Tell me what I have to do in Copenhagen, please

[TyneAndWeary]

Heading to Copenhagen at the weekend for five nights and keen to get an idea of some interesting things to do, nice places to eat etc. if anyone could give me some recommendations, please? We’re staying very close to Nyhavn and will be going to the Christmas market in Tivoli Gardens one day.

Two able-bodied adults who are happy to walk and hop on and off public transport. We like nice food, pretty buildings, and I’m a fan of quirky things like strange little museums!

Castles - loved the Christianburg Slot, though viewing the staterooms can be disrupted when the king is in residence. The tour of the cellars (with the ruins of the previous castles) was a great way of learning the history. Also absolutely loved Kronburg Slot (hamlets castle), and there is a brilliant food court Værftets Madmarked in one of the big old industrial buildings on the port - excellent food and beer and quirky surroundings.

Surprisingly we loved the War Museum, housed in old military buildings in the city. Really moving exhibition on the Danish units posted to Helmland Province, and lots of old models / maps showing the development of the city through history.

also loved Roskilde - the Viking museum is excellent and, again surprisingly, we loved there Roskilde Cathedral where the tombs of the royal family are - great way to learn the history of Denmark.

Aquarium gets a big thumbs up - the setting is stunning looking over to Sweden and the exhibits are very good - especially the rainforest walk and the giant tank. We easily spent most of the day there.

be warned that the design museum and probably others are closed on Mondays. The architecture museum was also closed for renovations when we visited.

loved Denmark and totally agree with the comment above - we went with DSs 13 and 16 and they loved it, best holiday destination yet.

Add Hart bakery to your list of places to eat

Rørt is my fave place for open sandwiches and is in a food market with lots of options.

It’s just such a nice city to walk around!

One of my favourite areas of Copenhagen to wander round is Nyboders Mindestuer - a grid of orange/yellow-coloured former barracks, some with cobbled streets. V picturesque. It's also close to Kastellet, mentioned by PPs, which is really worth a stroll around.

Hart and Juno have stand out pastries!

I went to Copenhagen with my daughter earlier this year - loved it!

The design museum is interesting and worth a wander and Studio Arhoj was fun.

@CoffeeAndPeanuts that's Torvehallen food market !! Lovely place

If it’s your thing check what’s on at the Opera House - we went at Christmas and the Nutcracker was on. I’d never seen Ballet before but it was lovely, festive, not too long and not too expensive!

@TyneAndWeary my tips on food and stuff

Coffee is one of the things that's expensive - we used to use the espresso house chain a lot ( nice interiors) and yes it's bit like a posher Starbucks. At £6 for a huge ( and I mean huge) coffee - I used to carry round a nice reusable beaker - and split them if H was with me - they easily did 2 good sized coffees, no one bats an eyelid. Same again with their rather massive nice ham and cheese focaccias - about £7 - more than enough for 2.

We got used to sharing 'a lot' - especially in casual cafes- some of the meals were insane - so for instance at the cafe Vivaldi chain we used to get a smoked salmon sandwich with salad and fries and just order extra fries or an extra side salad - about £22 in total - but still absolutely plenty for 2.

There are some really good ethnic
snacks places in the Norrebro area - a very hipster area , full of bakeries and vintage shops etc

Breakfast /lunch places
Mad&kaffe is a small chain - hip and very good food - medium priced

Wolff and konstali - several branches- excellent food- trendy interiors- mid priced

There are loads of breakfast buffet places too - didn't have a single crap one- Google them

I like Anderson & Maillard Bakeri in Norrebro - great pastries- lovely funky interior - Hart and Buka also very good indeed and the ole & steen chain are always reliable - indeed I attribute my 2 stone weight gain to the one &steen on our doorstep

Evening
Madklubben are a great mid priced chain with every restaurant themed differently - they do 'sets' for about £32 - my favourite was Tony's - which is by the harbour so only 3 minutes walk for you and Italian themed- it's not gourmet but it's good food, atmospheric and good value for Copenhagen- the one in Vesterbro is good too

There is a lovely bar tucked away in vesterbro called lidkoeb - big courtyard- very cosy

Favourite other restaurants
Vesterbro - Famo ( great Italian mid to high price - very short menu) they have a couple of branches

Vesterbro - cofoco - lovely small plate place -cool vibe - very nice food - mid to high

Meatpacking area - magasasa - oriental - can be a bit chaotic but funky interior, lowish to mid price- very good food ( I think) - not gourmet standard but for the money very good- popular with all ages too - very much a hipster area

Meatpacking -kodbyens fiskebar - fairly expensive fish place in industrial setting - food was amazingly good but it's 'industrial' surroundings and not huge portions - very trendy place -

Meatpacking - Mother - very fashionable and great sourdough pizzas - reasonable

Frederiksberg - Sokkalund- fantastically lovely Parisian style brasserie - really great for breakfast/brunch- mid priced - gets very busy. ( one of my absolute favourite places and slightly off the beaten track)

For those who like hygge, furryvrugs and blankets sat outside and braziers and beautiful lighting both Copenhagen and Stockholm take some beating.

One weird thing I loved when living there was the street lighting and lanterns strewn across the streets ( in parts) from one side to the other-made it feel rather 'different' - very 'continental'.

yes, definitely. I went on thurs too and it was really quiet, most of the rides I didn't need to queue for at all. A number of the bigger rides don't open until later in the evening though so bear that in mind. It's much prettier at night so I wouldn't bother going when it opens at 11am planning to stay all day - tip - you can get a stamp to be able to leave and come back if you wanted to go in for a few hours at say 2-5pm, then leave to get food/shelter somewhere if it's raining or very cold, and come back in time for the night. I think it's also cheaper on weekdays too.

We're only going to be in Copenhagen for a few hours on the Saturday so it's then or never!

Asking again though - is it quicker to get in if you've booked tickets online?

So many responses! Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all the fabulous advice and recommendations.

@TyneAndWeary have a lovey time - I really miss it !!

Tivoli? Yes. And the queuesmove pretty quick.

We went last year with our teenagers and loved it. We spent all day at Tivoli, there's a big choice of restaurants and quieter areas of the gardens so it can be as frenetic or calm as you want.

Another vote for the aquarium and Roskilde Viking Ship Museum. Also, Frederiksborg Castle and Gardens in Hillerød is an easy day trip from Copenhagen. My youngest enjoyed the changing of the guard at Amalienborg (I liked the Design Museum which is 10 minutes walk from there). We had 6 full days there and while we were doing things at a slightly slower pace with the DC I did think that we could easily have spent longer, there's lots we didn't get a chance to do or see. One of my favourite holidays because of the variety of things we did.

Tivoli? Yes. And the queuesmove pretty quick.
We went last year with our teenagers and loved it. We spent all day at Tivoli, there's a big choice of restaurants and quieter areas of the gardens so it can be as frenetic or calm as you want.

Thank you @JaninaDuszejko!

I’ll write a proper update during the week when I have more time, but just a quick note to say Copenhagen was incredible and if anyone was thinking of booking, they should go for it.

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely recommendations. Genuinely had such a lovely time.

Glad you enjoyed it- I really miss living there in so many ways

Definitely second this.

We returned from Copenhagen at the weekend after a short 3 day visit. Could have easily stayed another few days. Fabulous place!

Came across this thread just before we left and some great ideas on here.

For anyone still going, if you’re going to visit Tivoli gardens, you can get a stamp so you can return later on if you want to leave.

We went in the morning as soon as it opened and went on all the rides with no queues. Left for a few hours and returned in the evening when it was all lit up, as we’d already done them didn’t need to queue for the rides in the evening when it was busy.

Even if you don't like zoos .. I'm not a fan of zoos in general, but I enjoyed Copenhagen zoo.

We also liked the botanical gardens and the Design Museum. There were also some great food markets for smørrebrød. And as a pp has mentioned a boat trip is a great way to see the city in context.