copenhagen :: recos for young family sought
 

We are visiting Copenhagen for 3 days in late August. Our 4 year old daughter will be with us. What are your thoughts about things to do (enjoy and eat too!) in the city that the whole family will enjoy? Tivoli Gardens? Lego Land? Carlsberg Brewery? Castles? Thank you.

Well, Legoland is in Billund on the Danish mainland of Jutland quite a bit of a drive away and certainly not suitable for a daytrip from Copenhagen.

That said, a boat tour of the city will last about an hour and is great fun. Boats depart from Nyhavn in the center of the city. There are two providers, Danish shipping stalwart DFDS and a company called Netto Boats that departs about 100 yards from the DFDS berth on the Western side of Nyhavn (the one in the shade). Netto is considerably cheaper, but has the same route, I believe.

Seeing the Little Mermaid is a must IMHO, although quite a number of Fodorites consider it overrated. Most of them refer to the Little Mermaid as being so small. I think being so delicate is part of its charm. It is a bit of a walk from the city center, but this will take you along the harbour and then on along Langelinie and a nice park.

I also think that the drive up the Coast in the direction of Helsingoer (and its Hamlet Castle) is quite scenic taking you along some nice homes on one side and the Oeresound on the other.
There is a Deer Park (Dyrehavn) North of the city near Klampenborg, which I believe is free and where you can spot hundreds of deers that are grazing and dosing in a huge park setting. I am not sure how to gain access as I only know it from playing golf there (parts of the park function as a golf course), but it seems fairly easy. If your daughter loves animals, this might be worth a stop for half an hour or so when passing by anyway.

Rosenborg Castle. The Crown Jewels are there, and a real throne room on the top floor with two HUGE silver lions.
Tivoli, especially at night. Beautiful lights and fountains, and some of the best people-watching on the planet. Also the oldest continuously-operating roller coaster in the world. It's a pretty tame one. Your daughter may even be able to ride it.

Our sons loved Tivoli Gardens -- a hightlight of our two weeks in Stockholm, Lund, and Copenhagen.

HSV - thanks againa for the detailed tips - we're definitely hitting Lego land (as well as the Copenhagen finds you mention). I did a bit of research here on the deer park you mentioned, seems like a treasure. Thank you.