A plan for Copenhagen

History

Beginnings as a merchant harbour

If you had dropped by Copenhagen in the 11th century CE, you would have found yourself looking over a small fishing hamlet, with some lazy cattle gazing back at you while chewing fresh green grass from the meadows around the village. Looking east you would see a host of small islets protecting the small fishing harbour from harsh weather — not the worst place to found a city. If you would rather trust the written word than the archaeologists, the earliest accounts date from the 12th century, when a bearded clerk (or a renowned historian if you will) called Saxo Grammaticus scribbled down a few lines about the place; Portus Mercatorum, he called it, which was really just a fancy Latin version of Købmannahavn. This has since been mangled into København in modern Danish, and even further mangled into Copenhagen in English, but all it really means is "merchant harbour."

Archbishop Absalon

Around 1160 CE, King Valdemar handed over control of the city to the bishop of Roskilde. Absalon, archbishop of Lund 1178–1201, one of the most colourful characters of the Middle Ages — a curious mix of great churchman, statesman, and warrior. As the country's only city not under the king's control, Absalon saw it thrive and erected a castle on what is today Slotsholmen (the remains are still visible in the catacombs under the present day parliament). As a man of religion Absalon also built a great church, and with those necessities taken care of, Copenhagen quickly gained importance as a natural stop between the two most important Danish cities, the old royal capital Roskilde and Lund in present-day Sweden. Endowed with an enviable location on the banks of the important Øresund Strait, it slowly but steadily surpassed the old urban centres. Copenhagen's rise was greatly aided by entrepreneurial trading with friends and foes alike and by prosperous fishing which provided much of Roman Catholic Europe with salted herring for Lent.

Individual listings can be found in Copenhagen's district articles

Entrance to many museums is free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. You can always count on the principal attractions to be well signed in English (often German also) and for these places to be generally geared towards tourists. A good tip to see whether a smaller museum caters to non-Danish speakers is to check whether the website has an English section. If it does, this usually means the museum has at least some English information throughout its exhibitions. Of course, if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interesting even if you don't understand the sign-postings. As Danes are usually fairly fluent in English, you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour.

History

A visit to the Nationalmuseet in Indre By is a must-do for the many well-arranged exhibits relating to the Danish past and modern culture. In practice, this means everything from Danish prehistory (amazing Bronze Age weapons and burials), through to the Viking Age (runestones, precious hoards, swords and jewellery) and into the modern period (a vast section is devoted to the Story of the Danes from 1660-2000). If you want something more localised, the Museum of Copenhagen in Vesterbro has exhibitions on the city's development since the Middle Ages. Another option is Frilandsmuseet in the northern suburbs — a huge and attractive open air museum with old buildings collected from all over the country. Or for a live version of old Denmark, you can visit the old town of the tiny fishing hamlet of Dragør on the southern tip of Amager with its fantastic old yellow buildings and cobblestone streets. For something more off the beaten path, paddle up the small Mølleå river in the northern suburbs through charming old 18th- and 19th-century mills.

Beach life

In the inner harbour, water quality has improved so much that it is possible to go for a swim from early June to late August in one of the two harbour baths: Copencabana on Vesterbro or Havnebadet at Island Brygge on Amager. When it is sunny these are packed with people from all walks of life enjoying the sunshine and taking a dip. The municipal administration has put a lot of money and effort into the facilities and this is an excellent opportunity for blending with the locals at their best.

If you fancy a proper beach, the closest are those at Svanemøllen Strand, Charlottenlund Fort in Charlottenlund and Amager Strandpark (The Lagoon), on Amager near the Lergravsparken metro station. If the weather is not going your way, you can opt for DGI Byen which is a leisure centre and excellent swimming pool near the central railway station or the Østerbro swimming pool, modeled after a Roman bath (on Østerbro).

Amusement parks

Amazingly, the two oldest functioning amusement parks in the world, with the two oldest roller coasters, are in Copenhagen and they are distinctively different. Bakken or Dyrehavsbakken is the older of the two, set in a beautiful beech forest near Klampenborg north of Copenhagen. This gives it a special atmosphere and it is a lot less touristy than its counterpart — Tivoli — which is in the city centre in a beautiful park surrounding a lake.

Sports

Football: FC Copenhagen play soccer in Superliga, the top tier in Denmark. Their home ground Parken Stadium (38,000) also hosts the Danish national team. Three other top-tier clubs play close to the city, notably their rivals Brøndby IF.

Cycling: and see Cycling in Denmark. In 2022 the Tour de France started in Copenhagen and toured Denmark for three days before departing for France.

Lifting weights: a popular gym with day and week passes while travelling is Pure Gym which has many branches. A week pass costs kr 100 and would allow you to visit any of the branches of this gym in Copenhagen.

Individual listings can be found in Copenhagen's district articles

On a budget

If your budget doesn't allow for regular dining at expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair — there are plenty of other options. The cheapest are the many shawarma and pizza joints that you find on almost every street in the city. You can opt for take away or sit at the one or two tables that are usually available. The cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on Vesterbro and Nørrebrogade on Nørrebro.

If shawarma gets a little tiring, there are several Mediterranean-style all-you-can eat buffet restaurants dotted around the inner city. Riz Raz has a huge vegetarian buffet and offers lunch for kr 145 and dinner for kr 185 (Nov 2023). The branch on St. Kannikestræde has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Nyhavns Faergekro at Nyhavn has an original herring buffet where you can eat as much herring as you like prepared in twelve different ways (grilled and many different marinades).

For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's bakeries (Bager — look for a pretzel-like contraption out front). They are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches such as Denmark's famous open-faced rye bread sandwiches called smørrebrød. These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat with your hands (but the Danish way is with a fork and knife) and a wide range of ingredients are available including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offer coffee, bread rolls and cakes (Danish pastry is here known as wienerbrød) and many bakeries offer at least some form of counter seating.

A large beer costs kr 40-50 or so at most places in central Copenhagen, but some charge only kr 20–30, especially on weekdays or at happy hour. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia do not frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner and then a slightly redder special or classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer.

If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (kr 3-7 for a 330 ml bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behavior), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or at Nyhavn and enjoy Danish life.

As for where to drink, most tourists head straight for Nyhavn but while indeed pretty, the high prices here make it a bit of a tourist trap. In good weather imitate the locals by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water or head elsewhere to get your drinking on. The many side streets north and south of the Strøget pedestrian street are a good starting point. Other good areas are Vesterbro west of the central station, along Vesterbrogade and Istedgade and in the meatpacking district. On Nørrebro, the cluster of bars and clubs around Sankt Hans Torv and Blågårds Plads, just after the lakes, is another hotspot. For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee.

Copenhagen has an extensive, yet sometimes complicated and hard to crack, public transport network. Once you get your bearings, however, you will find it a very comfortable way to get around and explore the city. Copenhagen Central Station (Københavns Hovedbanegård in Danish) is a primary interchange for intercity trains, regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Nørreport Station is a secondary interchange for regional trains, local trains, metro and buses. Train, metro and bus schedules are available via Rejseplanen.

Fares

There are several ways to pay for a public transport journey in Copenhagen.

The Rejsekort app enables you to digitally "check in" before your journey and digitally "check out" after your journey. Simply swipe the arrow across the screen to check in at your origin and again to check out at your destination. The app will automatically calculate your fare and give you any available discounts. It accommodates adult, child, pensioner and youth fares as well as additional travellers, bicycles and pets. The app requires you to register your personal details including email address and phone number. It also requires you to link a payment card and maintain an active internet connection whilst in transit. Ensure you check in before boarding and check out after alighting. You don't need to do this whilst transferring between services.

As elsewhere in Europe and Denmark dial 112 for emergencies, and 114 for non-emergencies relating to the police.

Copenhagen is one of the safest cities in the world; locals make sure you have a good time and the police are respectful and helpful. Crime against strangers is mostly non-violent, such as pickpocketing and petty theft; take precautions around busy tourist attractions and in train stations.

Though gang-related conflicts are nowhere nearly as prevalent as in other parts of Europe (e.g. neighbouring Malmö), extra precaution is advised in the neighbourhood of Nørrebro and in the western suburbs. However, there is no evidence that gang members have targeted tourists.

While racism is not as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for some people of African or Middle Eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist is in the city's nightlife. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it is important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender. This is due to a surge of problems with violence related to gangs within immigrant communities. Walk away instead, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups are not likely to encounter any problems. Of course, prudence in behavior and politeness will in most cases avert any problems and present you as the offended party, not the offender. In fact, educated Danes in major cities will in many cases interfere and defend ethnic minorities experiencing discrimination.