Vanessa and I had three and a half days to explore Copenhagen at the last weekend of May – it wasn’t enough to do justice to all the many attractions of the city. This post tells you what we did during our visit and gives some ratings, which hopefully will prove useful to other visitors to Copenhagen.
Our favourite visits, however, were actually outside Copenhagen in nearby Roskilde and Helsingør, which are very accessible by public transport.
City of Copenhagen
Copenhagen has more than enough attractions for a weekend so we only had time to visit a few of the leading tourist spots.
Royal Danish Naval Museum
Holmens Canal on our walk to the Naval Museum
We walked in pleasant sunny weather from the city centre to the Royal Danish Naval Museum, (Orlogsmuseet), is in Christianshavn. The museum had many wonderful models of ships, which reminded me strongly of childhood visits to one of my favourite parts of the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh.
The materials in the museum were well presented and well labelled in English in addition to Danish.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: |   (4/5) |
| Vanessa: | (3/5) |
Freetown Christiana
Returning from Christianshavn on the Water Bus
Vanessa’s guidebook placed Freetown Christiana, an anarchist squatter community created in 1971, among Copenhagen’s top ten attractions. As it wasn’t far from the Naval Museum we decided to take a look.
The walk was pleasant enough, but I was a bit lost as to why Freetown Christiana should be considered a top ten attraction. Ramshackle buildings were moderately interesting if only to speculate about the building regulations applicable in the district, a boundary wall covered in graffiti, and streets congested with parked cars (they’re not allowed in the ‘Freetown’, so are parked in the surrounding areas).
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (2/5) |
| Vanessa: | (4/5) |
Vanessa’s higher rating was on the grounds that she enjoyed the walk. So perhaps her rating is more applicable to Christianshavn as a whole.
National Museum
On the ground floor, the National Museum (Nationalmuseet) provided a guide through Denmark’s history which provided an absorbing couple of hours. There were good exhibits on the upper floors too, although by the time I got to them I was suffering museum fatigue and can’t really recollect much about them. Vanessa commented that she’d have liked to see more of the vikings in the museum, but as you’ll see, her demand for vikings was more than fulfilled in Roskilde.
Like the other museums we visited, the exhibits were well labelled in English and Danish.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (4/5) |
| Vanessa: | (4/5) |
Little Mermaid & Kastellet
Family of Geese in the moat at the Kastellet
Neither of us found the Little Mermaid to be very inspiring, but the walk through the adjacent Kastellet, a well preserved fortification, was very pleasant.
From there we walked to Konges Have, where we had hoped to visit Rosenborg Slot (Castle), only to find that it closed at 4.00pm. A closing time of 4.00pm was fairly common and is worth noting if you’re planning to visit Copenhagen.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: |  (3.5/5) |
| Vanessa: | (4/5) Vanessa rated the Little Mermaid: (1/5) |
Tivoli Gardens
My last visit to Copenhagen was about 20 years ago on a business trip and the only sight we saw was Tivoli. We took the opportunity to visit on our return from Roskilde and enjoyed coffee and cake in one of the many restaurants on offer. There were many activities from fairground rides to a ballet performance. Vanessa summed it up as worth visiting just to say that you’d seen it.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (3/5) |
| Vanessa: | (3/5) |
Roskilde
Roskilde, the medieval Danish capital, lies at the end of a fjord and was about 30 minutes from central Copenhagen by rail. The principal reason for our trip was to visit the Viking Ship Museum.
Viking Ship Museum
The Viking Ship Museum (Vikingeskibsmuseet) has been developed around 5 wrecked viking ships which were recovered from the adjacent fjord in the late 1950’s and early 60’s.
 Vanessa at the harbour |
 Excavated wrecks |
 Sandy with the fjord in the background |
The viking ship museum made for an absorbing 3 or 4 hours. I particularly enjoyed the display of different types of trees and the description of how the various types of timber were used in ship building.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (5/5) |
| Vanessa: | (5/5) |
Domkirke
Roskilde Cathedral (Domkirke) is the other principal historic attraction of Roskilde and contains the remains of many of Denmark’s kings. It was worth a visit as we were in Roskilde, but not worth a trip specially to see it unless you’ve a particular interest in churches.
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (2.5/5) |
| Vanessa: | (2/5) |
Helsingør (Elsinore)
On our final day in Denmark we took a train to Helsingør, about 40 minutes north of Copenhagen. The town sits on the Øresund, the narrow strait between Denmark and Sweden. We began with a very pleasant walk to Kronborg Slot (castle), where Denmark once dominated the strait and taxed all shipping.
Kronborg Slot
Kronborg Slot, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, dates back to the 15th Century. The Kings of Denmark owed much of their wealth to “Sound Dues” a tax on shipping passing through the Øresund. It’s also known as the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.
There were many interesting exhibits and Vanessa was impressed by the large extent to which the interior was open to the public.
 Vanessa with the Øresund in the background |
 Kronborg Slot |
 Guard duty |
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (5/5) |
| Vanessa: | (5/5) |
Aquarium
After visiting the Castle we walked to Copenhagen University’s excellent aquarium, Øresundsakvariet, featuring sea life to be found in the Øresund. Although the aquarium is relatively small, it had a great deal of interest and is certainly worth a visit if you’re in Helsingør. Courtesy of another visitor, who had some vouchers, we even got in for free!
| Our Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Sandy: | (4.5/5) |
| Vanessa: | (5/5) |
Accommodation, etc.
Hotel Maritime
Nearby Nyhavn with its cafes and bars is a popular location
We spent three nights at the 3* Hotel Maritime, which is rated 18 of 122 hotels in the city by the users of Trip Advisor. Although our single rooms were fairly small they were perfectly comfortable and reasonably clean – I appreciated being able to have a ‘smoking’ room and a decent Internet connection! The hotel staff were always friendly, and the buffet breakfast included in the room rate was adequate. The room rate was competitive in the context of the hotels I researched in Copenhagen before booking.
For me, the biggest plus for Hotel Maritime was its location in the centre of Copenhagen close to the waterfront, attractions, and public transport (Kongens Nytorv Metro Station, bus stops close by, water bus stop Nyhavn). Here are our ratings for Hotel Maritime:
| Criteria | Sandy | Vanessa |
|---|---|---|
| Location: | (5/5) |
(5/5) |
| Comfort & cleanliness: | (4/5) |
(4/5) |
| Friendless: | (4.5/5) |
(4/5) |
| Breakfast: | (4/5) |
(4/5) |
| Price: | (4.5/5) |
|
| Overall Score: | (4.4/5) |
(4.2/5) |
Vanessa found it a bit chilly eating out of doors in the evening.
Restaurants & Bars
Central Copenhagen is well supplied with restaurants and bars serving a fairly wide variety of cuisines. Prices for food were reasonable in a European context, although beer and wine was relatively expensive.
We didn’t visit any memorable restaurants, although we did have a very pleasant and reasonably priced lunch of couscous salad at the Royal Library, which is on the waterfront close to a water bus stop.
Travel & Transportation
The city has excellent public transport and we made use of the water buses, trains and metro during our visit.
Vanessa on the Water Bus
As a resident of Warsaw and a regular cyclist I was very envious of the bicycle lanes which were wider in one direction than our Warsaw bike lanes are for both directions.
Copenhagen Card
Vanessa’s guide book suggested that the Copenhagen Card was of dubious value, but she didn’t tell me until after I’d bought them! They provide free access to around 65 museums and other attractions and free public transport in the Greater Copenhagen area.
You can buy a Copenhagen Card at the Tourist Information desk in the Arrivals Hall at Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport. They’re offered in 1 and 3 days durations for adults and children (under 10 free if accompanied by an adult with a Copenhagen Card) and costing around €64 each for the 3 day adult cards we purchased.
