Copenhagen is a great European city with a fair bit to do. As you would expect from a Scandinavian capital, it is super clean, easy to get around and public transport is extremely efficient and simple to use. All the ingredients for a perfect city break – check! The great thing about Copenhagen, is it is not too big a city.
Whilst I won’t say you can see everything there is to see in one weekend, you can certainly see a lot of the main stuff. Here’s my list of things we saw with just 48 hours in the city:
The Little Mermaid:
Denmark is, of course, home to world famous author, Hans Christian Andersen and one of his most famous stories is that of The Little Mermaid. This world-famous, little statue is not far from the Amalienborg Palace and you can’t miss it because it will be swarming with tourists.
You’ll see coaches parked up 100 yards down the street all with tourists who are here to take a picture with the famous mermaid. As one of Copenhagen’s most famous landmarks, you cannot visit the city without passing this by.
Opera House & Kissing Bridge:
The Opera House gets a bad rep amongst locals, which is sad. Whilst it may not have the pizzazz of the Oslo Opera House, it is still a major, unmistakable landmark, dominating a major spot in the city and just on the edge of the water. It looks almost like a ginormous spaceship that has landed here from outer space and it occupies pride of place opposite the palace.
We didn’t go in, but we hear that the acoustics in this place are second to none. Whilst it may not be a local fave, still worth checking out.
Papiroen:
Also known as Paper Island. On the same side of the water as the famed Opera House and opposite the Royal Theatre, this is the ultimate place to go for a gastronomic extravaganza of street food. The food hall here caters to thousands of tourists and locals every day and is packed with cuisine from all around the world. Simply cross the gorgeously named Kissing Bridge and once you get in you will be spoiled for choice. Seating inside is busy, especially if is it cold out but there are tables by the water with beautiful views of Copenhagen.
Our recommendation is the Moroccan stall which had the biggest queue of all and the mesemen with chicken we ordered from there was divine (like DIVINE).
Royal Palaces:
Mo is a big fan of world royalty, so he was particularly excited when G pointed out the Queen’s palace. We didn’t walk through the grounds as we had quite a few things on our list, but we walked past and I can confirm that the palaces are stunning, particularly the Amalienborg – the official residence of the Royal Family.
Botanical Gardens:
I would say the Botanical Gardens are a tranquil haven in the city centre, but this city is already tranquil – so, the gardens just mellow you out even more. Gorgeous flora and fauna surrounds you, so if you are a plant enthusiast, this place is ideal. There’s a huge orangery in the centre which you can walk in and explore. Made a very humid change from the freezing temperatures outside.
Perfect place for a nice stroll or to just sit and read a book. And there’s a shop at the entrance where you can buy rare seeds to take home with you if you fancy growing something different.
Black Library:
We came here early on Sunday morning whilst walking around the city. If you are a fan of architecture then you’ll want to see this sleek, black glass creation. We didn’t go inside as it was closed. Not sure whether this would be on the top of unmissable things to see. I’ve put it on purely because it is a fantastic piece of modern architecture that blends in perfectly around older, more noble surrounding. It is about a 10-15 min walk from Christianborg Castle.
As someone who likes to find peaceful mind-reflecting zones in a city, this was a perfect spot.
Stroget:
This is apparently the world’s largest pedestrian street and it runs through the main shopping area of Copenhagen. The shops are what you would typically expect from a western capital city. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Cool, danish fashion shops, interiors, high end and eateries. It’s all here. The difference being a lot of them are housed within gorgeous old buildings.
Torvehallerne:
A short walk from the Botanical Gardens, this market hall is a bit different to papiroen. The stalls here are a bit more high end and specialist, less street food. There are artisan vendors selling all sorts of goodies such as fresh fish, exotic spices, handmade luxury chocolates, olive oil and much much more! The food that was prepared here all looked fresh and of the highest quality, we chose to indulge in some traditional smørrebrød (Danish open sandwiches) and we were definitely not disappointed.
So there we have it. A list of pretty much everything we got up to on our weekend break to Copenhagen 🙂
If you like look and sound of the above why not enter to WIN a trip for 2 to the Danish Capital!! It only takes two ticks – Click here to enter the competition
Or if you’re in the process of planning a trip in the near future, you could always pin this post for later 😉
Have you been to Copenhagen? What else should we have covered on a weekend break?
