Copenhagen tips?

[roisin]

We're having a city break to Copenhagen. Me, dh and boys: 14 and 16. They are pretty good with theatres, museums, art galleries, etc. So we're after trad city break stuff.

What are the must-sees?
Eating tips?

(We have only 5 days.)

Has anyone been?

Take lots of money. The area around the harbour/port has nice restaurants and bars. We went to tivoli which was nice and the kings castle, also good. We went and it was freezing so take hats and thermals.

We went last December and TBH found 3 days plenty . Tivoli is nice and the canal trip was good ( great guide) . It was freezing cold . We stayed in the crowne plaza about 10 minutes from the airport and it was fabulous and the trains into Copenhagen Central were excellent . I wouldn't say I found it too expensive but it's just not somewhere I'd go back to as we were fairly unimpressed ( although I know lots of people who love it ) .

Thank you.

I thought the Carlsberg brewery tour was very good. It was free, but that was a while ago. Not all commercialised like other brewery tours (Heineken one in Amsterdam & Guinness in Dublin)

Christiania was interesting for a wander too.

When we went on the Carlsberg tour at the end of it there are tables of free samples, each with a national flag on it. We were the only British people there, so the array of bottles on the Union Jack table were all for us.

We went to Denmark in August with our 4 yr old DS. We live in London so we had been warned that prices were on a similar level. Not even close ( about 40% higher). Could not get over how expensive it was. We stayed in Copenhagen for 4 days in a flat. We shopped at Netto which I think is probably similar to Aldi etc. to give you an example, a frozen pizza was about £7. We ate out once. My chicken burger was about £18. DH wouldnt let me have pudding.

Probably worth investing in a Copenhagen card. Covers entry to a lot of things and I think it covers transport as well. We only bought a 24 hr one so did a lot within that time. We went to Tivoli Gardens but bear in mind, although the steep entry fee is covered by the Copenhagen card, you have to pay for all the rides. I would not bother going again as it was just full of restaurants and fairground rides that you will see anywhere. I still can't understand the fuss.

We also went to the Aquarium and the Zoo.....maybe your kids are a bit old for that. We walked up to the top of the Round Tower and that was cool as I think the King at the time used to ride his horse up it. We didn't unfortunately see a lot else in Copenhagen as weather was pretty rubbish (bring waterproofs) and the cost put us off. We were in Denmark for 8 days and spent about £2k (DH now very anti-holiday after the experience).

One place we did want to see just outside of Copenhagen was the Louisiana museum which is an outdoor modern art museum but it was closed on the day we turned up.

Probably you will be in a position to do a lot more than we could do with a 4 yr old. The public transport is great. I would hire a bike too as it is such a major mode of transport. The people are lovely and it is a pretty place. Do your research before you go and price it out. Can't comment on the food but eating out is pricey as waiting staff earn a salary so are pretty well paid.

I agree with the previous posters, particularly about the sheer expense of the city. Hiring bikes is a great idea. The metro is handy from the airport into town but otherwise not so much. One tip is to use Irma supermarkets. They look fancier than Netto but actually surprised us by being far cheaper. I recommend the street food too : a Copenhagen hot-dog is so worth it! One lovely restaurant I recommend is Kobenhavn on Dronningens Tværgade. It isn't too pricy. Try to find all the free entry things to do: the museum is brilliant for this, as is the fortress Kastellet. Kongens Have is a lovely, peaceful park. The Spiral Church in Christianshavn is awesome (you need nerves of steel to climb to the very top but my DP says it's well worth it). The Palaces of Amalienborg and Christiansborg are lovely (paid entry but worth it). We really enjoy the peace and quiet of the waterfront behind Amalienborg after dark. It's a nice spot to unwind. The Cathedral is good and the Marble Church is stunning. There's a medical museum near the Marble Church. There's a Geological Museum and the University has a botanical garden, both off Oster Voldgade. The canal trips are a good idea too. They give the feet a rest: Copenhagen cobbles can really tire you out. Down at Langlinie you'll see the Little Mermaid: absolutely jam-packed with hundreds of tourists so go early if you want to see it. Check out the abundance of antiques shops on Bredgade, we found incredible Royal Copenhagen pieces for £3.50 there. There's an absolutely wonderful second-hand bookstore on Fiolstræde. We like the Copenhagen K area (around Amalienborg), it's peaceful but central, although expensive. You'll have such a good time, have fun!