Top 5 things to do in Copenhagen

Our recent trip to Copenhagen was a city break like no other. Its cool, relaxed energy meant that even though we had a lot to see we weren’t exhausted at the end of the day –  although our feet would beg to differ. Here are our top 5 things to do in Copenhagen.

1. Rundetaarn (Round Tower)
   

Located right in the city centre the Round Tower is the perfect place to get your bearings. Surrounded by shops and restaurants it was great for our first evening to have a look a round, get some food and even check out the local park where Rosenborg Castle. Having very few stairs makes this one of the easiest towers to climb. The white wash walls and grey stone floors are beautiful, especially on a good day when the light swarms in. On your way up be sure to check in the small holes in the wall – you can find a toilet and towards the top a whole leading to the centre of the tower where the glass floor lets you look all the way down to the bottom.

 

2. Marmorkirken, Fredrik’s Church

Just down the road from Amalienborg Palace this church is somewhere you can not miss. Similar to Berlin Cathedral in design, but on a smaller scale, the church is beautiful inside and a great place to cool off in the summer heat. At 13:00pm and 15:00pm there are tours to climb to the top of the church for 35 DKK each, luckily for us we were just in time for one of these tours. It’s a long way to the top but you get to see all the behind the scenes including all the timber frames. The view from the top was FABULOUS! Looking over Amalienborg and Paper Island and on the other side looking towards Rosenborg you get a wonderful view of Copenhagen.

 

3. Nyhavn

Nyhavn is a classic tours trap, it’s SO busy! But it’s not a cliche for no reason, the beautifully vibrant houses along the canals is a great place to witness. Reading up on the history of this place really helped put it in perspective of it being a trading port. When entering Nyhavn keep an eye out for a blue building with 1681 on the front. This is the oldest building in Nyhavn, it even survived a fire. Everyone says not to eat here because of the hiked up tourist prices. We did grab some great ice cream, which was at a reasonable price, but we wouldn’t suggest dining here. Instead grab a snack and find a seat by the water side – perfect summers day in Copenhagen.

 

4. Papirøen (Paper Island)

Papirøen is home to the street food culture of Copenhagen. Believe us, its not normal street food; this is like gourmet street food. With so many options for food we were stuck for what to choose! In the end we went for a traditional smorgasbord (open sandwiches). There is seating inside and out depending on what the weather is like when you visit, luckily for us the weather was B-E-A-utiful so we sat with our legs over the water, eating potato smorgasbord and watching the boats pass by. This place was a must on our list of things to do and we were not disappointed.

 

5. Botanisk Have (Botanical Garden)

The Botanical Garden is something we king of stumbled upon. After finishing all the things we planned on our final day we decided to have a look at the garden as we had heard good things about the Greenhouses, which date from 1874 . The Greenhouse was worth the hype. It was like walking in to a jungle, leaves everywhere and walking along small paths while pushing back the plants made us feel like David Attenborough. There was also a beautiful spiral staircase that leads up to the canopy, you can feel the temperature change as you walk up the steps. It really was fascinating and strangely enjoyable, great for a casual day of sight-seeing.

 

Have you been to Copenhagen? What was your favourite place to visit?