Copenhagen, Denmark

[AustinTink]

Has anyone been? Anyone an expert? I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip and would love to hear any travel tips.

 

[iivye]

We did a few days in Copenhagen prior to our Iceland cruise. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers on points. It was outside of the city but right on the train line so it was very easy to get to the city. We bought the Copenhagen Card in advance and that covered all train transportation, admission to pretty much all the tourist attractions and a boat tour. My favorite things were Frederiksborg Castle, seeing the crown jewels at Rosenborg Castle, and eating on Nyhavn waterfront. My advice would be to get the Copenhagen Card and go to any place that interests you. The best part of the card was that if we went to one of the attractions and didn't care for it we would leave and not feel guilty about the entrance fees because there were plenty of other places to see that were also included. We would love to go back to Copenhagen as two days was just not enough.

 

[Disneyland1084]

I was just in Coppenhagen last June. I wasn't there very long, but I highly recommend going to Tivoli Gardens. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_(Copenhagen) This amusement park is 175 years old. I enjoyed the canal tours. And if you have time, visit the District of Christine, which is right next to Tower of Babylon. (Sp) But please read about it before you make the decision to go. I stayed back at the hotel when my DH and nephew went. It's not appropriate for young children.

 

[AlohaNow]

We were in Copenhagen three years ago and loved it. We pre-ordered our Copenhagen Cards and exchanged the vouchers at the airport. That way we had train transportation to our fabulous rental apartment. So funny that Disneyland1084 mentioned Christiania, because our rental was literally at the edge of it! Right across from ‘the church with the wrong stairs’ as it is called, which my kids loved. We visited the castles, Tivoli, had the obligatory overpriced lunch at Nyhavn, etc. The transit system is wonderful. I can’t really recommend restaurants, as we grocery shopped and had most meals in our apartment. If I think of anything that is more helpful, I’ll be sure to post! Have fun planning!

 

[AustinTink]

Just looked up Christiana. Interesting, to say the least.

This makes me wonder. Did you feel unsafe in any areas of Copenhagen?

 

[Micca]

Copenhagen is awesome, Tivoli was an inspiration to Walt to build DLR.

 

[AlohaNow]

Just looked up Christiana. Interesting, to say the least.

This makes me wonder. Did you feel unsafe in any areas of Copenhagen?

Oh no, not at all. Even while walking around Christiania. Everyone is just there to have a good time! (For those who haven't Googled it, it's a commune and open air hash market.) But then again, we are used to big cities like NY, so it's no big deal to us. Just be alert like you would anywhere else. We certainly never felt unsafe. Our Danish friends thought it was so cool that our apartment was right there, and they had fun showing their kids Christiania for the first time! The adults hadn't been there in years so they were curious to see it as well.

 

[AlohaNow]

Copenhagen is awesome, Tivoli was an inspiration to Walt to build DLR.

Actual conversation while at Tivoli between me and DS8 at the time. Me: "They say this was Walt's inspiration for building Disneyland." Son: "Inspiration? More like total rip off."

 

[AustinTink]

Copenhagen is awesome, Tivoli was an inspiration to Walt to build DLR.

I just looked this up. I had no idea! I knew he fashioned Sleeping Beauty's Castle after that castle in Germany, but I had no idea the whole park was fashioned after Tivoli Gardens. I had never even heard of Tivoli Gardens until now.

 

[ashley0139]

I was there in March last year. I stayed in an Airbnb with my cousin and then moved to the Steel House Copenhagen hostel, which I can highly recommend if you are looking for a hostel instead of a hotel. It's new and beautiful and the bunks are more like pods instead of open air bunks, and the bathroom was very nice. There is a ton to do in Copenhagen. I recommend doing a free walking tour to get the lay of the land. Our tour guide had some nice facts he shared and we walked from the main square basically to The Little Mermaid. I walked through Tivoli at night which was beautiful but did not ride any rides. I also did a day trip with new friends to Helsingor. We went to the usual castles, up a few towers (always my favorite), walked around the shopping district, walked through Christiana. Food is insanely expensive there. I didn't do a single sit down meal. I was able to do it very cheaply.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Tivoli is smack in the middle of the city and it’s wonderful. We also enjoyed the planetarium and shopping on Strøget. We weren’t there long thoug, our flight got canceled and we ended up with two nights and a glorious day in Copenhagen flying back from Italy. Loved it and want to go back badly.

 

[Micca]

I just looked this up. I had no idea! I knew he fashioned Sleeping Beauty's Castle after that castle in Germany, but I had no idea the whole park was fashioned after Tivoli Gardens. I had never even heard of Tivoli Gardens until now.

It's been many years since I've been to Tivoli. I think part of what Walt may have taken away from it was that it was cleaner and more well run than amusement parks of the era. Also you can see in photos of the early version of Fantasyland at DLR that sort of "carnival tent" facade on some of the attractions. I'm also remembering that Tivoli had some more upscale food options than amusement parks in the U.S. offered, Walt would have noticed that. Here's a bit of the wiki entry:

From the very start, Tivoli included a variety of attractions: buildings in the exotic style of an imaginary Orient: a theatre, band stands, restaurants and cafés, flower gardens, and mechanical amusement rides such as a merry-go-round and a primitive scenic railway. After dark, colored lamps illuminated the gardens. On certain evenings, specially designed fireworks could be seen reflected in Tivoli's lake.

Also Copenhagen is just a fantastic place. It's really all we had time for as we passed through Denmark but I'd go back for a longer stay for sure.

 

[AustinTink]

I wonder why Copenhagen isn't one of the top destinations for travel abroad? It sounds just lovely.

 

[ashley0139]

I wonder why Copenhagen isn't one of the top destinations for travel abroad? It sounds just lovely.

I liked Copenhagen but I LOVED Stockholm, which even fewer people talk about/go to.

 

[Disneyland1084]

Just looked up Christiana. Interesting, to say the least.

This makes me wonder. Did you feel unsafe in any areas of Copenhagen?

No, I felt very safe. I was with 7 people though, and I don't remember seeing any "creepy" looking place.

 

[RedSox68]

I liked Copenhagen but I LOVED Stockholm, which even fewer people talk about/go to.

Can you get to Stockholm from Copenhagen (by train or ferry)? Not familiar with this area at all, but we will be spending a few days in Copenhagen pre and post cruise next year. Thanks.

 

[ashley0139]

Can you get to Stockholm from Copenhagen (by train or ferry)? Not familiar with this area at all, but we will be spending a few days in Copenhagen pre and post cruise next year. Thanks.

Yes, there is a train. It's about 5 hours and a lovely ride.

 

[AustinTink]

We found an awesome airbnb. I can't wait to visit!

 

[RedSox68]

We found an awesome airbnb. I can't wait to visit!

Soo, details please. How did you find it and is it in town?

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We did Tivoli as others mentioned and thought it was neat. There was one of those spinning swing rides that took you very high up and spun you very fast, they didn’t let you wear sunglasses as they could fly off.

We also enjoyed Nyhaven and did a canal boat cruise.

We toured the castles and they were ok.

You can see the Little Mermaid statue.