Copenhagen is an expensive but happy, cold but beautiful city. Peace is the main concern. Bicycle riding percentage is very high regardless of the rain and cold. For tourists like us, life is very expensive but for whom paid salary in DKK, the situation is not like that. Life standards are so high that Denmark is always at the top 3 of World Happiness Listing.
In this post, you will find some free activities that you can do in Copenhagen and the list of places that you have to visit during your Copenhagen trip. 🙂
OLD TOWN
1. NYHAVN
The old trade port of the city is now the starting point of tour boats. There are colourful houses along the canal and each one of them has an old story. For example, building number 17 is the first tattoo house in the world.
Nyhavn is the place that you will see many tourists. It is one of the best places in the city to take pictures.
2. CHRISTIANSBORG PALACE AND THE TOWER
This is the highest tower (106 m) of the city. Entrance is free and there are elevators that will help you to reach to the top. From the tower’s terrace, you will have a very nice panoramic view of the city. One of the activities that I’ll strongly suggest is visiting this tower.
3. ROSENBURG CASTLE
This structure is located in the King’s garden which is a big and green park. The castle built in 17th century during the famous King Christian the 4th. Entrance fee for the castle is 110 dkk and also you have to wait for the cue. Honestly, I think seeing this place from the outside is enough but it is your choice… If you want to visit the castle you can reach detailed info from here.
4. AMELIANBURG PALACE
This is the place where the queen lives today. If you visit there at 12 o’clock at noon, you can watch the change of guards ceremony. There is also a museum in the palace. Entrance fee is 105 dkk and you can have more info from here.
5. RUNDETAARN
The tower built for the astronomical observations during the 17th century. Nowadays this is a checkpoint for the tourists but climbing up to the tower is 25 dkk. and since the Christiansburg tower is free I don’t think it is necessary to pay for this one. There are also some exhibitions in the tower. You can find details from the official web page
6. RADHUSPLADZEN
This square is the main square of the Copenhagen. City Hall is also located in this place. Also, free walking tours like Sandemans are starting from here.
7. COPENHAGEN CITY HALL
Except from the office rooms, you can visit the inside of the building and it is all free. If you also want to climb up to tower, you can but you have to join to the guided tours. You can learn the details from the tourist e at the entrance.
8. CHURCH OF OUR LADY
This church witnessed many important moments of Denmark’s history. It was completely damaged and burned during the bombardment of British and rebuilt again with a pure and elegant design. Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen is one of the most simple churches I have ever seen. Yet, it is a place you need to visit during your Copenhagen trip. The church is open every day between 8 am and 5 pm. Sometimes there are some special rites, but you can see more info in the signboards just in front of the church.
9. TIVOLI GARDENS
Famous novelist Hans Christian Andersen had visited Tivoli Gardens so many times. It is also said that he was inspired by this place while creating Walt Disney’s magical world. Tivoli Gardens was established in 1843. Entrance fee is 120 dkk. Just keep in mind that, this price only includes the entrance of the small village created from gardens, cafes and restaurants. If you want to enjoy the amusement park you have to pay for each plaything separately.
In my opinion, the best time to visit Tivoli gardens is between the middle of November and end of December. It is the time when the biggest Christmas market in Copenhagen is open in Tivoli Gardens. So, if you visit this place in Noel time, I guarantee that you will get in return for the money you paid. It is a magnificent place with all the decorations, lights, special activities and shops during Christmas time.
10. CHRISTIANIA FREE TOWN
I think Christiania is the most interesting part of Copenhagen. There are old military barracks abandoned by the soldiers in 1971. Now hippies are living in those buildings. In 1971 they established a self-governing region which is called “free town”. You can enter whenever you want but you have to respect and follow their rules. And you need to be open-minded to spend some time in this region. 🙂
More About Christiania
Weed is illegally legal in free town. Which means government actually do not legalize the usage of weed so in the region it is openly sold and used but if police cames, dealers just disappear for 5 minutes and when the police left they take their positions in Pusher street again. It seemed like a game to me. When I was there. police came just walked through the free town and left. They said or done nothing. Pusher street is full of sellers. There are at least 20 seller stands in this street.
Only 800 people are living in free town. So if the government want they can just dismiss the people and close the free town immediately but they don’t do this. There are different opinions about this interesting situation. Some people believe that it is because they are the symbol of freedom and ruining their lifestyle will also ruin the democracy and will get bed reaction from the public. Others believe that it is for touristic purposes. Denmark likes having at least a small region line Amsterdam. The government doesn’t want to legalize weed but also happy to have a place where people especially tourists can use it freely.
I don’t know the real fact about this place but it is really interesting. I suggest you go there once during the day and once in the night. During the day you can witness their lifestyle, houses covered full of colourful graffiti etc. In the night you can see more tourists around and lively environment. I suggest you try Christiania beer which they produce themselves.
Free Town Rules
Let’s talk about the rules a bit. Shouting and running is forbidden in Christiania. They think that these two thinks create panic among the people especially which are high. Another rule is trying not to take a photo of the people directly. They don’t like it. Maybe you can just take pictures of some graffiti if no one is around.
This section is the longest section of my blog post about Copenhagen since there are many unique things to write about Christiania. When you spend a couple of hours inside and exit from the door which says “Now you are entering the EU” the city will seem very normal and ordinary. So, I suggest not to complete your Copenhagen trip before visiting Christiania free town.
11. STATUE OF LITTLE MERMAID
The Statue of Little Mermaid known as one of the worlds most disappointing things in the world. Yet, it is a famous tourist attraction in Denmark’s capital. We had time so we went there just because of curiosity. It is a bit far from old town centre by walking and statue really small. Therefore, if your time is limited you can skip this activity but if you have some free town you can go there see yourself and take some pictures as the other tourists.
12. STRØGET SHOPPING STREET
This street is Europe’s longest shopping street which is closed to car traffic. It is 1.1 km long and there are so many brands ranging from cheap to the most expensive ones. Honestly, it is hard to call something cheap in Denmark. It is a very expensive country but what I mean is, you can find an H&M for your urgent needs. 🙂
For souvenirs and lovely small gifts, Tiger is the best place. It is a place with cute stuff and it won’t ruin your budget. I strongly suggest visiting Tiger if you like to buy something for yourself and your friends from Copenhagen.
13.BOTANİK BAHÇESİ
14. COLOURFUL STREETS
There are so many lovely streets with colourful houses in Copenhagen. However, do not complete your tour before seeing Magstraede and Larslejsstraede. Magstraede is the one where the free walking tours also stop. It is a touristic one. Larslejsstraede is famous with the blue house which you can see in Copenhagen photos.
Actually, most of the streets are similar, with well-protected houses and colourful buildings. You may leave your map, and just start to walk around to discover tiny beautiful streets by yourself.
15.LEGO SHOP
Do you know Denmark is the hometown of Lego? Lego was created by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1930’s and it is a company still family members are shareholders. I have spent some time in the lego shop on shopping street Stroget. It is a different world full of colourful lego types. I suggest you visit there for a different experience and you can also buy some for your children. There is a section that you can choose lego clocks like choosing Haribo candies in a store.
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
1. TIVOLI
Tivoli is the biggest Christmas Market of the city. Especially at night it is a magical place with all the colorful lights. Christmas market open in the middle of November and it is closed at the end of December. Tivoli is a place where you want to take the picture of everything that you saw. Shops, Cafes, Decorations etc…
For me, you can go Tivoli around 3-4 pm so you will be able to see the Christmas village in the daylight. And after that, you can stay as long as you want 9-10 pm. Time will pass so quickly. Be sure! 🙂
2. NYHAVN
This one is small but lovely. It is established just next to the canal. You may visit Nyhavn Christmas market for an authentic noel market experience. Entrance is free.
3. KONGENS NYTROV
This one is just next to Kongens Nytrov metro station. Drink a cup of hot wine and enjoy the christmas market in the centre of the city. Entrance is free.
4. HØJBRO
While we were walking on the shopping street. We just came across with Hojbro Christmas market. It is a tiny one located in a small neighbourhood. I think the best thing about travelling to Europe in December is this. You can find Christmas markets surprisingly. Hojbro is one of them.
To sum up, the biggest and the best Christmas Market in Copenhagen is Tivoli but I am not sure if it was better than the ones I saw in Berlin. The decision is yours. To reach my post about Berlin Christmas markets, click here.
COPENHAGEN TRANSPORTATION
There are many direct flights from all over the world. We came here from İstanbul in 3.5 hours. After landing to the airport, the easiest way to reach the city centre is the metro. The ticket is 36 dkk per person and it takes only 10-15 minutes. After that, I don’t think any transportation because the city is flat and the old city centre is not so big. So you can complete your city tour just by walking. However, don’t forget to take precaution for the cold if you are in Copenhagen during winter days.
COPENHAGEN NIGHTLIFE
Nightlife is a bit complicated. It is hard to enter a nightclub randomly on a Saturday night. Most of them require pre-reservation. Furthermore, some of them want to fill you a form from the internet before making a reservation. Of course, there are some that you may enter without reservation but this time you have to follow a dress code and wait for the long queues. I was just passing from a nightclub at 2 am. and there was still a cue for the entrance. I was happy that we didn’t spend all of our night by waiting. Also, you have to may around 100 dkk as an entrance fee. So, I suggest you to spend your time in friendly bars like Copenhagen Downtown Hostel’s. There is no entrance fee. Beer is good and the music was also nice.
To conclude, I really enjoyed my days in Copenhagen. It is a peaceful and lovely city. Especially durinh Christmas time I suggest yo to visit Denmark’s beautiful capital.
If you have visited already and you have additional suggestions or you have any questions please share in the coment section below. Also don’t forget to follow @vovidi.travel from Instagram and also subscribe our youtube channel @vovidi.
Have a nice trip and enjoy! 🙂
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