Guide to Copenhagen: How to spend your time and not all your money
THE HAPPIEST CITY IN THE WORLD JUST GOT HAPPIER
Why? Because I've got some tips that'll help you make the most of your trip to Copenhagen on a budget.
Hellloooo!! I hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday. I know I’ve been all over the place lately- promising certain posts about different things- and trust me, I really do plan on writing about all of that, eventually. I’ll get there. I promise. I'm just a little unorganized at the moment with finals approaching, preparing to leave Liverpool (I seriously cannot believe how fast these past three months have gone!!) and well at times I'm just a little scatter brained.
ANYWAY…while I’m still working on various posts, I decided to drop a blog about Copenhagen first. For no particular reason other than it’s just how I’ve decided to do it so GET EXCITED!!!
Copenhagen was the last city that Obie and I traveled to over our Easter break (okay so maybe this is why I’m writing about this first? Yes. Let’s go with that. There is a rhyme to my reason.)
Copenhagen is a very beautiful city and it's easy see why it's regularly voted as the happiest city in the world.
However, it's a slightly more expensive city. So I thought I would detail what Obie and I did in Copenhagen to save some money and enjoy the many wonderful things Copenhagen has to offer all on a budget.
Maybe, just maybe, I’ll inspire you to plan your next trip there :)
DANHOSTEL COPENHAGEN CITY
First I want to talk about the hostel we stayed in, Danhostel Copenhagen City. Hands down the best hostel Obie and I have ever been to (we've stayed in 11 hostels now so that's saying something). When we walked in we were just hoping and praying that we were in fact in the right place, because this place resembled a hotel, not your typical hostel. We stayed there for three nights and our total was $80 each. We were on the 13th floor and we had the most breathtaking view right from our room. Here’s a pic I snapped of the sunrise:
There was a café/ bar area downstairs and we only had four other roommates. It was clean and nice and just amazing. I would definitely recommend staying there if you’re looking for a hostel in Copenhagen. The hostel is also very close to the city center which was super nice because we didn’t have to pay for transportation while staying there. Needless to say, we were thrilled with our stay.
NYHAVN
This is the area you’ll see if you Google pictures of Copenhagen; beautifully colored houses lining canals with sailboats—this is the lovely area of Nyhavn. Obviously Nyhavn is a must see area in Copenhagen. It is absolutely beautiful. There are restaurants lining the canal where you can sit and outside under heaters with a blanket and take in the view. These restaurants are typically very expensive because of their location. I would suggest sitting there at least once and maybe only ordering a drink, just because it's really cozy and cute. Try not to get stuck eating in this area for every meal though, that is, if you want some money leftover when you leave lol. Another cheaper option to enjoy this view is to find a nearby shop, buy some snacks and drinks, and just sit on the edge of the canal to take in the view. Obie and I did that every day in Copenhagen and it was my favorite thing to do. Make sure you also checkout this area at night. The water is lit up with the reflection of the lights and it’s just so beautiful.
COPENHAGEN FREE WALKING TOURS
That’s right, you heard me free. Nothing is better than free am I right?? I think Obie and I can both agree that this was one of the best free tours we have ever been on. The tour guides are extremely friendly and the tour itself is very thorough. The guides get paid 100% off of tips so they’re all motivated to give really engaging tours. This tour took us to City Hall Square, Christiansborg Palace, old City Center, Nyhavn, and the Amalienborg Palace.
CANAL TOUR
I would do this AFTER you do the walking tour, if you choose to do that, because our guide gave us a discount card for the canal tours after she finished giving us the walking tour. This was a slight bummer for Obie and I because we had already been on the canal tour.
I enjoyed the this tour because it took us to areas in Copenhagen we wouldn’t have otherwise seen and we also learned a little bit more about the city which is always fun. PLUS who doesn’t love boat rides?!? I guess people who get seasick really easily… but that’s beside the point lol.
CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE TOWER
Go up to the top of the Christiansborg Palace tower. This is also absolutely free!!! It’s the tallest tower in Copenhagen so you’ll get the very best view of the city. There’s a restaurant you can book to eat at in the tower if you want as well. On a clear day you can see all the way to Sweden.
TIVOLI GARDENS
The Tivoli Gardens is the second oldest amusement park in the world (the oldest is also located in Denmark as well.) Fun Fact: Walt Disney actually visited this amusement park to get inspiration for Disney World.
My personal opinion: Disney World wins by a landslide. It looked pretty small from the outside.
Obie and I didn’t end up actually paying to go into this amusement park, but it’s a pretty big tourist attraction, so if that’s something you’re interested in seeing while you visit you should consider it!
We peaked through the gates and it looked very pretty. Obie and I mainly wanted to see the gardens because, if I’m being honest, the rides kind of looked less than thrilling. But hey, I’ve been to Worlds of Fun a million times so I’m obviously a roller coaster snob and those rides looked like they had nothing on the Mamba. I was getting more Camp Snoopy vibes. Again, I didn’t go in, this is just from what I could see on the outside.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
The Little Mermaid statue was voted the second most underwhelming tourist attraction in the world. Second to Manneken Pis in Brussels, which I also saw—and it rightfully holds its spot at number one. However, I thought the Little Mermaid statue, while small, was quite nice. The tour guides on the canal cruise and the walking tour talked about some of the history behind the statue and the creation of the original, rather dark Little Mermaid story, written by Copenhagen local H.C. Andersen. After knowing that, it made the Little Mermaid more interesting to see.
AMALIENBORG PALACE
If you’ve been to London, or read my blog about London, and you made it to the part where I talked about the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, you’ll know that it’s a HUGE tourist attraction and is insanely hectic to try to watch. If you don’t make it to London and you still want to see the guys in the funny furry hats, you can watch the changing of the guards in Copenhagen. It is much less of a huge deal in Copenhagen, mainly because the royal family there doesn’t get as much hype as the English Royal family does. The changing is also less of a theatrical performance.
When Obie and I watched it, there was no band, simply just marching men in uniforms. However, if the King or Queen is in the palace the guards are accompanied with a Royal band so you’ll get more of a grand show. If Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik or Prince Joachim are in the palace then the guards are accompanied with flutes and drums. If the palace is vacant, then the guards will have no music.
So I guess Obie and I were just unlucky lol.
However, the changing was still cool because we had a much better view in Copenhagen than we did in London and we didn’t have to fight a massive crowd to see it. The whole changing didn’t last longer than 30 minutes, unlike the one at Buckingham, which lasted at least an hour—we ducked out after that long. So if you want to see guys in funny uniforms march around and yell inaudible things because it’s pretty European—definitely check this out. The changing happens every day at noon.
DANISH FOOD
My favorite part- food. Our tour guide gave us some traditional must try Danish dish suggestions. One of those was smørrebrød. Smørrebrød is basically an open-faced sandwich on Rye bread with an assortment of toppings. Obie and I tried an egg and shrimp one (which I enjoyed, but Obie didn’t as much) and a roast beef one (which we both loved). According to our tour guide, this is what Danish people eat almost every day. So, if you really want to experience the food of the area, I would recommend trying smørrebrød. They serve this dish in just about every restaurant in Copenhagen.
YOU WILL GET THE BEST DANISH IN THE WORLD AT ANDERSENS BAKERY. Seriously. DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS. YOU WILL REGRET IT. I feel sorry for you if you go to Copenhagen and you don’t try a danish from here. The things I would do for another one of those danishes… TO DIE FOR. THE CAPS ARE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Also please bring me back one. Thanks :)
Another traditional Danish dish is fried pork, or Stegt flæsk in Dutch. This is probably one of my favorite meals I’ve ever had, like ever. It’s typically served with potatoes and a white parsley sauce and let me tell you that sauce is heavenly.
A cheap way to enjoy lunch in Copenhagen would be to stop by one of the several hotdog stands. There are tons around the Nyhavn area. Just trust me and get one with everything on it and get a chocolate milk to go with it. It’s the Copenhagen way. I’m not a huge hotdog fan, but this was truly an odd and yet amazing combination.
STRØGET
Strøget is a car free shopping area in Copenhagen. It is one of Europe’s longest pedestrian streets and it's filled with several stores and shops. It’s a great place to get a souvenir or some new clothes. There are even a few places to grab a bite to eat along this street.
THE CARLSBERG EXPERIENCE
The Carlsberg brewery is a bit outside of the center of Copenhagen. I put this on here last because it was fun, but not as cool as the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam (which I would definitely recommend). If you’re a beer connoisseur and this stuff intrigues you, I would suggest making the trip out to the brewery. The cost isn’t high, you'll see the largest collection of unopened beer bottles in the world, there’s a hayride and you get two free beers at the end. If you only have a few days in Copenhagen and you don’t have time for this, I wouldn’t sweat it. It was fun, but not my absolute favorite thing we did in Copenhagen.
Well those were my favorite things to do in Copenhagen! There is obviously so much more to see and do- like visiting Freetown Christiania, the self-proclaimed anarchist district in Copenhagen (totally weird right??) - but if you start off your trip with the tour, your guide will give you some suggestions if you want more! These were just some of the things Obie and I chose to do during our time there. I hope this was helpful!
To maybe inspire you to plan your next trip to Copenhagen I’ve added a gallery of pictures from our trip to this post :)
As always- feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have as you’re planning to travel, or as you're traveling. I’m more than happy to help!
See you soon with a post about…well it could be about hostels, or any of the other cities I’ve visited...I’m just going to keep you all on your toes and surprise you. And possibly myself. :)
Cheers,
Isabel
