QuesoDeCan

Copenhagen has been on my bucket list to visit.

I can gather things to do/see via the interwebs....but from veterans, say in no order:
*best time(s) to go/avoid
*is public transportation ok to visit the main spots
*as an avid novice photographer, what places are cool/not soooo touristy yet still cool places to visit?
*suggestmentations for lodging if I visit there
*is say a week enough to get a taste of Copenhagen?


Danke!

stut

Timing:

Winter can be foul weather, and the cold, driving rain off the Oresund doesn't make for a pleasant visit. Christmas, however, can be quite enchanting. Late Spring, Summer and early Autumn are better, but the weather remains unpredictable. On the plus side, you'll have nice, long days.

Transport:

Yes, public transport gets you pretty much everywhere, very easily. Consider cycling as well, the country is set up for it so well.

Alternative places to visit:

Well, I'm assuming your guidebook will have the usual city centre spots on, plus Christiania, trips out to Louisiana, Helsingor, Malmo, Roskilde, etc, etc. Trips further afield to spots like Lund (ancient University town), Ystad (seaside town - good for Wallander fans) and Odense are also worthwhile, if you're going to be there for a week.

If you want a higher-up view for photography, do visit the Rundetarn, as well as the wonderful Vor Frelsers Kirke, near Christiania, with its spiral tower.

Personally, though, when I want to explore, I take my bike and head out of town. You can get to some lovely spots like:

Dragor, a seaside/fishing town almost surrounded by the airport. You get there from the airport, then cycling on a path round the coastal service road. It will be a painful headwind no matter how you try, but you will get some views of the Oresund bridge (at a slightly annoying angle). However, the hollyhock-strewn, cobbled back streets as you approach the harbour from this route are impossibly pretty, as it the harbour itself. You can then, if your legs haven't completely given out, head back via the Amager Faelled.

The Roskilde Fjord. As well as a pleasant little town, with an impressively solid cathedral and viking ship museum, the fjord it sits on has some wonderful views - walkable and cyclable in parts.

Gilleleje, the Danish riviera. Go in summer for that posh-resort feel, go off season for that lovely-place-to-yourself feel. You can reach it by a number of pleasingly backwater-feeling light rail services.

Nordhavn to Charlottenlund. Nordhavn is a district in the middle of some serious reconstruction at the moment, with some really interesting architecture. It's a lovely ride up through here to Hellerup and Charlottenlund, with its old castle (hosting a campsite) and seawater swimming bath.

Lyngby and Gentofte districts. This is the posh part of Copenhagen's outer suburbia, and you can tell. There are wonderful deer parks, follies, utterly peaceful lakes, forests and castles round here. You can get good MTB tours of the area if you ask around.

Helsingborg and its coast. Helsingborg is a nice, small Swedish city, a short ferry ride from Helsingor. But the coastline around it is lovely, too. Just north of the city are some long beaches, which give way to rougher coastline. Great views of Kronborg castle, and some really nice food.

Around Copenhagen as well, you have interesting districts like Frederiksberg (actually a separate city, technically), Norrebro, the Kodbyen. Head out to the near suburbs and you'll get more bang for your buck when you eat out, too...

Lodging:

What's your budget and style preference? And would you want to stay in Copenhagen all the time?

Length of stay:

Well, each to their own. You will get posters who say they could see all of Copenhagen that they want in a day. I've been going there on a regular basis for 3 years, and am yet to tire of it. Some will say that you need to concentrate yourself on one place - personally, I get itchy feet, and will turn up at the station after a day or two, figuring out where sounds interesting next. A week will give you a great feel for the Oresund region - you may prefer to concentrate yourself on Copenhagen, its museums and districts, or you may prefer to wander further afield.

manda99

Very similar question, so piling on to this thread.

Traveling to Copenhagen for a 3 day weekend (after traveling through Stockholm and Oslo), beginning of April - it's just me and my 12 year old son (US spring break). I booked the First Hotel Kong Frederik - which seems to be near Tivoli Gardens, which I don't expect to be open when we are there - based on not much except the pictures looked pretty and I just wanted to have something on the books in case I don't figure something else out.

We've got limited time, so I want someplace central to museums, old buildings, interesting architecture, etc. We tend to just walk out of the hotel and wander. I looked up that Wake Up Copenhagen mentioned previously and it looks... uninspired. Also, the shower seems a little too open air for mom sharing with pre-teen son. I'm not hugely budget oriented, more important is location (convenience and safety) and European charm. Suggestions on specific hotels or point of interest to search near?

Thanks!

stut

No, I wouldn't share the Wakeup with my Mum! It's a budget place, and a godsend when the city fills up in peak season.

You could try the Admiral or 71 Nyhavn. Both are in great locations, in converted warehouses. They're not entirely polished, but are certainly well located and charming. There's also the Palace Hotel, near the Town Hall.

To be honest, it's a difficult city for hotels. The biggest cluster is around the red light district (and there are a couple of good hotels there) and the fairly dreary area next to the main station. There are few in the historic centre. The more interesting ones nearby are usually of fairly variable quality, with chains either being tired versions (Radisson), overpriced (Marriott) or further out (Hilton, CP, Adina).

The only really high quality ones are the top end (D'Angleterre, Nimb).

My normal rotation list is:

Andersen Hotel
Scandic Front
Stay Copenhagen
Sp34

with the two Wakeups on reserve if it's busy. Or I might stay in Malm�

tyn

I found the Admiral hotel mentioned above quite good and your son might enjoy a hotel that is on the water and the Nyhavn area with its boats. There is also a great hole in the wall smoerrebrod place nearby.

manda99

The Admiral hotel looks great!

flatlander

For photography, the central area of Copenhagen around the national library (The Black Diamond) and Amalienborg, Tivoli, and Nyhavn, are good for various architecture. The smaller seaside towns are also very pretty in summer or autumn, for example Hundested (1.5 hours by S-train and Lokalbanen).

However, much depends on the weather. In winter days are short, weather is often foul, and the scenes are heavy on that Wallander atmosphere, so you might not get what you want out of that. The Christmas decorations and street activities can be nice.

I recommend visiting in later summer or early autumn, then Denmark is at its most photogenic.

If you want to photograph the Little Mermaid, bring a longer lens, she's tiny. But you're better off going somewhere else and picking up a postcard in the airport, frankly.

MNSWEEps

manda99

we are also coming from US (L.A.) ...would be in CPH from mar 31 - apr 4. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza near airport and take the train to city everyday. It seems quick and easy to do that rather than stay in the city.

brewdog11

For late arrivals into Copenhagen, does anyone have any recommendations of things to do or good places to eat in the central city (around the train station)? I'm arriving around 21:30 from an international flight and would like to do things in the city for the one night I'm there.

Thank you,
brewdog11

stut

Bear in mind that the trains from the airport to Copenhagen H are disputed at the moment due to the Swedish ID nonsense, so metro is the best way into the city. Which may not be useful if your hotel is by the station (that said, faced with a 20 minute wait, I'd probably still take the metro and change at N�rreport).

The area immediately around the station has a heady mix of seediness and awful desperate-tourist places. So I'd recommend heading down to Halmtorvet and the K�dbyen, as there's a number of decent and interesting places round here, and you've got a much better chance of a meal late at night! Places like Pate Pate, Mother, BioMio, K�dbyens Fiskebar are all open late and pretty decent. And there's some decent bars round there too.

To get there, you do walk down a bit of a seedy area, c but it's perfectly fine.

brewdog11

Thank you for the advice, especially concerning the airport trains and the train station area! Pate Pate looks quite good, I think I might give that a try for a late dinner.

Are the Swedish ID checks a great inconvenience? From a cursory web search, it looked like they are simply checking ID cards before people embark at CPH. I'm staying right near the station, but I'm not opposed to taking alternative transportation (Metro) if the ID checks are that bad.

stut

Pate Pate is rather good - they were doing a turbot dish recently which is one of the best things I've tasted in a while! The place itself is very hyggeligt too.

The ID checks themselves won't affect you as you're not headed to Sweden, but the whole situation means you've got a less frequent service to the city (every 20m instead of 10) with worse reliability than normal. If you've just missed a train, it may be a lot quicker to carry on upstairs to the metro and change rather than wait.

brewdog11

I have a reservation at Pate Pate the night of my arrival! Can't wait to give their menu a try, as it looks absolutely fantastic! I'll have to order the turbot dish--that's certainly something that can't be found around where I'm from.

Sorry to keep up with questions, but about how long do Danish custom and immigration formalities take? I have a US Passport, so I don't know if that will slow me down a bit, but I'm trying to get an idea so I can better plan my night.

stut

Immigration is pretty speedy - never had to wait more than 5 minutes coming in (although that's normally on a smaller short-haul flight). You may have to wait 10 if you're unlucky. They don't normally separate EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA passport holders, unless it's particularly busy. Just check the sign above the open booth before you decide to queue there! Customs is intelligence-led, so you'll most likely walk straight out. The only usual delay is luggage delivery, which regularly takes 20-30 minutes. If you are waiting, there's a bunch of rail/metro ticket machines dotted around the luggage hall which can save you time (not that it's particularly busy outside at that time of night).

The station's then straight ahead of you as you exit. Takes a minute to walk there - two if people are being particularly annoying about blocking the exit with emotional reunions

FT Guest xyzpdq

By April they should have the automated pasport control up and running - valid only for EU pasports. How that would affect the "personal" non-EU pasport control is an unknown. But I not be too worried. As stated above max 10min wait.

Where are you arriving from? If inside Schengen - you have already cleared immigration at your Schengen entry point and thus do not need to be concerned about this at CPH. The bottle neck is the bagage.