The tourist office monitors all tours and has brochures and information. Most tours run through summer until September.

Bike Tours

Basic bicycle tours of Copenhagen with City Safari run around 2½ hours and cover the main sights of the city, while there is a more comprehensive trip (4½ hours) with lunch included. The guides not only point out Copenhagen's main attractions and provide helpful information for travelers, but also give some insight into the daily routines of the Danes. Special theme tours are also available, such as a trip through historic Copenhagen, a tour to and around the Carlsberg brewery, a junket showing modern architecture, a route following the footsteps of Hans Christian Andersen, and an exciting Copenhagen-by-night trip. Prices range from DKr 150 to DKr 350 (lunch included).

If you would prefer that someone else do the peddling, an increasingly popular sightseeing method is provided by Quickshaw, one of the city's many cycle-taxi and -tour companies. Quickshaw bicycle chauffeurs can accommodate two passengers and offer two best-of-Copenhagen sightseeing routes or allow you to dictate your own trip; they will even wait out front while you visit museums or other points of interest. The cyclist-drivers are comfortable and adept as tour guides, narrating as they pedal. The cycle-taxis in service are parked at 18 strategic sites in the inner city.

Information

City Safari (Dansk Arkitektur Center (Gammel Dok), Strandg. 27B, Christianshavn. 33/23-94-90. www.citysafari.dk). Quickshaw (Esplanaden 8D, Downtown. 70/20-13-75).

Boat Tours

The Harbor and Canal Tour (1 hour) leaves from Gammel Strand and the east side of Kongens Nytorv from May to mid-September. The City and Harbor Tour (2½ hours) includes a short bus trip through town and sails from the Fish Market on Holmens Canal through several more waterways, ending near Strget. Contact Canal Tours or the tourist office for times and rates. Just south of the embarkation point for the City and Harbor Tour is the equally charming Netto Boats, which also offers hour-long tours for about half the price of its competitors.

Information

Canal Tours (32/96-30-00. www.canal-tours.dk). Netto Boats (32/54-41-02. www.havnerundfart.dk).

Bus Tours

The Grand Tour of Copenhagen (2½ hours) includes Tivoli, the New Carlsberg Museum, Christiansborg Castle, the Stock Exchange, the Danish Royal Theater, Nyhavn, Amalienborg Castle, Gefion Fountain, Grundtvig Church, and Rosenborg Castle. The City Tour (1½ hours) is more general, passing the New Carlsberg Museum, Christiansborg Castle, the Thorvaldsen Museum, the National Museum, the Stock Exchange, the Danish Royal Theater, Rosenborg Castle, the National Art Gallery, the Botanical Gardens, Amalienborg Castle, Gefion Fountain, and The Little Mermaid. The Open Top Tours (about 1 hour), which are given on London-style double-decker buses, include stops at Amalienborg, the Stock Exchange, Christiansborg, The Little Mermaid, Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum, the National Museum, the New Carlsberg Museum, Nyhavn, the Thorvaldsen Museum, and Tivoli. This tour gives attendees the option to disembark and embark on a later bus. Only the Grand Tour of Copenhagen, which covers the exteriors of the major sites, and the Open Top Tour, which covers less ground but more quickly, operate year-round. It's always a good idea to call first to confirm availability. Several other sightseeing tours leave from the Lur Blowers Column in Rådhus Pladsen 57, late March through September. For tour information call Copenhagen Excursions or Open Top Tours.

Information

Copenhagen Excursions (32/54-06-06. www.cex.dk). Open Top Tours (32/66-00-00. www.sightseeing.dk).

Walking Tours

Due to its manageable size and meandering avenues, Copenhagen is a great city for pedestrians. A number of companies offer walking tours of parts of the city, some catering to Danes and others offering outings in various languages. One of the best companies is Copenhagen Walking Tours, which schedules 10 different English-language guided tours. In addition to tours related to culture and city history, the service offers a Copenhagen shopping primer and a tour of Jewish Copenhagen. The outings begin at the Wonderful Copenhagen tourist information office on weekends—from June through August there are tours from Thursday through Sunday. In addition, there is also a special tour of Rosenborg Castle beginning in front of the palace at 11:30 on Tuesday.

Two-hour walking tours organized by Copenhagen Walks begin in front of the Wonderful Copenhagen office at 10:30 Monday through Saturday from May to September (call to confirm). There are three different routes: uptown on Monday and Thursday, crosstown on Tuesday and Friday, and downtown on Saturday. Richard Karpen, an American who has been living in Denmark for over a decade, leads the tours dressed as Hans Christian Andersen, offering information on both the interiors and exteriors of buildings and giving insight into the lifestyles, society, and politics of the Danes. His tour of Rosenborg Castle, including the treasury, meets at the castle at 1:30 Monday through Thursday from May to September. The Tourist Information Office is located on Vesterbrogade, across from Tivoli Gardens.

Information

Copenhagen Walking Tours (40/81-12-17. www.copenhagen-walkingtours.dk). Copenhagen Walks (32/84-74-35. www.copenhagenwalks.com).