Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen is cold, expensive, and popular as well as beautiful, cultured, and fun. In the summer the temperatures can reach up into the 70s degree Fahrenheit, but regular breezes can make it chilly, even then. The winters are obviously cold, with lows regularly around 30 degrees, .so there are worse, and colder places to be in the winter.
The city is surprisingly colorful in places, utilizing splashes of paint to break up an otherwise monotonous cityscape. A row of houses with loud hues, a green dome set in a block of austere buildings, or a canal filled with audaciously trimmed boats will liven up a walk through
Copenhagen.
The Danish Kroner is used in Denmark, and is designated as DKK. One krone is divided into 100 Øre. There is not a lot of cash used in most places tourists will visit in Copenhagen, so make sure your credit card is ready to use and remember to select your own card’s conversion rate, if there is an option.
Copenhagen has high quality food, and is known for plenty of excellent restaurants. Reservations are more of a thing here than many other modern cities, so plan ahead.
The city has excellent public transportation, based around a high quality metro and train system. The best part is that there is no scanning in, so hang on to your tickets. Grab a ticket for your ride at the station, and be prepared for a steward to check tickets at any time. There are large fines for stealing rides, so… don’t!
Copenhagen is also very walkable, so you will not need to take public transportation everywhere. The city has fallen prey to fire and plague in the past, numerous times, but through the destruction and loss has been able to reimagine its urban planning and create a place that makes more sense ina modern country. If you feel like moving faster, bike rentals are available. Stay moving in the bike lanes, as these are the main highway for many of the locals. Bicycles are a primary source of transportation for many of the urban Danish, who use the bike lanes for their daily commute. Don’t be the tourist who stops in the middle of the road to gawk.
Where to Go and What to Do
Nyhavn is a picturesque, and touristy, canal with vividly colored houses lining the waterway. Here you will find the types of restaurants and crowds that come with such a popular spot, and it would be wise to save your money and eat elsewhere. Given the multitude of choices in the city, it shouldn’t be hard to find a quality eatery.
This neighborhood and several others featuring canals will remind travelers of Amsterdam, with houseboats and colors all around and bikers traversing the land. These places are some of the most pleasant to take the air and observe Copenhagen while strolling.
It is easy to get to Nyhavn, as the Kongens Nytorv Metro station comes up to the square of the same name, where the canal of the Nyhavn ends. This is a great tourist stop to see a large square, some Danish architecture, the Nyhavn, and a statue of Christian V.
Kastellet is a fortress on the water that was built in the 1600s, and used to be a part of the walls protecting all of Copenhagen. While most of those fortifications are gone, this fort is still wonderfully preserved, even persisting as an active military installation to this day.
Langelinie is a park, promenade, and pier adjacent to the fortress. Though a tourist could be forgiven for thinking of the fortress, park, pier, and surrounding area as one place to visit, you can show your local chops by knowing the difference. Within Langelinie is one of Copenhagen’s most recognizable icons.
The Little Mermaid Statue is worth going to see, if for nothing more than it is well done, topical, and free. It is as stereotypical an activity as any tourist can do in Copenhagen, but that does not detract from the thing itself.
On a rock in the water off of the Langelinie promenade, the sculpture by Edvard Eriksen depicts a mermaid changing into a human, and of course is based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, who lived and is buried in Copenhagen. The statue was unveiled in 1913, and has been fairly popular ever since.
Just south of Langelinie is the Gefion Fountain, one of our favorite pieces. Depicting the Norse myth of the goddess Gefjon plowing out what would become the island of Zealand from the mainland of Sweden, it is a showpiece of the area and an eye catching sculpture. The plowed out area is supposedly now Sweden’s largest lake, Vänern, or as it is identified in the Ynglinga Saga, Löginn.
Just south of the Gefion Fountain is Amalienborg, royal palace of the kings of Denmark since the 18th century. The four separate buildings are an interesting choice for a royal residence, but they were originally built by four noble families and only later acquired by the crown.
How to Get Around
As noted above, you do not need to scan on or off public transportation in Copenhagen, but there are regular checks and hefty fines, so make sure you have your ticket beforehand! There are different tickets available, at different prices, that will allow you to travel to different zones in the city, so make sure you are selecting the one that you need when you make your purchase.
You can procure tickets through the ticket kiosks at the stations, at 7-Elevens in train and Metro stations, or with the DOT Tickets app. You can also use the City Card.
Similar to other city cards, Copenhagen’s offers access to public transportation and free entry or discounted entry to a number of attractions. It comes in two versions which offer different transportation and attraction options, and each of those are offered in different durations, for different prices.
The Metro is probably what you will encounter first if you are entering Copenhagen from the airport, and is what you’ll use the majority of the time in the city center. Buses are another option, although perhaps not as useful for visitors as for inhabitants, as they patrol areas most foreigners are less keen on visiting. The train is used for trips outside of the city, day trips or to travel outside of Copenhagen. The harbor bus is a ferry boat to traverse the water without driving all the way around, and is actually a decent alternative to a tour boat, especially if you are not interested in a tour guide or running commentary.
