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Old 30 Jun 19, 05:15 PM  
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Gunna
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Mobile Copenhagen City Break.

Just thought I would post a mini-report from a recent city break we have done to Copenhagen. It’s a place I have wanted to visit for a while but as we had a few other places booked plus I had heard it wasn’t the cheapest kept it on the back burner for a while.

Cheap flights with EasyJet and a free night from Hotels.com brought the price down a bit for us to go so we booked for June when the weather would hopefully (and it was) warmer and we could make the most of the longer sunnier days. We decided ahead of going to purchase the Copenhagen card as this covered all our travel around the city and a lot of the things we wanted to see. As we where arriving early the first day and leaving late on the last we went for the 5 day which initially seemed expensive at £115 each but this more than paid for itself over our time there. Just the two of us travelled as our son Sam was at college and wasn’t too worried about going so we set off very early on the Saturday morning.

Saturday 22nd June

A very early start and we arrived at Manchester airport at 4:30am and it was heaving. Usually at that time you can grab a coffee and seat as that’s all there is to do but it was rammed. We ate at Giraffe which was fine and headed to the flight gate which was good, left on time and arrived early. Headed through immigration and picked up our cards taking the train (15 mins) into the city. We where staying at a budget hotel called Cabinn City, 5 mins from the main station and Tivoli so good and central. Clean, basic and not bad price wise, plus we pre-paid breakfast ahead of going. Similar to an Ibis, we stored our luggage there and set off to explore.



We started at city hall and took the little train tour which was quite cute and followed this by heading into the old town for a boat cruise with a stop for a Danish pastry on route. Delicious!



The boat cruise was great and gave a good overview of the city and also a view of some naked locals enjoying the sun. 😳

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by the Lego shop and did some window shopping. Checked in we went out for food but due to most restaurants looking a bit pricey we ended up in Burger King which was still about £20 for two meals. We feel into bed as our very early start had definitely caught up with us!

Sunday 23rd July

Refreshed after a good nights sleep we headed down to breakfast and ate our full. Really good choice of continental food with some scrambled eggs too. Our first stop was the ‘Round Tower’



I really liked this, the walk up is a slope which is much easier on the legs and there where great views over the city. After this we headed to Rosenborg Slot, a previous Royal palace which houses the danish Crown Jewels.



Beautiful place and we loved it here. We stopped by a local food market next and shared a pizza from a great place we visited again whilst here called ‘Gorms’ delicious thin crust pizza starting at about £12 each. They where really good. Next stop the Botanical Gardens before we caught the train down and walked towards the little mermaid.





The gardens where lovely and we thought you can’t come all this way and not see the mermaid. She is a bit of a way out and is ‘little’ the place was also really busy with tourists, trips, bus groups all vying for a picture and shots with her. It’s quite easy to get a good shot but if you want to see what it’s really like here’s one I took.😳



Little bit different to all the pictures you may have seen before!

We ended the day walking back along the waterside and into town. Really good vibe to the city, lots of places to chill, relax and loads of people out and about enjoying the good weather. Plenty of places to eat and drink too or you could buy your own, find a spot and just unwind. They had loads of deckchairs and seats along the water to enjoy for free too. Last stop Nyhavn. Beautiful place, there was a band on and it was the perfect end to a great, full on, first day. We chilled a bit before finally heading back to our beds.



Monday 24th June

Today we headed across to Christiansborg Slot which houses Royal Apartments as well as the Danish Parliament. First part of our visit was the royal parts which again where very impressive and beautiful. We even had to wear shoe covers!





We knew we where also close to Amalienborg, where the Queen lives, so went across to see the changing of the guard as well as tour the palace.



What surprised us was how close to the palace you were compared to in the UK, yes there where guards around but no fences or anything to keep you away from the buildings where the Royal family live. We next decided to visit a place called ‘Reffen’ which is an open air food market in an old industrial area. It’s filled with food trucks and places to eat.



We took the harbour bus which was ideal and had a lovely relaxing lunch in the sun. It looks a bit run down but that adds to the charm of the place and there where also some more naked divers, they certainly where more relaxed about this across here.

We took the water bus back to the city, which was like a mini boat cruise, and stopped at the Church of Our Saviour where the climb up
involves walking up the outside of the spire. I didn’t get far, followed by Christiania.





Christiania has a very different feel, it’s been an area that lived separate to Danish rules for a long time and had some relaxed views on soft drugs as well. Some places you couldn’t take pictures and there was an increased police presence but it felt fine having a wander and there where plenty of tourists milling about. It’s one of the most popular spots to visit in Copenhagen apparently.

Last stop, after a cold drink and relaxing break was the aquarium which we caught the train too. Good place and liked the sea orrery. Heading back we finally found ourselves back in bed very tired after another full day.

Tuesday 25th June

Today we made a very quick stop at the National museum. To be fair we didn’t do the place justice as it is huge and we hardly scratched the surface. That was maybe the beauty of the Copenhagen card as we could nip in to places and not feel to guilty when we didn’t stay too long!

We wanted to climb the city hall tower so headed over there at 11:00 for the trip and climbed what seemed like a lot of steps to the top. It was worth it for the views though.



Once back down we had prebooked a tour of the parliament building which was free and excellent. Really informative with lots of information on Danish politics as well as the history of the country.



We also saw a lot of people involved in Danish politics as they where milling around due to some important meeting that was being held that day to sort out there current political situation. After here we popped into the Royal stables but the horses where on their holidays.

The weather today was really warm, it had been all the time we had been there so we stopped for some cold drinks. We had a found a local ‘Starbucks’ type place called Expresso House which we really liked. The cold drinks varied in price (£4.50-£6 roughly) but it was a great place to chill, which we did for an hour or so.

Our final stop was Tivoli, one of the oldest amusement parks in the world, it had recently celebrated its 175 year anniversary and was said to have been an inspiration to Walt Disney ahead of him building Disneyland. What a magical place it was. Very quaint and beautiful inside, a lot of rides but plenty of gardens and other things to see and do. There where also some free concerts on and places to sit and relax to enjoy them too.







We decided to buy a ride wristband each at about £28 per person as some rides where nearly £10 on their own. This allowed unlimited rides and as the queues where short meant these more than paid for themselves.

Really loved it here and could see some things that did remind us of Disney. We spent the rest of the day and night here and it looked even more beautiful as the lights came on and it got darker.



Really was the perfect place to spend our last night.

Wednesday 26th June

Our final day started with us checking out, storing our luggage and heading on the train to the zoo. It was even hotter today and we both thought that our packing choices where wrong with what we thought would be right for the weather!





It was a great zoo with lots of animals, in very nice enclosures, to see. Highlights where the pandas, polar bears and savannah exhibits. Certainly enjoyed our visit here. As we left with stopped by something I had seen on Travel Man called Cisternerne. This is an art installation set in an old water storage place. We headed in and where told we had to change into wellies as we would be wading through water!



It was weird, creepy and brilliant. There weren’t many people in which added to the atmosphere but you where left to wander round on your own, in low light, around the underground display with some ambient music, light displays and about a foot of water.





Something totally different and we both loved the experience as well as the cold down there! It cooled us down perfectly.!Last stop before getting the luggage was a wander around Carlsberg ( them that make the lager) this is brewed elsewhere in Denmark now but the old factory and tour is being renovated and looks to be amazing when it’s done. Lots of houses, offices, bars and green spaces in this huge renovation project.



Once we’d done here we caught the train back and picked up our luggage heading off to the airport. No issues here and Copenhagen airport is huge, loads of shops, places to eat and gates! We where slightly delayed but back home just after when we should of been and drove home to our beds.

Final thoughts

Copenhagen is a beautiful city with lots to do. Yes it’s not cheap. Food and drink is more expensive than at home (average of 50% more than at home) but we stocked up on breakfast, took some snacks and bought other bits at the 7/11 and Nettos. We had street food, fast food or food court market type places as something more substantial. All the food (even Burger King and Maccies) seemed of really good quality and was cooked fresh. The heat helped as we only wanted drinks as oppose to eating too. We didn’t tend to go to restaurants or more formal places due to the cost as most we looked at where a lot more than at home. That said we didn’t starve and enjoyed all we ate.

Copenhagen card worked out very well. We calculated that if we had paid for all the admissions (minus transport) it saved us about £160. You just need to look at cost and what you to do to make sure it works for you too. We liked we could nip in somewhere, on a train and not worry about the cost as we had already paid it.

The people where all lovely, very friendly and spoke perfect English. It felt very safe and laid back, lots of places just to chill out and enjoy the vibe, or ‘Hygge’ as the Danes call it.

I’d go back definitely, there’s still plenty there to see on a repeat trip. Really enjoyed it, it is a brilliant place to visit. I hope the mini report helps and if anyone has any questions just let me know, happy to help if I can

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Old 30 Jun 19, 05:58 PM  
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sotagals
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Wow you certainly packed a lot into that trip.

I'm at the early planning stages so this was super useful - thanks
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Old 30 Jun 19, 06:59 PM  
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tracy99
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Really enjoyed reading your report & looking at the photos.
What a lovely city it seems to be.
Somewhere I’ve never considered before,but I really like the look of it,so will definitely add it to my list of places to visit for a mini trip.
It was certainly a busy few days,with plenty packed in.
Thanks for posting
Tracy x
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Old 30 Jun 19, 09:44 PM  
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Gunna
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Originally Posted by sotagals View Post
Wow you certainly packed a lot into that trip.

I'm at the early planning stages so this was super useful - thanks
You're welcome, it’s a great place and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
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Old 30 Jun 19, 09:46 PM  
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Gunna
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Originally Posted by tracy99 View Post
Really enjoyed reading your report & looking at the photos.
What a lovely city it seems to be.
Somewhere I’ve never considered before,but I really like the look of it,so will definitely add it to my list of places to visit for a mini trip.
It was certainly a busy few days,with plenty packed in.
Thanks for posting
Tracy x
It is a great place for a short break with loads to do, lots close together so quite easy to see a few things and not be rushing around too much. I’d definitely recommend it.
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Old 3 Jul 19, 09:19 PM  
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Melbatb
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Thanks for sharing - it is on my list of cities to visit!
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Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
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Old 3 Jul 19, 09:53 PM  
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mrsdjh
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I loved reading your report.

We went a couple of years ago in early December when there were lots of little Christmas markets all around the city (no naked divers though ), and we visited a lot of the same places as you, and often stopped at an Expresso House on our way back to our hotel.

I agree that you see a lot of familiar things in Tivoli.


Its one of the few city breaks that Id love to do again - maybe we should try the summer too.
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Old 4 Jul 19, 05:23 AM  
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kaydee
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We did a couple of nights stopover in Copenhagen en route to Norway last year.
We decided to go after watching the Travel Man mainly to see the Cisternerne...unfortunately the day we scheduled to go it was closed!
Good excuse to go back sometime as we loved the city...we went in April and it was not hot!
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Old 4 Jul 19, 08:21 PM  
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Gunna
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Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
Thanks for sharing - it is on my list of cities to visit!
Well worth a visit, we would definitely go back.

Originally Posted by mrsdjh View Post
I loved reading your report.

We went a couple of years ago in early December when there were lots of little Christmas markets all around the city (no naked divers though ), and we visited a lot of the same places as you, and often stopped at an Expresso House on our way back to our hotel.

I agree that you see a lot of familiar things in Tivoli.


Its one of the few city breaks that Id love to do again - maybe we should try the summer too.
I think winter would be a great time to visit, we said next time we go we would like to go around Christmas for the markets, really enjoyed our Expresso House visits too!

Originally Posted by kaydee View Post
We did a couple of nights stopover in Copenhagen en route to Norway last year.
We decided to go after watching the Travel Man mainly to see the Cisternerne...unfortunately the day we scheduled to go it was closed!
Good excuse to go back sometime as we loved the city...we went in April and it was not hot!
Loved Cisternerne, if you get the chance to go back I would definitely recommend it.
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Old 4 Jul 19, 09:45 PM  
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Mrs Red C
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Loved your report, thanks. I was there in Oct, we also had the Copenhagen Card which was great. Glad you liked the Round Tower, it's an amazing building, my favourite of the trip.
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