beth23

Is there enough to do in Copenhagen for a week, or should I divide the trip somehow so that I could be in Copenhagen for 4 days and pick another Scandinavian destination for 3 or 4 days? Are there interesting places to day trip from Copenhagen? I like history, art, architecture, culture, but would also like to relax, people watch, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

ira

Hi beth,

I suggest staying in Denmark. From Copenhagen you can visit Roskilde (Viking ships and Cathedral), Hillerod - Frederkisborg Castle, Aarhus, Fyn and Helsingor (Elsinor Castle)for daytrips.

WillTravel

I think there's plenty to keep you occupied with Copenhagen plus daytrips in a week. I know others disagree, but I don't know if they tried all the options available. What time of year are you going? I recommend summer.

nytraveler

Copenhagen is a wonderful city and there is plenty to see and do - with a bunch of day trips including one to Malmo in Sweden if you want. Also you can easily spend every evening enjoying something new in Tivoli. A fantastic destinatin for a summer vacation.

joegri

beth23: You can easily spend the week in and around Copenhagen. Day trips to Roskilde (awesome cathedral and interesting Viking Museum, mostly ships) and Hillerod,s Frederiksborg Castle, a fantastic palace, can be done in one day. The two locations are about 30 minutes from Copenhagen and less from each other by car. Not much more by public transporatation.
Elsinorat Castle at Helsingor is impressive from the outside, less so from inside. The link to Hamlet that the tour guides like to proclaim is very questionable. The castle was built long after Hamlet is supposed to have died. A troupe of English actors did perform here and could have brought the information to Shakespeare. Perhaps he was one of the actors.
Arhus is interesting enough. It would be about three hours from Copenhagen by car and ferry. Very good Den Gamle By (Old Town Open Air Museum). Pleasant pedestrian only area of shops, markets and cafes. Good canal side scene for people watching with ongoing entertainment (music) in the summer. If you are there for the jazz festival (in July, I believe), it becomes even more enticing.
If you decided to spend time at Arhus, you could make a day trip to Ribe which is a totally charming old village (some say it is the prettiest village in Denmark). Other than ruinic stones and Weis' Stue (an ancient old Inn with tons of atmosphere) the only sites are the village itself. The cobbled lanes and quaint old buildings are really inviting.
There is an outdoor Viking, living museum a short distance from the village that makes for an interesting half day.
This is a fun, relaxing area. The driving is easy, or, if you prefer, public transportation is good. You'll have a good time. Have a great trip.

Dutch

A few years ago we did a 7 night trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen. 3 nights in Stockholm and 4 in Copenhagen. If I had to do it over again, I would spend the whole week in Denmark. A side trip to Malmo or Helsigborg is easy from Coprnhagen if you want a taste of Sweden. I could easily spend just a day sitting in one of the parks eating Danish pastry. Magical.

beth23

Thank you all for these wonderful suggestions and for easing my mind!

I am glad to hear that Copenhagen seems to be the Scandenavian city of choice. The day trip ideas sound very good.

We are not planning on renting a car, so it's good to know we can get around with public transportation. Is Copenhagen considered a walking city? I wasn't able to find this out on any of the web sites I have looked at. Does anyone have any good Copenhagen/Denmark webs sites?

Also hotel suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

m_kingdom2

What a marvellous city, a good friend of mine lives there half the year (being Danish), and the other half in London. It will fulfill all your requirements, it is most civilised.

My friend advises you to stay at the Radisson SAS - this is the most Danish hotel by design, (Arne Jacobsen) and locals frequent it. Hotel D'Angleterre is in need of some refurbishment, and is more international by design. Enjoy your trip.

WillTravel

Yes, Copenhagen is a great walking city!

The site to start with is http://www.woco.dk .

joegri

beth23: The Hotel Danmark in Copenhagen is a very nice 3* about a block from the Stroget (the pedestrian-only street through the center of the old town. It is also about two blocks from Tivoli and from the train station. If you stay here, get an upper level room facing the old town to have a view over the roof tops.
A very nice, more expensive 4*, also in a great location is the Nyhaven71 (very small rooms, but very charming).
A good restaurant for lunch or dinner (and I was very reluctant to go here) is the vgetarian Riz-Raz. Excellent buffet of very well prepared food.
Suggest you enter Copenhagen in the search window above, click on find and you will get tons of information, my own included.

Willy123

Agree with all the suggestions, especially Jazz, Elsinore & Malmo. I also took a touristic bus tour of the city, and saw the Mermaid etc. Don't foget the Danish Resistance Museum (our guide gave the impression that the WWII Danish resistance was a myth! Uh oh, don't want to start a political forum), and Christiania (a blast from the past).
.

ira

>...our guide gave the impression that the WWII Danish resistance was a myth!<

Hmm. Don't see why. The Danes managed to rescue almost their entire Jewish population.

WillTravel

I don't think it's fair to say Danish resistance is a myth, but Danish Communists who opposed the Nazis were thrown in prison during the war. I had read about the monument dedicated to Danish Communists in front of the Resistance Museum, but it was still a bit of a shock to see. Of course there were Danish collaborators also, as there were in every country in Europe. The evacuation of Danish Jews was indeed marvelous.

lisale

Beth,
My family is traveling to Denmark in July for 2 1/2 weeks. Here are some websites which give good information:

dk.d-i-s-c-o-v-e-r.com
www.visitdenmark.com
www.dt.dk
www.useit.dk
www.aok.dk
www.visitcopenhagen.dk
www.rejseplanen.dk (transportation system)
www.lonelyplanet.com/subwwway
www.mytravelguide.com
www.unitedpixels.com/countries/[email protected]

I believe all of these have English translation.

If you are traveling in the summer, I would suggest you book accomodations soon. Just about everyone in Denmark goes on holiday in the summer, particularly July and it can be very difficult to get rooms, especially in the more 'resort areas'.

Have a great trip!!

spiegelcjs

We were in Copenhagen last June and loved the city. We did not take any trips outside and had about 3 days at the beginning of our trip and two at the end which we found to be to much. I agree with everyone that for that lenght of time you should go outside on some day trips. Malmo etc. Our first day we bought tickets for the double decker bus that stops in front of the Palace Hotel across the street from the Main square. It is a get on and off tour with headsets that you set to whatever language you want. if you read your guide books ahead of time and make decisions on what you want to see this is a great way to do it. We bought a 2 day pass. We did have one problem that you should check on and that is the ability to get inside some of the castles etc. Some only allow you in with a tour and most have scheduled hours and are not open all the time. Many of the guide books were not correct on this information.

Regarding hotels if you are there during the summer when it is light until midnight make sure you stay in a hotel that has airconditioning and you can close the window. The revelers seem to stay up and out all night. We started out at the charming Palace hotel and after not sleeping all night because of the partying we changed to the SAS Royal which is across from the main entrance to Tivoli gardens and a great location . The tour buses stop here and we actually went to Tivoli every night. We actually saw Tony Bennet one evening. From this hotel you can walk to Stroget street, Tivoli and most everything. Also across the street in the other direction is the train station which would be perfect for your day trips. The hotel charge also included breakfast. It is a beautiful city. Enjoy

WillTravel

We did okay in Copenhagen last year in July without air conditioning, but our room did overlook an interior courtyard. Later in the summer during Europe's terrible heat wave, I think people did suffer without A/C.

beth23

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize AC was so necessary. I thought it would be cool all summer, thanks for letting me know.

ira

Hi Beth,

My first trip to Copenhagen was in September. The temp was high 80's and above for a week.

The weather broke, the day I left for London.

The weather system then dropped down to the UK and it was in the high 80's in London that week.

CPHtraveller

Hi Beth,
I am living in Copenhagen myself and have done so all my life - there is plenty to see and do here! ART: I suggest you take a trip to Humlebaek and see Louisiana art museum - you can easily go there by train or, if you rent a car, you can go by the beautiful Strandvejen. Arken Art museum outside Copenhagen (Ishoej) is also worth a visit. If you go to Aarhus there is a newly opened art museum as well; ARoS.
If you are an architecture fan you can dine (quite expensive) at Radisson Hotel close to the main train station (Hovedbanegaarden), their top floor restaurant has been done in entirely Arne Jacobsen style (he also was the architect of the hotel itself) and the food is supposed to be outstanding - as is the view over Copenhagen!
I am also very fond of the swedish town Malmoe which is easily reached by train or car - there is a whole new neighborhood called Vesterhamnen which is a must if you're interested in new architecture - if the weather is nice it is a great place for a coffee in the sun.
For peoplewatching in CPH I suggest you go to Sankt Hans Torv in the area Noerrebro, there are plenty of large cafes and outside sitting if the weather allows it. For a nice dinner, try Fiasco at Gammel Kongevej in Frederiksberg - Italian and my all time favourite!
Have a nice trip - if you need more info I'll be happy to help!

Nikki

This is all very interesting to me. I am planning to fly to Copenhagen in July with my husband and daughter and then rent a car. Ideally I would like to stay outside Copenhagen, either in the Danish or Swedish countryside, for three nights, and then stay in Copenhagen for three more nights. We will be visiting my college aged daughter who will be studying there for the summer.

Any suggestions, CPHtraveller or other folks experienced in the area? One night in Sweden and two in Denmark? Nice country inns in scenic areas?