Hej from Denmark! Just spent an incredible week in Copenhagen and boy do I have a lot to share. The charming city is full of amazing restaurants, kind hearted people and lots of activities for tourists! Below I will give an in- depth summary of my trip and tips for your future travel. If you are in the mood to skim (it’s okay I am not offended lol) scroll all the way to the bottom for my condensed itinerary. Hope this post gives you a little taste of the famous “Hygge” lifestyle!

Pre Trip:

Copenhagen Card: Before heading off on any new adventure, I like to do A TON of research. I try to look for Groupons, special requirements or tourist passes that make site seeing more affordable. For our Copenhagen trip, pretty much every blog suggested buying a Copenhagen Card (linked here) This fast pass was a super easy and cost efficient way to travel the city. Every main attraction was included on this card plus free transportation! I would highly suggest buying one!

We bought the 3 day pass and it was an easy pick up at the CPH airport!

Hotel: We booked the flight and hotel as a bundle deal so we got a great price at the Copenhagen Strand Hotel. It was an old boutique hotel with an amazing location (one of the main reasons we chose it) Be cautious when setting expectations for your boarding situation. Most hotels were old and very small. Air Bnb is also a very popular option in CPH!

Language/ Currency: It was very easy to communicate with everyone in Denmark. Most metro signs and menus are in english / translated. People were very open and willing to help which I loved! The currency used in Denmark was Kroner. We did not get too much cash at the airport which ended up being okay as most places accept credit cards!

6 Days in Copenhagen:

Day 1

We landed in the afternoon and made our way to the hotel. The airport is fairly small and easy to navigate. The taxi ride to the hotel was surprisingly quick (FYI there is no Lyft or Uber in CPH just yet). Our taxi driver told us that working hours in Denmark are from 6am-3pm so traffic dies down by the evening! There is also a very easy metro system straight from the airport. If we had less luggage, the metro would have been a better option. ($5 vs $50) We were pretty exhausted from all the travel so we decided to grab some pizza and call it a night!

Nam Tip: We learned on the first night that restaurants in CPH close very early. It was a little confusing because on yelp, signs it would say that the restaurant is open till 2am but then when we went inside they said that most of the kitchens close by 8:30pm and the rest of the time is allocated for socializing and drinking! (My kinda city lol)

Day 2:

Day 2 was our first full day in CPH. The weather was a little chillier than I was expecting but nothing too crazy. It was very similar to California weather and a light jacket was enough! I could go on and on about every detail but for your sanity I will list out our activities with a brief description!

Rosenberg Castle: Least interesting of all the castles we saw but it was free admission with the CPH card so it is worth checking it out! There are very pretty garden areas where you can picnic and relax. There is also a cafe called King’s Garden Cafe that lets you rent Picnic baskets/purchase food to enjoy!

Botanical Garden: The Botanical garden is very close to Rosenberg. It is a cool spot to check out if you are a nature lover! Lots of greenery and a beautiful lake. It is a free garden for everyone but if you want to check the exhibits out (butterfly room, eco room etc) it is a $4 ticket!

Christiansven Palace: One of the prettiest palaces in CPH! It is where the Danish Royal Family frequently hosts state dinners and foreign guests. Beautifully kept and very easy to self guide yourself through all the rooms!

Royal Smushi Café: I randomly found this cafe while surfing on IG one day. It had cute decor and they served all food in sushi portions (made for a very cute insta pic) We definitely over ordered and our bill was pretty hefty. A coffee or bubbly with a sweet treat would probably have been a better option lol!

Nyhavn: Nyhavn is the main tourist attraction in Copenhagen. It is like the Champs Elysees of Denmark! Tons of colorful houses lining the canal. Lots of lively (and slightly overpriced) restaurants and bars. Our hotel was right around the corner so we decided to do a canal cruise and grab some dinner!

Day 3:

Aquarium: Copenhagen is home to the biggest aquarium in Europe. This too was included in our card so we decided to check it out! It was pretty big and had lots of cool exhibits! To be honest it was tiny compared to most American aquariums but still fun to check out!

Tivoli: Tivoli Gardens is another huge attraction and rightfully so. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip! Tivoli is the second oldest amusement park in the world. It is a much more rustic and dreamy version of Disneyland. We just so happened to be there on the 175th anniversary and caught a glimpse of the Danish Royal Family as they walked passed us to a gala! (we were freaking out!!!) We did not buy ride tickets and it was still fun! There are lots of cute food and drink spots. We sipped rose and people watched for a solid 8 hours!!!

 

Day 4:

Fredriksborg Castle: This was one of my favorite day trips outside of the city! It is the biggest castle to see in Denmark and WOW it was stunning! This castle was by far the most rustic and beautiful in my opinion! There were sprawling gardens, beautiful lake and tons of intricate rooms to explore! The metro ride there took about 45 minutes each way bit it was fairly easy to get there! The town has other cute cafes and breweries if you want to spend more time exploring. We found the perfect lunch spot right on the water at a small restaurant right at the entrance of the castle!

Day 5: We spent day 5 relaxing and exploring the city by foot. Our Copenhagen card had expired and the weather was a little rainy so we chose to scope out some good wine bars / malls (the essentials)

Little Mermaid Statue: Literally every travel blog that I read said that the Little Mermaid Statue was one of the most famous Copenhagen landmarks. I have never felt more cat-fished in my life….The statue is tiny with massive crowds and tour busses swarming around it. It is definitely something you have to cross of the list while in CPH but don’t expect to be blown away!

Round Tower: The round tower is another tourist spot with a great view of the city! It is a bit of a climb to the top but worth it for the views!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fredriksberg: Also referred to as the Beverly Hills of Copenhagen was an amazing place for eating and shopping! Could have spent hours at all the little boutiques. (Not to be confused with FredriksBORG which is where the castle is)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 6: Another easy day in the city. I set this day aside to hit up all my dream IG food spots.

The Union Kitchen: We started at Union Kitchen for brunch and boy was it worth it! Aside from being extremely cute and blogger approved, the food was beyond incredible. We got a brunch plate and a few lattes!!

Carlsberg Brewery: From brunch we headed to the original Carlsberg Brewery! If you are a beer lover and have the time this is definitely something you should check out. It is a short metro ride away and a really fun experience. There is a full brewery tour that you can pay for but we opted to drink and enjoy the scenery. There are picnic tables, great food, even better beer and stables to enjoy while you sip your Carlsberg Brew. They even had beer pong tournaments (let’s just say my four years in college were a waste because I lost to an 80 year old)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Illium Roofop: Another cool picture spot with tons of restaurants and great coffee!

Day 7:

Malmo, Sweden: On our last day we decided to be adventurous and make our way to a small town in Sweden. The two countries are now connected by an efficient metro line and bridge. Malmo is a small little shopping town and it was a really easy day trip. We bought a roundtrip metro ticket and to our surprise no one checked any visa or ticket the entire time! It was painless and worth the trek. Because we were in Sweden (the home of H&M) I insisted on doing some shopping and ending the day with some Swiss Chocolate (how touristy of us…)

Reffen: Before our Sweden excursion we grabbed lunch at the Reffen street food market which I highly recommend! Amazing food and drinks at a very reasonable price! We got a spicy aioli hot dog and it was one of the best I have ever eaten!

Mother: For Dinner we went to the famous Mother restaurant! Every single person who has been to CPH told me that I need to go there! It is a must try if you are a pizza lover!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in Copenhagen for 6 full days which felt like the perfect amount of time. That being said there are always tons of amazing spots that we could not get to! I have included my entire condensed itinerary with all my go to spots plus some that I didn’t get to!

Missed it this time

Mad & Kaffe
Kronberg Castle
Holbaek
Island brigge
Freetown Christiana
Pub Crawl

Condensed Itinerary 

Things To See

Rosenberg Castle
Fredriksborg Castle
Amaleinborg Castle
Christiansven Palace
Tivoli Gardens
Botanical Garden
Little Mermaid
Carslberg Brewery
Fredriksberg
Free town Christiana
Aquarium, Zoo
Nyhavn
Canal Cruise
Malmo

Places to Eat

Mother
Mad & Kaffe
Noma
Illium Rooftop
Reffen Street Food
Cap Horn
Union Kitchen
Apollo Bar
Royal Smushi Cafe
Baest
Geranium
Mirabelle
Coffee Collective

Things to Know

Easy Public Transport
Copenhagen Card is a must
Restaurants stay open late but kitchens close early (only drinks after 9pm)
Fish heavy diet
Easy to communicate in English
Don’t really need reservations at most restaurants
Lots of places are walkable or bike-able

Hope you loved reading this as much as I loved writing it! Please reach out with any questions you may have. Counting the days till my next adventure…any guesses?? Hint: Everything is bigger in…..?

xoxo Nam