Amsterdam or Copenhagen in August with a 5 year old

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Any advice warmly welcomed. We're looking at Amsterdam or Copenhagen at the start of August with our 5 year old. She's not a great walker (physically able but will complain lots) but hoping to work on that over the next 6 months! We can fly from Glasgow or Edinburgh and thinking of going for 4 nights. Looking at these cities as they shouldn't be too warm and seem to have lots to do for young ones. Any advice or suggestions?

After some more googling we're now also considering Stockholm!

Copenhagen. Hands down no question.

All 3 would be great but I live Stockholm, then Copenhagen then Amsterdam. Amsterdam will likely be the cheapest when you get there.

I've been to both with small dc.
Amsterdam was in the mid 30s when we visited last August!

Copenhagen has Tivoli Gsrdens and for that reason alone, I'd take a 5 year old before she's too grown up for the rides and eating pancakes inside a whale.

We went to Amsterdam with our then five year old last Easter. We had a great time. He loved going to NEMO (science museum) and on a boat trip. He also quite enjoyed the Rijksmuseum as there was a booklet for children with challenges like find X etc. We did lots of walking but there are trams and a metro which we used for longer distances/when he was tired.

Thanks, this is helpful. Tivoli looks lovely. And the temperature is really important - we'd all struggle above mid 20s!

Copenhagen. Fabulous, super family friendly. Hire a bike with a big bucket on the front to pop your kid in and whizz around like the locals! The bike is king so your 5yr old won’t need to walk, you can literally bike everywhere on dedicated bike lanes. Castles palaces, Tivoli Gardens, harbour boat rides, swimming in the harbour… We went in May and had a mini heatwave at 30+ degrees which was unusual, generally Copenhagen doesn’t get that hot in summer I don’t think.

Thank you! This sounds like a fab idea! We did end up booking Copenhagen last night and the hotel we have reserved hires bikes. I'm excited - it looks like a really lovely city.

Hi! We are going to Copenhagen over Easter. Can I ask which hotel you booked? I can't decide! Only booked flights so far. Thanks!

I ended up going with the Grand Joanne based on location and reviews. There are so many hotels to choose from! I was prioritising location and room size as my DH, DD and I will be in the same room for 4 nights.

if you have any tips after your Easter trip please pass them on! Hope you have a great time.

Recommend a visit to Somods Bolcher, family-owned boiled sweet 'factory' (tiny) where you can watch them make the sweets, they let you try a warm just boiled sweet and then you can buy some too. Only a short visit (maybe 45 mins or so) but it's nice. The sweets are super yummy but also expensive. Choose a mixed bag to try many different kinds. Very central, 10 mins from the main square.
soemods-bolcher.dk/

My experience of Amsterdam in August is that while it is very child friendly in terms of things to do, it is rammed with tourists so it might be a bit overwhelming for a 5 year old. And not just with crowds but you have to have eyes in the back of your head re: people on bikes whizzing about- which again might be quite stressful with a 5 year old day after day.

Never been to Copenhagen so if it is less hectic in the summer then I would go there instead as everyone says how fab it is! And then visit Amsterdam out of season?

Here for the record recommendations as we are going to Copenhagen this summer. We’ll definitely be visiting Tivoli and the Experimentarium,

I realise you have decided now but I have been to Stockholm and Amsterdam with DC and of the two I definitely preferred Stockholm. In general I find the Scandinavian cities super family friendly.

This is what my friend sent me:

Tivoli
Kronborg castle (it’s an hour train ride from Copenhagen)
National museum (they had a good kids section)
Canal Boat tour
Rosenberg palace
Ripley’s believe it or not
Museums of illusions
Ameliaborg palace (change of guards ceremony)

I'll update after we go! I'm hoping it doesn't rain the whole time 🫣

We took twin three year olds to Copenhagen many years ago,

They loved it.

Tivoli was a massive hit as was the zoo.

A hedge maze just outside the apartment was also a hit.

We went to the beach for a few days as well and that was also popular (warning many beaches in Denmark feature naked Danes.)

Copenhagen. Tivoli, the Experimentarium museum, the Hans Christian Andersen museum, Guiness world records museum, boat trips, the round tower...

Just a word to the wise, Tivoli Gardens were closed when I went last month. Check when they open. They’re being refurbed.

They're always closed in the winter, aside from Halloween and Christmas. They open again in March until September.

Whereabouts did you choose for the beach section? We are planning similar (as well as few days in Billund for all things Lego). We’re ideally looking for somewhere we can get to by train but will consider renting a car.

Thanks! I'll check these out. Fingers crossed for dry weather 🤞🏻

Thanks for all the tips re Amsterdam. Think we've made the right choice for August and might visit Amsterdam during an October break.

Went to Copenhagen with a 4-year old (who is quite active and mature and enjoys city-break style vacations).
What we really liked:

• Tivoli (the attraction DD enjoyed the most and talks about it frequently, even though our trip was last year, she enjoyed many rides, cotton candy, it was delightful)
• Zoo (quite nice, there's a lovely jungle room with free-ranging sloths that are moving around the visitors and amazing butterflies flying around)
• Planetarium (open till late and has kid-friendly English films and an interesting interactive exposition)
• the Lego flagship store
• Botanical gardens and the surrounding park (we mainly enjoyed the Butterfly house)
• the Children's museum (kids get to dress as children from other historical periods, play in a Viking ship, visit traditional houses from various places, etc, it's very hands-on and interactive)
• did a boat trip (get sunscreen and hats and sunglasses)
• Kronborg castle and the Øresund Aquarium (Kronborg is lovely and was very interesting. The aquarium is small, but has two enormous aquariums where one can touch / feed the fish, including small sharks)
• Experimentarium - we thought DD would be a bit "young", but we could have easily spent a day there.

Bring an extra set of clothes for the experimentarium and quariums, lots of activities with water and DD was drenched.

Bring swim suits, the water in the canals is clean enough for a swim and it was a lovely experience for us to join the locals for a swim and streetfood.

What we didn't quite like - Natural history museum (the dinosaurs were the main attraction for us and they were on tour around Europe) and Rosenborg Castle (lovely for adults, but DD was bored).

Right before our evening flight, we spent 4-5 hours in the Den bla planet near the airport, was a lovely experience.

We found the food in Tivoli food hall quite affordable and good quality, also enjoyed the street food in Torvehallerne and southern bank of Inderhavnsbroen.

The Copenhagen card was very much worth it for us.

This is so helpful! I've looked at the Copenhagen Card and it looks great value so we'll definitely get that.

I don’t have young kids but definitely recommend Copenhagen, such a lovely city and the zoo is amazing. Absalon is a very good hotel, 2 minutes from the central station and really comfy/friendly.

I second the recommendation for Absalon!