Copenhagen, Denmark
Did you know that bicycles outnumber cars in Copenhagen?! I didn’t either!
Discover the charm of Copenhagen in this 3-day itinerary. Explore colorful Nyhavn, art at SMK Museum, and the unique community of Christiania. Plus, find the best food spots.
Copenhagen has been on my bucket list for a very long time, so going there was a no-brainer when it came to planning the route of my trip. I spent a total of three days in this magical city, and while I absolutely managed to do everything I wanted, if I were to plan it again I would add a 4th day to truly make the most of my time in Copenhagen.
Day One
I arrived at Next House Copenhagen hostel at about 9am, put my bags in their basement storage lockers, and headed out to explore the city. I started strolling over to Nyhavn (the famous canal with colorful buildings), walking through Strøget, the big pedestrian street with lots of shops and restaurants and Kongens Nytorv (the King’s New Square). Copenhagen is just as beautiful as I had imagined and I was in awe just walking through the streets!
After walking up and down the canal and admiring the colorful environment, I headed over to the Royal Palace and got there right in time to witness the changing of the guard! This was a very unique experience that I would always recommend checking out whenever you’re in a city that has this ceremony. Across the street from the palace is the Marble Church AKA Frederik's Church. It is free of charge to get in and look inside and I definitely think it is worth visiting!
My next stop some may say is a controversial one, and that is the famous statue of The Little Mermaid, gifted to the city of Copenhagen by brewer Carl Jacobsen. I only say controversial because everyone I’ve spoken to says this is a must see in Copenhagen (and I agree), but they also say it is a huge disappointment because of how small the statue is. I honestly think this is funny and definitely worth seeing! After The Little Mermaid I went back to the hostel to rest for a bit and then met my friend who was also in town for dinner. We went to Fabro, an Italian restaurant located in central Copenhagen. We had to wait to be seated for about an hour but wow was it worth it! They also have a bar attached where you can sip on a glass of wine while you wait for your table.
That concludes day one! I do realize this is a lot to pack in one day. I love walking and think it is the best way to see the most of a new city and my first day I ended up walking about 26,000 steps.. I know this is not for everyone and luckily like I mentioned before, Copenhagen is incredibly bicycle-friendly and I would recommend downloading some bike rental apps such as Lime, Donkey Republic, Bolt, etc, and exploring the city by bike as well!
Day Two
For all you foodies like myself, Copenhagen is an amazing city! We started day two with a delicious breakfast at Apotek 57 before heading to the SMK Museum -Statens Museum for Kunst AKA The National Gallery of Denmark nearby. For art and history lovers I highly recommend checking this out! It’s a pretty big museum with lots to see and we spent about 2 hours there.
Right across the street from the museum is Rosenborg Castle where the crown jewels and royal treasures are located, and the King’s Gardens which is a beautiful park to walk through or even have a picpic if you have the time. From there we walked around with the intention of going to some thrift stores, but ended up stumbling across Seks Bakery and Eatery and it ended up being my favorite meal I had in Copenhagen.
After a short food break we headed to Nyhavn again but this time for a canal boat tour! this was a great opportunity to see the city from a different angle and have a guide tell us a lot of things we wouldn’t have known otherwise. One question I had was do I need to book the Nyhavn canal tour in advance? The answer is no! There are a couple of companies around the front of the canal that sell tickets right there. We ended the day with dinner in the Meatpacking District at a brewery called ÅBEN Brewery, Tank Bar & Restaurant. I’d highly suggest checking out this lively area for dinner or drinks, especially on a nice evening.
Day Three
The last full day in the city I started with a solo breakfast at Rug Bakery. This Copenhagen bakery offers fresh pastries and delicious breakfast options. I then headed to The Glyptotek Museum. I absolutely loved this museum and would recommend visiting if you are in Copenhagen! After The Glyptotek I spent some time at the Tivoli Gardens. Luckily if you do not want to get on any of the rides, you can buy a separate ticket that just lets you walk around to explore the park and the beautiful gardens.
You can’t stay in Copenhagen without biking around the city at least once! I met up with my friend and we downloaded a couple of the many bike rental apps present in the city (mentioned a few in Day One), and biked over to Christiania. I cannot recommend visiting Freetown Christiania enough!! This community was built in the 1970s in an old, abandoned, military area. It is located just a short 10-minute bike ride from the city center and it is such a unique environment. Christiania even has its own set of rules that are displayed as soon as you walk in. This community has a big focus on sustainability and the art & food scene is something you shouldn’t miss when visiting Copenhagen. To read more about Christiania visit Contiki.com. Once we were done experiencing everything that Christiania had to offer, we walked over to La Banchina - a restaurant / wine bar with a big dock outside. You can swim or just chill out by the water with a nice glass of wine, which is exactly what we did.
To end our last day in Copenhagen we got back on our bikes and started making our way to our hostel when we happened to ride by Broens Gadekøkken, a big and vibrant outdoor food court with something for everyone! We made a pit-stop for dinner, got some gyros, and it was the perfect ending to an amazing 3 days in Copenhagen.
Much love,
Maya.