Riga or Copenhagen for short weekend?
Jul 3rd, 2011, 07:24 AM
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Riga or Copenhagen for short weekend?
I would appreciate advice of those who have visited both.
I will be in northern Europe late September and have a free weekend before I start work--basically fly somewhere on Friday late afternoon and leave Sunday afternoon. Friday night will just be travel and sleep.
I have traveled extensively in Finland, visited Stockholm several times, one day in Tallinn and gone to Oslo+Norway in a Nutshell on previous trips. The two destinations that seem to have a selection of nonstop flights and reasonable costs are Riga and Copenhagen.
I enjoy architecture, history, local/distinctive culture, and the outdoors (parks, nature). I spend little time on food, shopping, or hotels. I'm a 50-yr-old female traveling alone, but used to it.
Riga sounds intriguing because it offers "different" and seems small enough to appreciate the major sites in a Saturday and part of Sunday.
Copenhagen offers a day trip out of the city to one of the castles on Saturday, then exploring the city on Sunday, but I think not enough time? I've tried repeatedly on earlier trips to make it to Denmark, but the timing or cost was never right.
Anything that would sway you one way or the other?
I will be in northern Europe late September and have a free weekend before I start work--basically fly somewhere on Friday late afternoon and leave Sunday afternoon. Friday night will just be travel and sleep.
I have traveled extensively in Finland, visited Stockholm several times, one day in Tallinn and gone to Oslo+Norway in a Nutshell on previous trips. The two destinations that seem to have a selection of nonstop flights and reasonable costs are Riga and Copenhagen.
I enjoy architecture, history, local/distinctive culture, and the outdoors (parks, nature). I spend little time on food, shopping, or hotels. I'm a 50-yr-old female traveling alone, but used to it.
Riga sounds intriguing because it offers "different" and seems small enough to appreciate the major sites in a Saturday and part of Sunday.
Copenhagen offers a day trip out of the city to one of the castles on Saturday, then exploring the city on Sunday, but I think not enough time? I've tried repeatedly on earlier trips to make it to Denmark, but the timing or cost was never right.
Anything that would sway you one way or the other?
Jul 3rd, 2011, 07:48 AM
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We spend a long weekend in Copenhagen this past April and really liked it. The city is compact and we walked just abut everywhere or used the bus.
There are several sites right in town to see that give you a great idea of the history of Denmark. We also visited the Carlsberg Brewery and enjoyed that as well. Canal Tour was very enjoyable and the weather was great.
Round Tower, Vor Frelsers Kirke, Casstles galor, gardens, and much more.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/05...l/05hours.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...n_Zealand.html
There are several sites right in town to see that give you a great idea of the history of Denmark. We also visited the Carlsberg Brewery and enjoyed that as well. Canal Tour was very enjoyable and the weather was great.
Round Tower, Vor Frelsers Kirke, Casstles galor, gardens, and much more.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/05...l/05hours.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...n_Zealand.html
Jul 3rd, 2011, 07:51 AM
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Jul 3rd, 2011, 09:59 AM
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Thanks for the photos, Deb. The architecture along the waterfront in Copenhagen looks picturesque.
I also glanced at your Norway photos--neat to see the Myrdal-Flam area in a different season with all the snow up top. I could probably match up our photos along the same route in June to get a spring-summer comparison.
Hope you are safe despite the fires out in the SW.
I also glanced at your Norway photos--neat to see the Myrdal-Flam area in a different season with all the snow up top. I could probably match up our photos along the same route in June to get a spring-summer comparison.
Hope you are safe despite the fires out in the SW.
Jul 3rd, 2011, 10:27 AM
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Copenhagen is wonderful but has a ton of things to do. do not leave the city - there are castles within the city that you can tour that are fascinating - esp Rosenborg. I found this much more interesting than those in the suburbs since it is still partly furnished - rather than totally empty. You can also see the changing of the guard at Amalienborg as well as a museum and 800 year old Christiansborg - which was a royal palace and now houses the parliament.
Jul 3rd, 2011, 12:41 PM
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From my experience it may be a toss-up. Architecture-wise, both feature a lot of resemblance with regards to older buildings.
However, Copenhagen has an edge when it comes to modern architecture, whereas Riga may have an edge if you are also interested in Art Nouveau buildings, of which a belt surrounds Riga's medieval Old Town.
Copenhagen's restaurants on a very general scale may still be better than Riga's, but they come at higher prices, too (although generally Riga isn't cheap for Eastern European standards).
Riga in fact is larger than Copenhagen: It has more than 700 k inhabitants, whereas Copenhagen only has 500 k (in fact I believe Riga is the second largest city, after St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Baltic Sea). Consequently Riga does feel quite lively.
Overall, I think what you should ask yourself is whether you want to go somewhere that still has some transformation to come (albeit Riga appears almost surprisingly North-West European) and also sports some classic remainders of Soviet society or whether you want to be more "conservative" or modern. In the latter cases Copenhagen would apply, whereas in the former cases Riga would be your destination. Overall I don't think you'd go wrong with either and they offer some striking similarities.
However, Copenhagen has an edge when it comes to modern architecture, whereas Riga may have an edge if you are also interested in Art Nouveau buildings, of which a belt surrounds Riga's medieval Old Town.
Copenhagen's restaurants on a very general scale may still be better than Riga's, but they come at higher prices, too (although generally Riga isn't cheap for Eastern European standards).
Riga in fact is larger than Copenhagen: It has more than 700 k inhabitants, whereas Copenhagen only has 500 k (in fact I believe Riga is the second largest city, after St. Petersburg, on the shores of the Baltic Sea). Consequently Riga does feel quite lively.
Overall, I think what you should ask yourself is whether you want to go somewhere that still has some transformation to come (albeit Riga appears almost surprisingly North-West European) and also sports some classic remainders of Soviet society or whether you want to be more "conservative" or modern. In the latter cases Copenhagen would apply, whereas in the former cases Riga would be your destination. Overall I don't think you'd go wrong with either and they offer some striking similarities.
