Summer in Copenhagen and Stockholm- tips please

[bellinisurge]

We (me , DH and Dd (16)) are flying to Copenhagen and then going by train to Stockholm over 2 weeks in late July/early August 2023. At DD's request we are going to theme park at each. DH (and me) looking forward to the Vasa museum .
We like mooching in little shops, visiting museums and art galleries, walking by seafronts , eating biscuits and cakes.
Any tips and suggestions welcome.

Definitely Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Possibly also Bakken in the deer garden/wood.

Make sure to try the proper Danish hot dogs (traditionally had with chocolate milk). Adults might have a beer with it instead, if they prefer.

A boat trip around the little islands near Stockholm. Went the Vasa museum many years ago its very impressive.

Thank you very much. We just found out about the hot dogs - dd very keen

Aquarium in Copenhagen is fantastic.

Vasa museum is amazing! Also in Stockholm... Skansen! My husband and I went in November a few years ago and we just loved it.

Skansen is a must in Stockholm and second the boat trip to the islands. There are a dozen free museums in Stockholm too, haven’t been to all of them but the ones I visited were good. You can take a boat to the Vasa museum which added to the fun for my kids. The palace and gardens at Drottningholm are worth a visit and there’s lots of parks and places to swim too.

You can swim at some of the city piers in Copenhagen.

Having just come back from living in Copenhagen I know both places really well

Copenhagen - Tivoli is central and lovely but Bakken is beautifully set in woods and is full of really old school rides and wooden coffee places etc - very Hanseland Gretal- you can get to it in 15 minutes on train. The beach front at Amager is really nice white soft sand and has cafes etc plus sports. Again metro is10 minutes to get you there. Frederiksberg is a really nice area (on metro) and has a lovely park plus shopping centre etc. the hot dogs are great- my favourite is by the round tower in the centre. Also recommend Torvehallen which is a big indoor food hall - swanky and pretty too. It's quite pricey generally everywhere for eating out and drinking out but the large coffees in Espresso house are huge enough to share! As are some meals. The indoor food hall at Tivoli has some good and cheaper options. Museums, acquarium etc - all excellent

Stockholm - as someone else said Skansen and vasa museum is excellent as is the Abba museum plus the theme park-and they are all in the same area- you catch the boat or bus to it. Lovely city, very hilly in parts outside the centre. I recommend a great small chain called Greasy spoon! Fab brunch food at sensible prices- they also have a lovely indoor food hall in ostermalm. Uppsala is really nice too and just 25 minutes or so on the train

Forgot to say- in Copenhagen- get the train/bus to Dragor- beautiful little fishing village - only about 5miles out near airport-or get metro to airport and a cab . Ice cream in Denmark was fantastic- get what they call soft ice dusted in cocoa powder- best I've had in the world.

Oh yes, definitely the softice! And the Gammeldags as well.

Beware, the ice creams are HUGE so don't over-estimate how much you will be able to eat...

Agree the Drottingham palace is lovely. If we were to go again I would try and spend a night on one of the islands.

We really enjoyed Stockholm.

You’ll have an amazing time. We did a similar trip by inter rail this summer with our 8 & 10 year olds. We did Copenhagen - Stockholm - Oslo - Fläm - Bergen. it was an absolutely brilliant trip - they loved Tivoli, the boat trip out to the Swedish islands(ours went to Sandhamn which took two hours each way and was booked at the harbour on the morning of.) You can swim pretty much everywhere it seems to us, so we always kept swimming costumes and one of those sports microfibres towels in our backpacks to take advantage of the opportunities. Having flashbacks of my Espresso House iced coffee now! Enjoy yourselves.

Wonderful stuff

Make sure to have coffee and cakes/pastries as much as you can, too!

Now I want to go back to Stockholm 😂 Think we're going to wait until our son is old enough to enjoy the summer viking things they have going on on the islands though.

How did you find inter-railing with kids? @SherlocksDeerstalker I've suggested it to DH. Our kids are 12/14.

Hi there. I live in Copenhagen so happy to answer any questions. In addition to what has been suggested, I would also say:

Hire a Go Boat and see the city from the water - especially Christiana

Go to Reffen - it’s only open during the summer but is a street food haven. Great music, lazy atmosphere and awesome food.

Danish History museum - if that’s your thing.

These itineraries sound great but how expensive is it all?

@HannahBee123 Ah Reffen! And Christiana -I'm getting very nostalgic !! And all those lights left up till February. I can feel a long weekend coming on in the summer and even better I know everywhere to go!!

@SwedishEdith With a name like that you must know it's pricey!! Or maybe I'm wrong?? We did find Copenhagen more expensive than Stockholm but when living there it wasn't so bad as main expense we found was eating out and drinking out- so we just did less of it- which is harder as a tourist. Also stuff like hairdressers was expensive- again , not usually doing as a tourist. Metro wasn't too bad moneywise- cheaper than London but smaller distances. Museums etc- not too bad either. Theme parks etc were like UK prices- beach was free!! Advantage of Bakken was a pay as you go option .

If you haven't had enough of the rides at Tivoli in Kopenhagen, visit Gröna Lund at Djurgården, Stockholm; just across the road from Skansen.
With a 16 yo, you can easily walk everywhere in central Stockholm and it is literally a walk in the park, so peaceful and clean. The area around Skeppsholmen, Gamla Stan, Söder och Kungsträdgården makes for easy walking with lots to see, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Royal Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
Enjoy!

Thank you all very much. Gröna Lund is already on her list.

@swedishedith as pp said most museums in Sweden free (although Vasa and theme parks obviously cost). I would skip ABBA unless a die hard fan. Stockholm can easily be walked depending on where you're heading and public transport incl boat to say Djurgården reasonable.

Shorter trips around archipelago not expensive either. Obviously will cost but so will most holidays.

Also Swedish crown around 12.50+ to the pound which works in our favour.

I bloody Love Stockholm (biased).

Also Gröna Lund cheap to enter for just mooching and you pay separately for rides so if not everyone is going on rides that will be cheaper too.

Thank you @Crikeyalmighty and @Pawtucketbrew 😊

I only know copenhange but I would recommend -

glyptotek museum - fabulous building & a good mixture of art

also go to Reffen (on Refshaleoen island) for a meal - it is a great street food zone with some art museums and lot of hipster bars etc.

Christiania anarchist freetown - if you like wandering and seeing an alternative lifestyle. plenty of dealers will offer you pot but you can safely ignore them and it is all very safe.

and every time we go (often for family), my kids insist on going to Experimentarium which is the best science museum ever. my 14 year old is getting a little too old for it but it is still great. everything is interactive.