Copenhagen
How to spend a few days in Copenhagen
Published on 28/09/2026
The Danish will tell you that you cannot say that you’ve seen Denmark, if you’ve only visited Copenhagen. However, Copenhagen is a really great place to visit anyway. As a true Dutchie it does me good to see so many people on bicycles in the city. You can easily explore Copenhagen on foot or bike. I also love that they have set the ambitious goal to become the first CO2 neutral city in the world. This is seen in the bridge on the header for example, which makes everything more accessible for people on bike or foot. There is so much to see and do here, and then there are still some trips that you can do from here. Much more than just the famous colourful houses! The atmosphere is great and the city feels really safe. So even though you cannot say that you’ve seen Denmark, having seen Copenhagen is already amazing in my opinion! I have been there twice, in this article I will describe everything that I have done.
Boat tour
I always look at these touring boats and think they look a bit dumb, but it was actually really fun. We did a tour with Stromma canal tours (not sponsored unfortunately), where we toured around the city and learned a lot about it through the audio guide. It was a nice way to see a lot of the city easily, actually learning why certain things are built the way they are built that we wouldn’t have learned otherwise. It was also very funny that for every single bridge our safety coördinator watched us like a hawk after saying, in the same intonation every time; “There is another bridge coming up. Please remain seated. THANK YOU.”
Nyhavn
This is the most famous part of the city, that everyone has seen the photos of: the colourful houses at the harbour. While really busy (and so all the restaurants there are really expensive), it is famous for a reason and worth the hype in my opinion to go take a nice picture with all the colours.
Tivoli Gardens
This was so fun! When I was in Copenhagen the first time, we didn’t have the budget to go here as it is really expensive. You have to pay an entrance fee and then still pay extra to go on any of the attractions. The food there is also really expensive. BUT I would say it is worth it. The second time I went with my parents, so we could go in! We went in the evening, which really added to the whole atmosphere as everything lights up in different colours. The whole park is in theme, a lot of parts of which are very old. We even went on a roller coaster (Rutschenbanen) where someone had to always stand in the middle to brake in order to slow down the roller coaster. This was a really fun one that goes into the dark. Crazy how that man was just standing there the whole time. We also went on The Demon which was great, and onto the Himmelskibet from which we could see the city from above. So even though the cost is no joke, I really do recommend seeing Tivoli Gardens if you have the budget.
The little mermaid
I actually didn’t go there either time I visited Copenhagen, we only saw the back during the boat tour. It’s pretty far out of the way and since it is always busy there for such a small statue, it seemed pretty disappointing.
Noëlle: I have been there and it was really disappointing.
So maybe not a necessary stop, but if you have the time you can always go see it as it is very famous.
Christiania
Christiania is a free state in the middle of Copenhagen. It is a really interesting place outside of the governmentality of the city, with its own systems for amenities such as schooling and waste management. The first time I was there, a few years ago, it was a bit bleak as there had been some active drug gangs. This is also why the population explicitly asks you NOT to buy any drugs there, as tourists buying drugs can change it from a free state to a more criminal place. The second time I was there, in 2026, it had changed to a place with a lot more tourists. It has been decorated with a lot of colour, art and greenery, and now has shops and a food court. Of course weed is still smoked there, but it is a very welcoming place for all. However, this also has its downsides, as there are also a lot of vendors selling cheap crap for tourists now instead of just the artists. It is hard to maintain a perfect balance, but it’s definitely worth a look!
Castles and Gardens
There are a few beautiful buildings and castles, such as Rosenborg and Amalienborg. They are really beautiful on the outside. You can also go inside, we didn’t do that but it’s probably nice. It’s nice to see some architecture and the gardens are also pretty!
Speaking of gardens, if you have some time in Copenhagen and want to chill somewhere for a bit, the botanical gardens are perfect. There are a lot of spaces you can visit (paid), like a butterfly garden, but you can also just do what we did and chill in the free space. There were tons of people just hanging out on the grass, enjoying the greenery.
Foodhallen
We went to the TorvehallerneKBH. It was pretty nice, there were a lot of different shops. In one part it was really marketlike, selling all kinds of ingredients, the other part was more like a foodcourt. Here we tried Danish smørrebrød, which was really nice! They had a lot of different toppings you could taste, even several vegan options. There are also many different food court situations throughout the city!
Danish architecture museum
I know I have been there a few years ago, but to be honest I could not tell you anything about it except that it has a slide. I remember it being fun though! So if you want to have a nice time, not a memorable time, this is a good option. If you’re into architecture, you’ll probably remember a lot more than I did.
Bridge to Malmö
A really cool piece of infrastructure: this bridge connects Copenhagen to Malmö and you can just drive across the ocean to a different country! So it is amazing that this exists, however the trip was not a great success for us when I went here with my study association. Everyone was hungover, we had to leave at 6am and once we got to Malmö it was raining the whole day. Luckily me and two friends went to the sauna and dipped into the sea in between, which was really nice and saved the day. Noëlle did go to Malmö on a much better day and she loved the city, so no reason not to give it a chance! We're actually not sure if the bridge on this picture is the right bridge or just a random other bridge that we took a picture of, but to be honest they probably look the same so you get the idea.
Louisiana museum
Louisiana is a museum of modern art outside of Copenhagen. I really liked it! There were a lot of different items and themes, curated with care and I liked the messages with them. You do have to travel a bit to get there from Copenhagen, but I thought it was really worth it. You can easily spend a day here. You do have to like modern art though, otherwise you’ll probably think a lot of it is a bit weird.
There are tons of other museums, trips and activities you can do in and from Copenhagen, but I didn’t do them so couldn’t tell you about them. One thing is for sure, you definitely won’t get bored here!