Copenhagen is a great European capital with amazing renaissance and baroque buildings. It has what is billed at the longest pedestrianized shopping street in the world- the Strøget, which is great for taking leisurly walks and has many good restraunts and bakeries serving delicious Danish pastries.

At the end of the Strøget there is an area called Nyhavn located along a canal which is agreat spot for dining and people watching.

Copenhagen is much smaller than the glorious capital of Sweden, Stockholm, which is the crown jewel of Northern Europe. Two days would suffice in Copenhagen if you plan on visiting many other places in the region.

The central part of the city is quite compact and spending three days there would be nice if you want to savour it on a leisurly pace.

I agree that 2 full days would be nice - that would mean 3 nights.

Copenhagen is a fun place to be. I lived there almost every summer for 20-plus years straight and have also been there years after that. It's one of those cities that one can just move slowly in to absorb it all. Why not rent an apartment (www.airbnb.com) and stay 5 full days and just kick back. Rent bikes and go around the city as the Danes do. I used to bike almost everywhere. There are bike paths, in the city, with traffic lights just for the cyclists so it's very safe to bike there.

Plus, by staying longer, you have time to jump the train and go up to Helsingør and all along the coast. There are a lot nice places both inside and outside of the city. If you have kids, Danes love kids and there are a lot of kid-friendly things to do.

As for air conditioning, I've never had it or needed it during the summer.

Happy Travels!

Not too far from Nyhavn at the water front is an excellent hotel remodeled from a warehouse...The Admiral Hotel. Might check it out. We did enjoy Copenhagen. Yes, rent bicycles is good idea...and just strolling down the Stroget.

Bill in Boston

I find the Hotel price is expensive in this City and this may be a problem for my family of 4 people.>

Yes but you can find B&Bs right inside Copenhagen or actually on the city's perpihery for a fraction of hotel prices. I stayed in a wonderful self-catering B&B about two miles from the center, on a metro line. Just Google Copenhagen B&Bs.

Otherwise time wise I'd say three days max for the city itself but there are a plethora of great day trips - like to Elsinore and Hamlet's Castle, Roskile for Viking Ships museum, Lousiana and its famous art museum and alfresco statue park; Frederiksborg (sp?) for the wonderful royal castle in the middle of a lake and Round the Sound trip to Lund, Sweden, about an hour from Copenhagen and a wonderful old town with a very famous university dominating it - for a taste of Sweden (and Swedish prices whose sticker shock will shock you even more than Danish prices.

We were there for 4 days in April 2011 and we would have liked another day or 2! It was lovely.

In addition to the traditional sites, we walked from Tivoli Gardens to Carlsberg Brewery [it was far and may not be for everyone as you do walk through a bit of a rough area] for a visit and quite enjoyed it.

http://www.visitcarlsberg.dk/Pages/front.aspx

Gavin...we did a four-day stay..incuding one day to visit commanding Fredericksborg Castle and notable Louisiana Art Museum, by local train from Norreport(station). Louisiana also has many sculptures on it's handsome grounds overloking the sound that separates Denmark from Sweden,.

Copenhagen is most enjoyable and relaxing, manyfriendly folks (as Guenmai says, a fun place!), easy to maneuver around town by foot. It's a cyclists haven as you'll note in these pics. There are times when photos can serve to familiarize more effectively than full blown trip reports. A good guide book can take care of that.

Enjoy! I recommend Ibsen's Hotel, a pleasant walk to the Strog(y)et, excellent breakfasts, elevator and restaurant.

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Denmark#

Stu

Yes, Copenhagen - and indeed all of Scandinavia is generally much more expensive than most of western europe. We have been twice - once for 4 days (3 in town and one to see Roskilde) and felt we needed more time. On the return trip we had only 2 days (3 nights) and enjoyed it - but really are trying to find time to spend a week there. I think it's just a fabulous city.

We stayed in the Admirnal once and it was OK - not great but OK - but we didn't like the location. The previous visit we stayed near Town Hall Square (one end of the Stroget) which we liked more.

I stayed 3 nights... 2 full days. Could have used one more day.

I, too, thought 2 full days (so 3 nights) a good option, but I was busy every moment of those 2 days and would have liked an extra day. It's a beautiful place - enjoy!