24 hours in Copenhagen
I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts since we went to Copenhagen last summer. But then my baby brain took over and I completely forgot about posting all about our trip!
We visited in a very hot August to watch my father-in-law take part in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, as he races classic cars as a hobby and has done for years. We were staying in the centre of Copenhagen for five days, which felt like the perfect amount of time for us with travelling, a day at the race and exploring what the city had to offer.
Located at Paper Island, this place is pretty cool to see. It’s all about sustainability, with their aim being to “reduce and reuse”, here you’ll find over 50 start up businesses offering food, creative workshops, cultural experiences and innovative projects.
From classic Danish food to vegan to Mexican, Tivoli Gardens have so many restaurants for you to enjoy and finish the day off perfectly.
We visited in a very hot August to watch my father-in-law take part in the Copenhagen Historic Grand Prix, as he races classic cars as a hobby and has done for years. We were staying in the centre of Copenhagen for five days, which felt like the perfect amount of time for us with travelling, a day at the race and exploring what the city had to offer.
Copenhagen is such a beautiful, relaxed city and you could easily stretch out any sight seeing, as well as venturing beyond the city. But for us, we were able to see the majority of key landmarks, plus a few other places within a 24 hour window.
Breakfast at Nyhavn
There’s so many wonderful places to eat breakfast or brunch in Copenhagen, but one of my favourite places to sit and relax by the colourful buildings at Nyhavn.
The majority of canal boat tours also start from here, so it is always a place that is full of tourists and people taking capturing pictures of the iconic surroundings.
You’ll fined a range of bars and restaurants along the river where you can sit outside and soak up the atmosphere. However we did find that the cost of food and drink here is 2-3x more expensive than other places in Copenhagen.
Start a Canal Boat Tour
We decided to opt for the Stromma hop on, hop off boat tour from Nyhavn, as we wanted to have the flexibility to spend time at each location, rather than a rigid tour. We also wanted the possibly go back to certain places (like Reffen).
There are also bus and bike tours that you can take, however being 7 months pregnant (at the time) I decided to avoid cycling and opt for a boat!
Boat tour tickets are valid for 48 hours and cost 105DK, so you could stretch this over a two day window, and you’re given a map and headphones to listen to the audio guide. You can choose multiple languages, as most of these types of tours offer, which talks you through each of the key destinations and history of Copenhagen.
From the iconic Little Mermaid statue to breathtaking art galleries, the route goes around in a circle so you can stop off and see as many beautiful landmarks as you’d like.
If you head to the Amalienborg Palace at midday, you can watch the changing of the guard and walk through the beautiful gardens.
Grab lunch at Reffen Street Food
Hop back on the canal boat and enjoy lunch in the industrial area of Refshaleøen and the Reffen street food market!
This place perfectly sums up the whole “Copenhagen vibe” of enjoying the outdoors and being environmentally conscious. You’ll also see more people on bikes here than you will driving cars which is pretty cool to see.
During the winter months they do close (and I’m not surprised as 95% of it is outdoors). It reopens from the end of March and you can take a look at what it has to offer here.
Explore the Freetown Christiania
The Freetown in Christiania is such a unique place. If you’ve ever been to Nimbin in Australia, then this is basically the European version of that.
Walking through you’ll see graffiti artwork, statues made out of recycled materials and “Woodstock vibe” - take from that what you will.
Some people may find this type of place intimidating, but it really isn’t. The community has around 800 people living in it who follow the hippie movement, the squatter movement, and collectivism. They have their own football team, national anthem, flag and currency!
There’s a great blog post on it in more detail on Justin Plus Lauren, which we read before visiting.
Dinner and twinkling lights at Tivoli Gardens
One of the oldest amusement parks in the world, at night the Tivoli Gardens showcases thousands of beautiful colourful fairy lights to people wanting to explore the theme park or simply have dinner and drinks.
Have you been to Copenhagen? I’d love to hear your must are places below.
