Overview

Copenhagen has loads of interesting sights to check out, from elaborate royal palaces and castles to fantastic art museums and beautiful gardens. The Tivoli Gardens are the best place in town for people watching and come with much entertainment, while three of the most popular landmarks are the Christiansborg Palace, the Round Tower and the Little Mermaid.

Christiansborg Palace

Located on Slotsholmen Island, Christiansborg Palace is one of Copenhagen's most impressive structures. The palace houses the country's parliament, Supreme Court and Royal Reception rooms. Tours reveal an opulent interior which features the Queen's Library, the Throne Room and the Banqueting Hall. You can also see the remains of the castle that the palace was built on top of.

Tivoli Gardens

The Tivoli Gardens, founded in 1843, is one of Denmark's favourite attractions. The stunning gardens lie in the centre of the city and feature lots of buzzing attractions and people watching. Besides the beautiful manicured gardens is a theme park, loads of bars and restaurants and concerts in the evenings.

Frilandsmuseet Museum

This open-air museum is arguably Copenhagen's most interesting museum. It is just outside the city in Lyngby and is essentially a reconstructed village that features many mock-up buildings depicting life as it was in days gone by. These include Jutland fishermen's huts, an ancient wooden farmstead and an even older Faroe Islands longhouse. There are also tower windmills and a potter's workshop from the 1800s.

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle was King Christian IV's summer house back in the 1600s and is built in the Dutch Renaissance style. It is a museum today that shows off collections from the royal family's illustrious history, including the Crown Jewels in the cellars of the castle. When you've done touring the interior, have a wander around the castle's stunning grounds.

Amalienborg Palace

The 17th century Amalienborg Palace was the home of the Dane royals after the previous palace, Christiansborg, was razed to the ground by fire in 1794. There are four separate palaces built in the Danish Rococo style and all reside in a beautiful square along with a church. Each palace is decorated differently from the next and all are supremely opulent and feature much art and artefacts of the royals.

Round Tower (Rundetåtarn)

The Round Tower observatory was built in the 17th century and is one of the city's most attractive landmarks. The tower was actually part of Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen's old Latin Quarter and today provides stunning views over the city at around 700 feet. Various prominent exhibitions are held in the grounds.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is an important art gallery located near Tivoli Park, with works by van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir, as well as by former local artist Paul Gauguin. Carlsberg Brewery founder and art collector Carl Jacobsen founded the original collection in the 19th century, although it has been greatly expanded of late with fine Rodin sculptures and Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities.

The Little Mermaid (Den Lille Havfrue)

Copenhagen's The Little Mermaid, inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, sits on a rock overlooking the city's harbour and is one of the world's most photographed statues. Carl Jacobsen (the famous Carlsberg brewer) had the statue built by sculptor Edward Eriksen as a result of seeing a ballet performance of the fairy tale in 1909. The statue has previously lost an arm and two successive heads.

Overview

Like elsewhere in Scandinavia, the Danish capital has great scope for getting active, with extensive sporting facilities and large parks and lakes all over. Those into water activities, including boating, windsurfing, swimming and fishing, have lots of options, while the walking and cycling are also special here. In addition, Copenhagen has numerous golf courses, including one of Denmark's most highly rated.

Walking and cycling

Copenhagen has loads of walking and cycling potential owing to its profusion of green areas, space, and location on the water. Øster Voldgade in the centre of the city is a busy thoroughfare with good walking and comes with many pleasant gardens including Tivoli Gardens. The city's flat layout and miles of bicycle paths also adds to the appeal.

Swimming

There are several beaches in the city where you can have a dip, and despite being a Scandinavian country, the waters around the capital are not quite as frigid as you'd expect in the summer. Amager Strandpark in the south of the city is quite popular with swimmers and bathers, as are Charlottenlund and Klampenborg beaches to the north. Copenhagen also has many public swimming pools and saunas.

Outdoor ice skating

Copenhagen has quite a few open-air ice rinks throughout the city which get set up in the winter months so the public can go skating. Kongens Nytorv Square, near Nyhavn district, is the most popular spot for ice-skating in the city and is free to use, along with most of the other rinks. You can rent skates at the rinks.

Golf

Copenhagen has dozens of established golf courses in and around the city where all levels of handicap are catered for. Although prices can be a little on the high side, most courses are open to non-members and have good facilities and fairways. The best, most high-profile course is the advanced Rungsted Golf Klub in Rungsted on the affluent ‘Whiskey Trail' to the north of the city. You will need deep pockets and a healthy handicap to play here.

Boating and fishing

Being almost completely surrounded by water, Copenhagen has lots of scope for water lovers. You can take to a yacht and cruise around Koge Bay to the south of the city, or perhaps go kayaking on a city lake. In addition, fishing options are also good, with boat fishing and shore fishing both popular. The adventurous will also be pleased to learn that the windsurfing is excellent.

Dining and shopping

Copenhagen has well over 2,000 eateries, with snack bars, cafés and restaurants all over. Most tastes are catered for, with everything from typical top French and Italian eateries in the best areas of the city to a slew of Danish-only eateries and ubiquitous Danish fast food outlets and bakeries. Although the price of eating out in general in the Danish capital is high, the quality and standard of service is second to none. If you catch a nice sunny summer's day in Copenhagen, be sure to dine out at one of the many terrace cafés.

Good cafés and restaurants can be found in all areas of Copenhagen yet the best place to be and to be seen is Tivoli Gardens. There are loads of eateries here and virtually every taste, from Danish snack bars to full service international dining. The problem with eating in Tivoli, however, is the price. It is significantly more expensive to dine here than anywhere else in the city, but you get what you pay for and the atmosphere is unbeatable. Other popular eating areas in Copenhagen are around Central Station, Town Hall Square, and in the Nyhavn (New Harbour) district.

Although Danish food is not particularly mainstream and there aren't many dishes that are recognised worldwide, Danish pastry is well known and there is no better place than to try some than at a snack bar in the capital. The open-faced sandwiches known as smørrebrød are a must-try, while polser, likened to hot dogs, is popular Danish fast food.

Copenhagen has good shopping, from high fashion and eclectic souvenir shops to handicrafts and antique stores. Many people consistently return to Copenhagen specifically to shop, especially along the pedestrian shopping street known as Strøget. It lies in the heart of Copenhagen and features every type of store.

You will find everything from clothes to souvenirs and glassware along Strøget, which starts as Frederiksberggade and runs to Kongens Nytorv, via Østergade. Strøget is also loaded with eateries, including many fast food joints like McDonalds and local snacking pastry joints and pizza houses.

Other major shopping areas which lie near to Strøget are Bredgade and Læderstræde, most noted for antiques. Bredgade starts where Strøget ends at Kongens Nytorv and although prices are high, the choice is endless. Læderstræde also offers antiques with fairer prices, while nearby pedestrianised Gråbrødretorv and Fiolstræde have loads of bookshops in addition to antiques.

As to what to buy when visiting Copenhagen, the city is loaded with artisans, with everything from china, porcelain, and glassware to stainless steel, textiles and jewellery items all being widely available. Of course, the inventor of Lego is also well represented and all kinds of natty souvenirs can be had for little ones. The Little Mermaid models also make great gifts, while modern furniture items are sought after.

Copenhagen has the best restaurants in Scandinavia and there are thousands to choose from. They range from authentic, old-fashioned Danish pubs and kitchens to trendy cafés, live music venues and popular snacking bars. World-class Italian and French restaurants that require advanced booking can also be found here.

Overview

Copenhagen is accessible by air, road, rail and sea, with Kastrup International Airport being the main point of entry. This substantial airport receives flights from everywhere and is just outside of the city. The rail options to the centre are also good while high quality roads come in from everywhere. Copenhagen has an underground rail system (metro), an extensive bus system and a compact, walkable core.

Airports

Copenhagen's Kastrup International Airport is the gateway to the Danish capital and is Scandinavia's main airport, receiving flights from all over the world and handling in the region of 20 million passengers annually. The likes of SAS, British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, and American Airlines fly here, as well as a number of budget carriers. Facilities are exceptional and transport to the city is provided by trains, buses and taxis.

Kastrup International Airport is just a few miles to the southeast of Copenhagen and has three terminals: Terminal 1 services domestic and international flights; Terminal 2 services solely domestic scheduled flights; and Terminal 3 is dedicated to international flights. Terminals 1 and 2 are connected by a walkway, while Terminal 3 is linked to the other two terminals by free shuttle bus.

Facilities at Copenhagen's airport include banks, ATMs and currency exchange as well as a comprehensive collection of shops, cafés, restaurants and bars in all terminals. Trains, buses and taxis serve the city from the airport, with high-speed train being the most popular transfer option. Trains run to Copenhagen Central Station every 10 minutes from beneath Terminal 3, while buses also run to the city and farther afield. Taxis run from terminals 1 and 3, with a journey time to the city of about 20 minutes.

Public transportation

Efficient trains run to Copenhagen from mainland Europe via northern Germany, although services can be expensive and don't compare favourably with flying. Services also come in from the east from Malmö, Sweden, to Central Station (Hoved Banegården) via the massive Øresund Bridge.

The cheapest way to get to Copenhagen overland is by bus, and Eurolines coaches come in from cities all over Europe. There are also daily ferries from Oslo and Bornholm, while car ferries hit Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark from Harwich in southeast England for drivers coming from the UK. The drive from Esbjerg to Copenhagen takes about three hours and goes via Odense.

Copenhagen is mostly flat and well pedestrianised, meaning the need for public transport is only necessary when moving about extensively. It has a good rail network for travel to the suburbs and farther afield, as well as a useful new driverless metro system which links east and west and runs to the airport.

Copenhagen's bus network, known simply as HT (Hovedstadsområdets Trafikselskab), runs all over the city on a zone system and has Rådhuspladsen in the city centre as its main station. Single, multiple-ride, and daily tickets can be purchased. Taxis are metered and convenient but very expensive in Copenhagen, particularly so when running to and from the airport.

You can also explore parts of Copenhagen by boat as it is on the coast and has an extensive canal network. Several companies run boat tours around the canals. The city is also awash with cycle lanes and hiring a bike is a great way to get about owing to low pollution and the bike-friendly ethos of the city. Bikes can be hired all over.

You don't really need a hire car if you are primarily staying within the city, but it pays to have one if you plan to explore the surrounding countryside. The drive from the airport to the city is straightforward, while roads in Denmark are among the best in the world.