Captivating Copenhagen: Top 10 Sights In Denmark’s Capital
Brightly-colored wooden buildings skirt along waterways and swarms of bikes buzz through the city – welcome to Copenhagen. Denmark’s capital is a wonderful place to spend a few days whether you’re looking to dive into arts and culture, eat a boatload of delicious pastries, or admire waterfront views with a craft beer in-hand cruising on a canal boat tour.
The city also has some activities that are distinctly its own – from Tivoli Gardens, the famous mid-19th century amusement park that inspired Disneyland, to Freetown Christiania, a semi-autonomous hippie commune founded in the 1970s. It also has plenty of green space with lovely parks and gardens, some incredibly cool architecture and design, and royal influence – from palaces to sparkling jewels – from its longstanding monarchy.
I spent a fantastic long weekend in Copenhagen at the end of the summer. I was blessed with blissfully long sunlit days and only the beginning of a fall chill in the air (I did bring and wear a light jacket).
Like other places in Scandinavia, Copenhagen isn’t cheap. The lodging and food here is pricey, as is the cost of visiting most museums and attractions. Still, you can find some relatively inexpensive quick eats (try Tivoli Food Court, Broens Street Food, or the food market at Torvehallerne, or choose to live on pastries like I did) and no-frills places to stay (I stayed at Steel House Copenhagen, a centrally-located, modern hostel).
It’s pretty easy to get around the center city area by walking (I did A LOT of walking) and taking public transportation every now and then. You can also do as the Danish do and bike around the city (biking is an integral part of the transportation system in Copenhagen and there are bikes everywhere), but make sure you understand the rules when it comes to biking in Copenhagen before you pedal off into the sunset. I found it easiest to stick to walking and taking public transit.
I came to Copenhagen armed with lists of recommendations from friends, tons of internet research, and a skip in my step knowing this was my final Scandinavian country left to visit.
So friends, without further ado, here’s my list of recommendations for what to do if you have a few days to spend in Copenhagen.
Top 10 things to do in Copenhagen
1. Stroll around and explore this charming city: Many people enjoy simply walking around Copenhagen. There’s plenty to see and do, particularly around the city center. You can also take a walking tour – I enjoyed my tour through Copenhagen Free Walking Tours (don’t forget to tip whenever you take a free walking tour). If you’re strolling around on your own, make sure to visit these generally touristy but worthwhile city highlights:
- Nyhavn (“New Harbor”): This touristic but emblematic spot has brightly-painted wooden buildings along with the city’s canals – you can admire boats along the water and stop by one of the (likely overpriced) restaurants or bars. You can also take some canal boat tours from here.
- Christiansborg Palace: A large, imposing palace in central Copenhagen that now houses Denmark’s government. I only admired it from the outside on my walking tour, but you can take tours to see the royal rooms inside, visit the ruins housed underneath (the palace was burned down and rebuilt a number of times over the past several hundred years), and go to the top of its tower to see sweeping views of the city.
- Amalienborg Palace: This is the official residence of the Danish royal family and features four palaces, a lovely octagonal courtyard, and a museum about the royal family. The changing of the guard takes place here everyday at 12pm.
- Rosenborg Castle (and the King’s Garden): I did go inside this renaissance castle (and former royal summer house) that was built in the early 17th century. The royally-decorated rooms inside weren’t really my thing, but I did enjoy seeing the royal treasury, which includes some impressive crown jewels. The palace is built on a charming public park called the King’s Garden.
- Kastellet (“The Citadel”): This 17th century star-shaped fortress has a number of preserved historical buildings and a lovely park surrounding it. It’s located near the (in)famous Little Mermaid statue, which is much smaller and underwhelming than you might expect, but I still thought it was cute.
- Botanical Gardens: I loved strolling through the ten hectares of diverse plant life and historical glass greenhouses that make up Copenhagen’s botanical gardens. It’s beautiful, peaceful, and a great place to get away from the bustle (and bikes) of the city. It’s also free unless you want to enter the Palm House, the main historic greenhouse with tropical and subtropical plants, and the butterfly garden, which require a ticket.
2. Cruise through Copenhagen’s famous canals on a boat tour: One of the most popular activities in Copenhagen is touring the city by boat and seeing its buildings, architecture, and other famous sights as you zip through the water. There are inexpensive canal boat tours out of Nyhavn like Stromma and Netto-Boats, but I enjoyed my tour with Hey Captain, which was pricier but also a more social and personalized small group experience. You can also captain your very own boat through Copenhagen’s canals with companies like GoBoat and FriendShips.
3. Check out works from some of the world’s greatest artists: Copenhagen has some incredible art museums. I went to Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (“Glyptoteket”), a museum in a unique and beautiful building that houses an amazing art collection from the son of one of Copenhagen’s original beer barons. Its vast sculpture collection ranges from Rodin to ancient Roman and Egyptian statues. In addition, the museum has paintings by some contemporary greats (Manet, Monet, Degas) and popular Danish artists.
I also heard very good things about the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark and the country’s largest art museum, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is located about an hour outside Copenhagen on public transit.
4. Expand your horizons at Copenhagen’s other museums: Along with some excellent art museums, Copenhagen has great museums on design, architecture, history, optical illusions, and more. Some of these include:
- Designmuseum Denmark: Interested in Danish and international design? This museum has exhibits on industrial design, arts and crafts, and more.
- National Museum of Denmark: This museum of cultural history features exhibits on Danish history going back thousands of years as well as artifacts from cultures around the world.
- Museum of Illusions: This fun museum opened in 2015 and features interactive exhibits and illusory spaces with plenty of photo-taking opportunities.
5. Admire Copenhagen from the top: I went to a couple of the best-known places for sweeping views of the city, including the Round Tower and the Church of Our Savior. The Round Tour was an easier climb and had decent views, but the Church of Our Savior’s twisty, serpentine-like spiral tower offered a truly stunning vista (after its breathtaking 400 steps to the top). The Church of Our Savior is an easy stop to fit in after visiting Freetown Christiania (~10 minute walk), but make sure to book your tickets in advance. I also heard good things about the views from Christiansborg Palace’s tower, but I didn’t get the chance to see them myself.
6. Experience the old school magic of Tivoli Gardens: In full transparency, I was convinced at the very last minute to visit Tivoli Gardens, which seemed at first glance to be touristy, expensive, and kinda kitschy. In fact, this historical amusement park founded in 1843 is all of those things, but it also has some adorable (and sometimes slightly offensive) old school rides and games, fun people-watching, and lots of activities from concerts to light shows. And it’s simply magical when lit up at night.
You can buy a ticket to walk around the grounds that isn’t outrageously expensive and decide later if you want to go on any rides (buying ride tickets individually). If you know you want to ride more than 4-5 rides, you should go ahead and buy an entrance ticket that includes unlimited rides. There are many restaurants and shops in Tivoli, but most of them are pricey. You can also bring in your own food and can enter and exit the park freely (after you buy an entrance ticket) by getting a hand stamp from one of the security guards.
7. Shop ‘til you drop at Strøget: Strøget is a popular and touristy pedestrian street full of shops ranging from H&M to the LEGO Store to Prada. There are also some local stores and cafes. It’s one of the longest pedestrian streets in Europe at 1.1 kilometers (~0.68 miles) in length. It wasn’t really my scene, but it’s pretty quick to walk through and tends to attract a lot of people and activity. While you’re there, I do recommend stopping by Conditori La Glace, the oldest patisserie in Denmark, for a delicious slice of cake.
8. Eat (and enjoy) lots of pastries: It seems like there are bakeries on every corner in Copenhagen with shop windows full of glistening cinnamon buns, flaky croissants, and (of course) Danish pastries. There are many opinions on which bakeries are the best, but some to put on your list include: Skt Peders Bageri (get the cinnamon bun), Juno the Bakery (get the cardamom bun and almond croissant), Anderson and Malliard, Lille Bakery, and Hart Bakery, to name a handful. That said, someone on my walking tour told me they had purchased delicious pastries that were freshly baked from…7-Eleven. It seems you can’t really go wrong wherever you get your pastries here.
9. Spend some time in nature at Copenhagen’s lovely parks: Copenhagen has some beautiful parks that are well-worth a visit and are my favorite price: free. If you’re looking for some green space in the urban Danish jungle, check out the King’s Gardens, Kastellet, the Botanical Gardens, or Frederiksberg Garden. If the weather is nice, you’ll likely see many locals out and about enjoying the city’s greenery as well.
10. Visit the free-spirited, artsy enclave of Christiania Freetown: Christiania Freetown is a semi-autonomous commune that was established by squatters in the 1970s. Known for its artsy, hippie vibes and open trade of cannabis, the area has been plagued in recent years by some violence (most recently a fatal shooting related to gang violence in 2023). Despite this, I felt perfectly safe when visiting on my own, at least in the daytime. I found my visit here to be underwhelming – they’ve shut down some parts of the community and it didn’t feel very authentic – but you can go for a brief visit during the day to see the area’s brightly colored murals, funky sculptures, and distinct atmosphere. It’s an easy, 15-minute walk across the bridge from Nyhavn.
A quick note on the Copenhagen Card: I didn’t use it during my trip, but if you’re planning on visiting a lot of the city’s sights and museums in a short amount of time, you might consider purchasing this digital card. For a set price, the DISCOVER card gives you free access to 80+ attractions and unlimited public transportation. Whether it’s worth it entirely depends on your planned itinerary, but it might be.
Copenhagen is the perfect place for a city break, although there’s plenty to do if you decide to stay longer than a few days. I know you’ll enjoy the fabulous pastries, (theme and nature) parks, and cultural, artistic, and historical marvels that this captivating city has to offer.
Visiting other Nordic countries? Check out my blog posts on exploring Norway’s breathtaking fjords (Part 1 and Part 2), visiting the top sights in Stockholm, Sweden, experiencing the best saunas in Helsinki, Finland, and planning an unforgettable long weekend winter visit to Iceland.
