Copenhagen to explore
 

We will be in Copenhagen with a tour and be shown main sightseeing sites. We have several days 'free' time to explore on our own, incl. to have lunch and dinner. What would you recommend not to miss? Also how about pointing us toward some neat smaller places to get lunch or dinner without breaking our budget. Someone said not to miss open-faced sandwitches. Sounds great . Anything else ???! Thank you.
We're staying at Admiral Hotel Copenhagen.
Thanks .

Hey Jenny!
My husband had to go to Copenhagen on a business trip last August and I was more than happy to go with him. We just loved Copenhagen! The weather was beautiful at that time of the year.
I definitely recommend the open-faced sandwiches. As for good reasonable restaurants, go to the neighborhood of "New Haven", lovely place with a lot of restaurants and cafes (like the french cafes trottoirs). You can also go on a river cruise from there and see their famous "Little Mermaid" statue. Another fun spot is Tivoli Gardens, which is like a big amusement park with a lot of restaurants and cafes, as well as nightly live entertainment. They have fireworks several times a week around midnight. By the way, nightlife in Copenhagen is great!
For shopping, I recommend the famous street of "STROYET" (not sure about the spelling). Copenhagen is agreat city to explore on a bike. Bikers have a dedicated lane on most streets.
Hope this helps.
Have fun!

You should love the Admiral - great hotel & good location. Walk along the waterfront boardwalk just in front of hotel -- away from Nyhaven. The palace there (opposite side of road) has a changing of the houseguards daily, if it's not included in your tour.

I got this message as a response to a question on Fodors's about a great restaurant I went to and couldn't remember the name. This was a 6 day trip to Scandanavia and it has always stuck out in my mind.

Message: There are two restaurants that were opened in what were once cloisters: Skt Gertruds Kloster (32 Hauser Plads DK 1127, 45 33 14 66 30 tel.) and Peder Oxe on Gråbrødretorv. Skt Gertruds Kloster is lit by about 110,000 candles . . . Peder Oxe is a less expensive restaurant and the "cloister" area is actually downstairs and rather small.

Skt Gertruds was it. I don't remember it being particularly expensive at the time many years ago, but the ambience is worth it.

Across the plaza from Tivoli Gardens is a pedestrian street (may be the one mentioned above) - lots of restaurants and shops. Royal Copenhagen had a shop.

Hey, nancy, thanks for pushing my answer!

Nyhavn is on the next block west of the Admiral hotel and is a great place to stroll in the evening and there are restaurants all along the east sid of the canal, "reasonably priced" is a very relative thing in Copenhagen, which is a fairly expensive city.

And SIRINE is correct, the Stroget, Copenhagen's pedestrian street is facinating. One end of the Stroget is near the D'Angleterre Hotel at Kongens Nytorv (Kongens Nytorv is at the north end of Nyhavn). The other end of the Stroget empties into the Radhuspladsen or town hall square.

About half way down the Stroget is Gammel Torv and Ny Torv (Old Square and New Square). Near this area there's a church and a passageway called Jorcks Passage that leads to Grabrodretorv or Grayfriars Square. There are several al fresco restaurants on this square that are moderately priced and the square is quintessential Europe.

Go to 91 Vinstue (91 Gammel Kongevej) for the best beer in the world, bar none!

Go to Bakken, which is in Dyrehaven a beautiful park north of Copenhagen. Bakken is in a way similar to Tivoli but it is more of a Danish (as opposed to Tourist) retreat. Dyrehaven is an exquisite park where there are deer so tame that they'll walk right up to you.

The changing of the guard takes place at noon each day and, although it doesnt quite have the pomp and circumstance that it does at Buckingham Palace, it is fun. This is near your hotel, in Amelienborg Palace.

You'll probably see the Round Tower, Rosenberg Palace, and some of the museums on you tour. If you can take day trips (I always rent a car in Copenhagen) go to Helsingor and see Kronborg Castle, Hillerod and see Fredriksberg Castle, and Roskilde and see the Cathedral there and the Viking museum. Frankly, the Viking Museum nearly bored me to death, but some people really enjoy it.

It's Friday and it's late and my kids are waiting for me . . . I've got lots more if you are interested.

Have fun.

Thanks Sirine, MHS, Nancy and Snoopy ! I can't thank you enough ! I printed out your excellent advice for the trip. And yes, Snoopy, when you get the chance, please write again . We are leaving on June 23, so I have time to gather more travel tips.Today I discovered a website for 'language lessons' and want to learn the simple things, like 'thanks' etc.
I'm so glad for your responses !

Thank you - tak (rhymes with clock)
No thank you - nej tak (nigh tak)
Thank you very much - mange tak (mon-guh tak)
Please - vaer sa venlig (vair sa vay-lik)
Excuse me - undskyld (unskooled)

"y" is pronounced like "u" in use and "ej" is pronouced like a long "i" like in kite.

You wont need much more than that just to be polite. Everyone speaks English. Here's some other stuff you might find useful . . . because you see it everywhere.

Gammel - old
Ny - new
Torv - square
Vej - street (vigh)
udsalg - on sale
Tilbud - special offer
Store - large, great
Lille - small
Kort - map
ol - beer
fadol - draft beer
slimlosende - expectorant (I had a cold there once)

You can probably figure everything else out.

As far as dinner, I'd ask at the hotel for recommendations based on critera you give them. Or, just walk around the center of the city. Like the rest of Europe, menus with prices are posted outside the restaurant, and most restaurants have an English menu posted as well. I like Jensens Bofhaus for a "Ponderosa" or "Sizzler" quality steak house. Not very Danish, but a good value (all you can eat) can be had at the Mongolian Barbeque, not far off of H.C. Anderson Blvd, about half a mile south of the center of town. Belgian Waffles (Varm Vaffler) from the street vendors are excellent. Fransk Dogs (my cheap favorite) are also very good. They are sold from the Polser stands which are everywhere.

If you drink . . . try Akvavit ice cold with the "open faced sandwiches". Im not big on fish, so it helped me wash down stuff I never would have otherwise eaten.

Hi Jenny,

open face sandwich - smørrebrød
(the ø is impossible to pronounce unless you have a speech defect) :)

buffet lunch or dinner - smørgasbord

If you are drinking Akvavit with your smørrebrød, don't stand up quickly.

Have a great time.

Hello Jenny,

Go to www.aok.dk (there is an english version, click on the british flag) - it's THE guide to Copenhagen. Restaurants, museums, concerts, sights, etc. I live here and I use it all the time.
One last recommendation: Spend half a day going north up the coast. Beautiful drive (by bus, car or train) to the museum Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Wonderful location and great exhibitions.
Have fun!
Peter

I second Peter's suggestion. The view is worth the trip, even if you don't like modern art.

Does anyone know if the Copenhagen card gives "free" admission to the Tivoli gardens? The website does not say what are the attractions that get admission.

Yes, admission to Tivoli was free with a Copenhagen card (or was anyway in 1999). There is a separate charge to ride the rides which is not covered by the Copenhagen Card, but it was nice to be able to just wander into Tivoli whenever we wanted to. It's a great place to people-watch, listen to music, look at the lights, or watch the fireworks (Saturday nights, and possibly Wednesday nights, I think). I disagree with Snoopy about renting a car in Copenhagen. There is a lot of traffic, parking is sometimes difficult, and the public transportation in and around Copenhagen is excellent. Also, most of the things you will want to see are walking distance from anywhere in the city center. Your Copenhagen card is all you need to get on any bus or train in and around town. You can see Fredricksborg Palace and Kronborg Palace in the same day without a car if you take an S-Tog (commuter train) from the city to Hillerod, then a Lillenor train from Hillerod to Helsingor, and a regional train back to the city (it's much easier than it sounds, and the Copenhagen card gets you free admission to one of them--Fredricksborg, I think)).
I would strongly recommend going to Our Savior's Church to climb the staircase that spirals up the outside of the steeple. A breathtaking view.

Annam,

I never suggested that jenny rent a car. I simply said that I do. And Copenhagen traffic on it's worst day is insignificant compared to any large US city. (with the possible exception being heading out of Copenhagen on a sunny Friday afternoon). Parking, despite the helpful (ha ha) signs indicating the number of available spaces, is troblesome. But, as I said, you don't need a car to get around inside Copenhagen. And you dont need one to get out of Copenhagen. I just prefer it. It would be difficult to see Esrum Kloster without one, or visit the beach area near Gilleleje, or see the chalk cliffs at Mon . . .

Generally, I would never say that a car is better than a bus or train . . . that would be goofy. The advantages and disadvantages of one over the other are fairly obvious.

The reason I rent a car is that I prefer to come and go when I want, and to stay as long as I want. Mostly, when I am ready to leave, I want to leave right then! The public transportation in Copenhagen, and for that matter most of Europe, is far superior to most US cities. However, I prefer a car over cabbing or walking to the train station, waiting for the train, not being able to stop if I see something interesting from the bus/train, then after arriving at my destination walking or cabbing . . .

It's a personal preference, not a judgemental issue.

The Carlsberg Glyptotek behind Tivoli has an extensive collection of 19th and 20th century collection of French art including all of the Degas bronzes and a large Gauguin collection.

The Danes are justifiably proud of their resistance to the Nazis in WW2 and there is a Resistance Museum in Churchill Parken. The impressive Geflon Fountain is also there. As an aside, two teak benches given in thanks by the Danes face the grave of Winston Churchill in Bladon, England.

The Stroget pedestrian street is brilliant. There is Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, Georg Jensen Silver, the department stores Illums and Magasin du Nord and Den Permanente, my favorite and a mecca for Scandinavian design. In addition to the shopping, there is music, art, food and a wondrously joyful atmosphere.

We have bought a number of items in Copenhagen and had them shipped. The savings in the VAT went a long way towards the shipping cost.

You'll have fun.

Lucky you!! Definitely take the train to hillerod/fredericksborg castle (beautiful) and Roskilde (they are builing a viking ship replica that will set sail i think next year). Copenhagen card covers all of this and train is VERY easy to use. have fun!! Also, Riz raz near Stroget is a quick and relatively inexpensive buffet that we enjoyed.