always puts you in a good mood. I’m usually not an early bird, but I feel like your sleep rhythm is disturbed when you’re not in your country. This is a good point for you if you’re visiting Copenhagen during autumn or winter time, because the sun sets at around 4/30pm.

Nørrebro

In the morning, you can stroll around the Nørrebro neighborhood. If you keep your eyes wide open and look up at buildings, you can spot some fine street art and run into cool coffee shops and thrift shops. There’s also a celebrity graveyard, mostly for writers and poets, with a luxury vegetation. That is really well maintained and loads of citizens are going there for a run. 

Danish Royal Library

You can stay in this neighborhood to eat : some of the best restaurants Copenhagen are in this alternative area. Then, you can head to one of the most eyes pleasing buildings I’ve seen : the Danish Royal Library, also known as “The Black Diamond”. The library has two faces : the old and royal part is at the back and the entrance of the building is new architecture. The view you get when you go to the top is marvelous!

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Tivoli Gardens

The place we went to right after the library was our personal highlight : Tivoli Gardens! This is the second oldest park in the world. Going there at the Halloween season was the best thing we could have done because the decorations were insane, and I truly mean it! Seeing all this in an asian decor blew us away. The entrance was 110kr and you have to pay more to do the attractions. Here are some pictures so you can see how it looks. On a side note, there are many restaurants and food stands, to enjoy an animated evening in this park.

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Scandinavian Road trip

If you still have some money in your pocket, there are many easy places to travel to from Copenhagen. You can leave the country for 5€ to go to Malmö in Sweden, by the stunning Øresund Bridge. It takes about one hour so it can be a daily trip : here are some travels ideas if you want to visit Malmo in 24 hours! From Malmo, we took a 10€ night coach to Oslo, Norway. Here is a 3 days Oslo Travel Guide. 

So once you’re in Copenhagen, doing a Scandinavian tour is really easy and cheap. I hope this 3 days itinerary in Copenhagen inspired you for your upcoming holidays. Do not hesitate to ask any questions or add cool must sees Copenhagen in the comments.