I’m pretty sure more than once you were going on holiday and had to kill time during a few hours long stopover somewhere in the world. That’s exactly what our travel to the Faroe Islands was supposed to be like. Departure from Warsaw, a few hours of night camping in Copenhagen airport and a flight to Vagar the next morning. Same thing on our way back. After doing a quick math: how much money do we have and how many of us haven’t been to Denmark’s capital (4 out of 5), we decided that instead of moaning on how long the stopover is, we’ll elongate the holiday and complain about not having enough time in Copenhagen! That’s how we ended up with a day and a half of intense sightseeing and even more intense consumption of Mikkeller beer.
From this mini-guide (mini when it comes to attractions, not the amount of words, let’s not kid ourselves) you’ll get to know where to leave your luggage at the airport, how much is the accomodation in Copenhagen, what you must see and what you might skip, and most importantly, where to eat and drink beer!
Get rid of your luggage!
The first stop on our itinerary was luggage storage at Copenhagen’s airport. The boxes can be found on Car Park P4 (you have to leave the main building). It’s best to go to the ones in the deeper part of the building as the ones closer to the entrance seem to be out of service often. We managed to stack all the staff tetris-style in the biggest box (which means that you can fit a lot inside!). For 100 DKK (less than 15 EUR), you can leave it for 24h.
How to get from Copenhagen airport to the city centre?
Copenhagen has very well organized public transportation. You can get from the airport to the city centre by metro in just 15 minutes. We wanted to see as much as possible so we decided to buy tickets valid for 24h. They cost 80 DKK (around 10 EUR) and you can ride around the whole city with every means of transportation. It proved to be useful, because to see everything we wanted, we had to use the bus twice. You can buy tickets on your way out of the airport (there’s a lot of ticket machines). Metro station is connected directly to the airport building and well marked.
The most expensive thing in Copenhagen: accomodation
If you don’t have to stay in Copenhagen for the night, don’t. Browsing hotel options online you’ll quickly realize that Scandinavia really isn’t a destination for poor people. There are many options but most of them have prices in a similar, not very attractive, range. I did find some cheaper options on Booking.com and Hostel World but they’ve been all booked well in advance. We spent the first night as nomads at the airport (sleeping on the floor since there are hardly any benches to lie on). It wasn’t our first time, and probably not the last one, spending the night at the airport, but the night was so exhausting that we decided to splurge on a hostel on our way back. We ended up in a huge, several-stories high Hostel Generator located in a city centre, tidy, with a bathroom in the room. The price of 250 DKK (34 EUR) did hurt our souls a lot though. It’s important to mention that this was the price you pay for an 8-person room without breakfast. The only plus is that the price included bed linens which is apparently rare in Denmark.
Due to popular demand
Every city has its own attractions that are a touristic must-see. When it comes to Copenhagen it surely is Nyhavn, the picturesque street by the canal with characteristic colorful tenement houses. It’s worth seeing for sure, but I advise against staying in any bars around. They all have a main-street vibe with adequate prices and touristy feeling. Attraction that surely isn’t worth any of your time is the Mermaid statue. Neither pretty nor interesting. And crowded from every single side. We went by and had a look but quickly escaped to the nearby bar in the port – Toldboden. I prefered the “wire homie” right by the bar to the famous Mermaid. I recommend the bar itself as well. Delicious IPA served in jars, industrial-steampunk design outside and marine vibes inside.
Roaming around the old town, drop by the elegant Cafe Norden. It’s more expensive than the rest of them (equivalent of fancy parisian cafes), but it’s worth taking a look at the beautiful interior or just to sit by the window and watch well dressed Danish people. Apparently, this place is famous for super tasty breakfast sets, but we could not afford such extravaganza at the end of the holiday.
Christiania? I’m to old for this shit!
I have to admit that Christiania – a free city founded in the 70s by stoned hippies – didn’t make an impression on us either. Now the hippies are polite and they pay taxes, while the main reason to visit the area as a tourist is to buy marijuana or hash, sold freely on the street. However, there is no atmosphere there. It’s half squat-like, half commercial place. The attractions here include street art, a street decorated with lanterns and stoned half-dressed men sitting in a trash cans. But I won’t show you any of those because you can’t take photos in Christiania. We prefered the stuff that wasn’t on the “main square”: wooden houses, colorful art galleries and a Buddhist stupa. Mainly because these elements completely didn’t match the rest of the mess.
Botanist’s dream!
If you’ve read my previous city guides, you’ve probably noticed that I’m a fan of visiting botanical gardens in various cities. And especially greenhouses. Do you like them too? Well then Copenhagen is a city for you! Their greenhouse is an epic marvel. The round glass construction is impressive inside and out. Personally, since I spotted the Copenhagen botanical garden on Instagram, I dreamed of seeing the round metal staircase that looks as if taken straight out of a princess’ tower. They look like an entrance to an enchanted garden! The admission ticket costs 60 DKK (around 8 EUR). In the price you get access to the land of palms, cacti and other tropical plants and to the butterfly house (here you have to stand in a queue, because only a limited number of people can be inside at the same time). Importantly, the botanical garden itself is available to everyone for free. So you can safely plan a walk among the greenery. On sunny days, I recommend entertainment such as lounging on the lawn, or – if you are 5 in mentall years like us – rolling down the grassy hills!
Glyptotek – the world’s prettiest museum
The undisputed winner when it comes to Copenhagen attractions is the Glyptoteket art museum founded at the end of the 19th century by Carlsberg’s son. Yup, that Carlsberg. The greater part of the collection is medieval Greek and Roman art, but you will also find here works of classics such as Monet, Rousseau, Courbet, Cézanne and Degas. Doesn’t sound very interesting? Glyptotek’s best quality is not what they show there, but how. Apparently it’s enough to present medieval sculptures against the background of walls in intense color (instead of boring white rooms) and they get a new meaning! The museum’s added value is also a winter garden with a glass dome located in the middle. Interestingly shown art and palm trees? That’s all I need in my life! And if you need even more entertainment you can visit the museum collections while solving puzzles for children, just like my friends did.
Now the most important part. The museum operates daily except for Mondays. Tickets are 115 DKK (around 15 EUR). It’s not the cheapest entertainment, so… go visit it on Tuesday! Then entrance is free! If I lived in Copenhagen, I would go there every week. This is the best museum I’ve ever been to!
Street Food heaven
You won’t leave Copenhagen hungry. On every corner there is a street food market full of booths serving dishes from around the world or a hall full of shops and mini restaurants. I am a fan of such solutions because they definitely make it easier to eat in a group. Everyone buys what they feel like eating, and at the end we all meet at the same table. It also gives you the chance to try many different things. We came across first such place at the very beginning of the trip. We crawled out of the subway and faced the industrial hall of Torvehallerne KPH, full of food and perfectly equipped with local beers. It’s a typical european type of market where you can both eat and buy groceries. We decided to try typical Danish Smørrebrød sandwiches. They looked better than they tasted, but they eradicated our hunger successfully.
Our next meal also happened to be at the street food market called Broens Gadekøkken. There are many food stalls there. During winter the whole space changes into an ice rink. But if you’re searching for a place with a unique atmosphere, it’s better to hop on a bus and go to the outskirts to artistic and food place called Reffen. In industrial containers you can buy local ceramics or glass, but you will also eat well, get a tan on the sunbeds and drink beer. And all this in the area that used to be a port.
We had ‘lovely weather’ with heavy rain and wind tearing off our heads so we searched for shelter in Mikkeller’s building. Surrounded by barrels (it seems that the production is also taking place there) you might try many delicious beers from a tap and eat well. We ordered a board of delicacies to eat with beer and, strangely enough, we felt full after devouring it (even though there were 3 of us). Everything was also very delicious. I definitely recommend it!
All the places we don’t know (yet!)
Copenhagen is a fantastic city, so having only a day and a half to see it, you only get hungry for more. I only checked out a few places from my touristy to-do list so the rest of them are waiting for better times a.k.a. longer holiday. I’d love to do architecture and design tour, since I got inspired by Netlix’ doc series “Abstract” with architect Bjarke Ingels in the main role. From all of the projects presented there, I only saw the first one: Maritime Youth Hostel. I must visit all the others!
If your trip to Copenhagen is longer than ours, go check the list of “extra places” that I did not have a chance to visit this time, but I will definitely be coming back to do so. Be sure to let me know if something amazing is still missing from the list. I’ll keep on adding to it.
And finally here’s the map I prepared before departure. You’ll find here places I described in the post and those that you have to describe to me because I have not seen them 😉
