Copenhagen
Discover Copenhagen
Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital city of Denmark and forms the moderate conurbation that one million Danes call home. It is big enough to form a small Danish metropolis, with shopping, culture and nightlife par excellence, yet small enough still to feel intimate and be safe. Although mixed in its urban scene, the city is easy to navigate. Overlooking the Øresund Strait, connected to Sweden by a 15-km bridge-tunnel. Copenhagen serves as a cultural and geographic link between the Nordic countries and central Europe. Copenhagen is where old fairy tales blend with flashy modern architecture and world-class design; where warm jazz mixes with crisp electronica from Copenhagen's basements. You could feel you have seen all of Copenhagen in one day, but further exploration will keep you discovering more for months. Note: the image above has an error: the station between Flintholm and Jyllingevej is Vanløse (not Valby as shown).
What to Experience in Copenhagen
Taste of Copenhagen...
If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many shawarma and pizza joints that you find on almost every street in the city. You can get a shawarma for as little as kr 15-20 and pizzas start at around DKK 40. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on Vesterbro and Nørrebrogade on Nørrebro. For affordable and delicious pita kebab, try Ahaaa on Blågårds Plads, or Boys Shawarma & Is for dürüm kebab on Nørrebrogade 216. For the best kebab in the city go to Shawarma Grill House Frederiksberggade 36. If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style all-you-can eat buffet restaurants dotted around the inner city. Riz Raz is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for kr 145 (lunch) or kr 185 (dinner). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nearby, Ankara on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet that includes meat as well as salads. Nyhavns Faergekro at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades). For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's bakeries (Bager — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent.
A Rich Past
Explore the historical roots that shaped Copenhagen into what it is today.
If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour." Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of Roskilde. Absalon, archbishop of Lund 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today Slotsholmen (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament)....
Climate
Copenhagen, like the rest of Denmark, has four distinct seasons. The best time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August. Current weather forecasts can be checked at the Danish Meteorological Institute website. Spring, while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, Copenhageners come out of hibernation and flock to the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafes in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. Many locals consider this the high-point of the year. Summers in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of about 20°C, and the days are long — reaching a peak of 18 hours on 21 June. If the weather becomes too hot, you can use one of the free pools in the cool harbour waters near the centre. Copenhagen's harbour is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront.
Essential Information
Best Time to Visit
May – Augbest time to visit is definitely the warm period from early May to late August....
Getting There
Multiple Options55.628712.64861 Copenhagen Airport (CPH) on the nearby island of Amager is the central hub for Scandinavia's largest international air carrier SAS — Scandinavian Airlines. Copenhagen Airport consistently gets high marks for both design and function — this is a much more pleasant place for transit than, say, London Heathrow or Frankfurt and several carriers have direct intercontinental routes to Copenhagen, including: Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Egyptair, Qatar Airways, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, etc. Check-in lines can get long during peak hours however, so make sure to allocate extra time in the summer. Self-service check-in counters are available, which can cut down on wait times. Low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. EasyJet serves Copenhagen from London Gatwick, Manchester, Milan, Geneva, Paris CDG and Berlin. Norwegian offers budget flights to (among others) Liverpool, Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Budapest, Paris, Geneva, Vienna and Warsaw....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Copenhagen has an extensive, yet notoriously complicated and hard to crack, public transportation system. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to explore the city and get around. The two big hubs are Central Station (da: Hovedbanegården/København H) with S-trains, intercity trains, the metro and buses, and Nørreport Station with S-trains, metro, regional trains and buses. Travel by train, bus and metro can be scheduled electronically through rejseplanen.dk. One of the most perplexing feature of the public transportation system in Copenhagen is the zone system. The whole city, as well as the surrounding region is divided into fare zones. The range of a single zone can be roughly translated to around seven minutes in the Metro or fifteen minutes in a bus, but always check the zone maps in the stations, some stations are closer to zone borders than others.
Where to Stay
Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are in Indre By and Vesterbro. Special rates are often available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around well ahead of time, rather than spending your holiday budget on sleeping because you booked at the last minute. Many international hotel chains only maintain token presence in Denmark with a singular high-end business hotel in Copenhagen, or are not present at all. For example, large French hotel groups Accor and Group du Louvre eschew Denmark completely, which means the popular inexpensive Ibis and Campanile hotels are nowhere to be found in Copenhagen. On the other hand, local Scandinavian chains such as Scandic, Radisson BLU, First Hotels and Nordic Choice Hotels are very well represented throughout the Copenhagen region.
Money & Budget
Although Denmark is a member of the European Union, the currency remains the Danish krone (kr or DKK), which is pegged to the euro at a rate of about €1=kr 7.50. In Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Tivoli, and many of the major restaurants and hotels frequented by tourists accept Swedish kronor and euro, although it is not yet common practice elsewhere and they often use bad exchange rates. Banks are ubiquitous, so exchanging currencies will in most cases not present any major difficulties. Exchange offices are also becoming increasingly widespread, especially Scandinavian chains such as Forex and X-change, which often have decent rates and charge no commission unlike those on strøget which offer low rates and a very high commission.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial 112 for emergencies, and 114 for non-emergencies relating to the police. Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations. Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of Nørrebro and in the western suburbs. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists. While racism is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife.
Nearby Destinations
Glimpses of Copenhagen
Nyhavn 17
The Wonderful Nyhavn
lake between city under blue sky during daytime
boats in canal in Denmark during daytime
Copenhagen's newest bridge.
Tourists biking at Nyhavn, Copenhagen. www.febiyan.com
boats docked in a harbor
It’s hard not to miss a man poking his head out of a window. It’s doubly hard not to miss him as he brushes his teeth. I suppose it is better than staring at the mirror. I wish I had a bathroom with a view.
Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbor front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants.
Nyhavn in Copenhagen
Nyhavn 17
The Wonderful Nyhavn
lake between city under blue sky during daytime