Shakespeare infamously noted “there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark” but our stay in Copenhagen was far from it; we enjoyed every minute of our time in this city.

How long to stay?

When we come visit a city, we try to stay long enough to get a good sense of the culture and cuisine in the city, rather than seeking to do every attraction in the trip on a single trip. I feel that doing everything a city has to offer leaves little incentive to return, even if we end up liking the city. With that said, we had a three night stay in the city and I think it was about the right amount of time. Anything less would be too much of a rush, but I think it’s challenging to stay much longer than four nights if you’re not looking into potential day trips to the surrounding region.

What we did

Tivoli Gardens

It’s tough to come over to Denmark and not end up at Tivoli Gardens, which is generally accepted as the second-oldest amusement park in the world. One of the best things about the theme park is that it’s usually open quite late into the evening (as late as midnight, but closed most of winter), making it a fun experience even after eating dinner in the city. There is a small entrance fee (180 DKK/adult, or about $25US) and a ride pass is a separate fee (189 DKK/adult). Once you buy your ride pass, you can ride anything in the park, so you can think of the full experience as costing about $50/adult, which is a pretty reasonable price.

What do you get with just paying the entrance fee? There might be free events going on within the Tivoli walls. There also is a Christmas market between late November and the end of the year. When we came here, we ended up not riding any rides and just stuck with paying the entrance fee–at the time, Alex was just a wee one-year-old and it was hard finding something suitable for a child that young. We did watch a few performances in different areas of the park and it was also nice to just people-watch.

Its central location makes it a must-do for everyone coming to Copenhagen and we would love to explore it a bit more next time.

Visit the work of Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a famed Danish storyteller who created many of the classic works still referenced today. He was an inspirational writer who focused a bit more on complex emotions than you would typically find in children’s stories but did so in a way that didn’t alienate children. He was born and died in Copenhagen, and you’ll find inspirations of his work throughout the town. Perhaps his most famous work “The Little Mermaid” is honored by a statue of a mermaid on the east side of town by the water’s edge of the Kastellet

A 10-minute drive away (and right by Tivoli) is the Hans Christian Andersen Experience. You can think of it as a somewhat-simple museum dedicated to his life and his works. Don’t expect to spend more than an hour inside. It was interesting to see his original stories and how they were adapted into modern life. It’s a must-do if you’re a literary fan.

Experimentarium

The Experimentarium is a very hands-on experience intended for children. While Alex was a bit young to understand everything that was going on, he greatly enjoyed the level of interactivity presented with every display here. The science museum has several stories dedicated to different topics and will provide entertainment for kids of all ages. Just note that this one is a bit further outside central Copenhagen, but there is a metro station nearby making it still easily accessible.

Copenhagen Zoo

Also a bit of a journey outside the central area of Copenhagen is the Copenhagen Zoo, available for a reasonable price of 249 DKK/adult (about $35US). While it’s a bit too far to walk (it’s about a 40 minute walk from Tivoli), you could opt for either bus or metro options for a more reasonable journey. We ended up spending a good half-day here, and you’ll find all your typical zoo animals here. In some ways, if you’ve been to one zoo, you’ve been to them all, but I felt like this zoo kept things real with more interesting signs and programs that added a bit of humor to distinguish it from other zoos.

One thing that was particularly nice for children were the claw machine games. We found quite a few of these machines that allowed players to keep going until they lost. Plus, we found similar stuffed animals available in the gift shop but for a higher price than at these machines, making it a fun way to get a souvenir at a reasonable price. I wish all claw machines were set up this way.

Sightseeing

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the most popular things to do was just to walk around town. Like many historic European cities, the ground is covered in cobblestone, making it a bit of a bumpy ride if you’re bringing along a stroller with a sleeping child (or checked bags), but it’s still workable with pretty much every metro station we went to having elevator access.

If you come to Copenhagen, you’ll have to check out the Nyhavn harbour, which has those incredibly iconic houses along the waterfront. Just be prepared for a lot of tourists to also have the same idea.

We also ended up at the nearby Lego store, which offered a pretty decent experience for kids just passing through. It’s not as expansive an experience as the three-day tour offered at Billund, Denmark (the home of the original workshop that started it all), but it’s still worth a stop if you happen to be passing by.

I thought it was cute that you can see a Lego version of the Nyhavn harbour from inside the store, so be sure to see the real thing first.

There’s also plenty to see as you walk around Kastellet and the neighboring Amalienborg Palace. You can officially take tours of the area, but we preferred to just take a peaceful stroll around town instead.

What we ate

Any Farmer’s Market

One thing that we ended up doing quite often during our stay was just to venture into any farmer’s market or ad-hoc collection of local restaurants and just eat meals there. Leading up to this trip, there was a lot of commentary that I heard from others saying food prices were a bit higher here than what we were used to back home. I’d say there is some truth to it, but I should caveat that the food we ate appeared to be more organic in nature. If I compared the price of organic food at home against food during our stay in Denmark, it wasn’t that far different. Obviously, your opinions may vary based on food prices from where you are, but we weren’t too shocked by the prices.

Now-Closed restaurants

What’s a bit sad is we dined at some fantastic restaurants but they have unfortunately already closed down since we’ve been there. We’re going to have to make another trip out here to try out more local eats.

Where we stayed

Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel

When we came to Copenhagen, I didn’t have enough Marriott points to consider a stay through them, but I did have enough Radisson points to book a room through their program (before they ultimately devalued the program so significantly that each point is only worth a small fraction of a point). Back then, you could book either a standard room or a “business” room that also provided free breakfast, which is what we did.

I thought it was a pretty decent hotel that offered an acceptable location as a base to explore the city. It would have been nicer to be a little more centric to where all the action was, but it was next to a metro station that made it fairly efficient to get to where we wanted to go. The hotel did provide a real crib for young Alex to use (always nicer than a cheap pack-and-play), but otherwise don’t expect too many amenities.

The breakfast here (included in our daily points rate) was pretty good, with some fresh juices, fruits, and delicious brie at their buffet in the main restaurant. If the upcharge for breakfast isn’t too much, I’d say it’s worth considering adding it to your rate.

While you’re here, check out our review of nearby Amsterdam or check out what we did in Paris.

What is your preferred activity in Copenhagen?