I have a LONG list of places I need to go in this world, and for months and months Copenhagen was at the top of this list. I checked flight and hotel prices almost daily for months and just wouldn’t pull the trigger. Finally, fueled by the need to have Christmas markets in my life, I booked a trip.
London Gatwick —-> Copenhagen
During my many months of staring at hotel locations and prices, I struggled with picking a location to stay in. There’s so many good options for places to stay, but they were pretty pricey around the city center, so my desire to collect all the Marriott rewards points I can in this life won over and I booked AC Hotel Bella Sky. The hotel was outside the city, but right next to a metro stop which brings you right into the city center within 20 minutes. It was a great spot and I regret nothing. Easy public transport + Marriott points in my account = winning.
I went into this trip with basically no plan whatsoever, which is pretty strange for me. Luckily a friend of mine had provided me with a great guide she had made from her trip to Copenhagen so I was able to reference that on the fly. I basically just picked a metro stop to go to and wandered from there.
*Pro tip: Buy a Copenhagen Card. You can get them for different amounts of time (24 hrs, 48 hrs, etc.). I bought the 48 hour card for about €70.00. The price seems a bit steep at first, but once you see everything you can access for free once you have this it is well worth it. Most main attractions and all public transport are covered by the card. The website for the cards tells you where you can buy them in the city, and lucky for me, my hotel sold them!
Day 1
My first stop on my random wanderings was Nyhavn. Those colorful buildings along the water AND a Christmas market?! Sign me up!
Even with the Christmas market, this area was surprisingly quiet, and so nice to walk around without crowds. After I had my fill here and took plenty of photos, I walked back toward the main shopping area and found plenty of shops, more Christmas markets and of course, gløgg!
After more wandering I decided to check my friend’s guide for somewhere to get some lunch. She recommended Torvehallern market, so off I went! This is an adorable little indoor food market with plenty of little stalls and options to eat. Naturally, being my first time in Copenhagen, I had to try a smorrebrod (open faced sandwich) and it was delicious.
While eating, I decided to see what attractions were included on my Copenhagen card, and decided to go to a castle next. (Note: I don’t think I did a very good job of doing things in order of what was close to each other, but I got my steps in. So there’s that.)
Next stop: Rosenborg Castle. Here you can independently tour the inside of the castle and see the crown jewels.
In continuation of my bouncing around the city, I ended up back almost where I started and took some different streets to explore. Ultimately I ended up at the Round Tower (also free with Copenhagen Card). The tower is meant to be an observatory, but during the day you can also get great views of the city. The inside of the tower is also pretty cool.
At this point I had walked A LOT and since I already had to stop and buy new socks to help my hurting feet, I decided it was time for a break. I took the metro back to my hotel for a bit of rest, then once it was fully dark, packed up my tripod and headed back to Nyhavn for some night photos.
After this, in true lazy person nature, I just went to a grocery store and picked up dinner, then took it back to my hotel and ate it in bed. It was amazing.
Day 2
I won’t lie to you, I went pretty hard on day 1 and my feet were ANGRY from all that walking. Day 2 I was moving a bit slower and decided to start the day (at around 11am) with Tivoli Gardens (free with Copenhagen card). This a cute little amusement park that also has a Christmas market!
There’s another indoor food market at Tivoli as well as a great selection of restaurants. I opted for the food market and ramen to warm me up. I seriously underestimated how cold 40 degrees F can feel.
From Tivoli, I referenced my friends guide again and decided to head for the boat tour of the canals and harbor. You can get on the boat at Nyhavn or Gammel Strand, but the tour is free with the Copenhagen card if you take off from Gammel Strand, so thats where I headed. I won’t lie, it was cold on the boat, but it was nice to sit and still see some of the sites. I didn’t get many pictures because I moved inside the boat for warmth, but I did see some cool things on my walk to the pick up location.
The boat went from Gammel Strand through to Nyhavn and then out into the harbor for a glimpse of the (tiny) little mermaid statue. Then back through another neighborhood which is now on my list for next time, Christianshavn.
After becoming a proper popsicle on this boat tour, I wandered a bit more (because Christmas markets) and then headed back to the hotel to get ready to go to the airport.
Copenhagen is such a beautiful city, and its so easy to get around to everything! My trip was short so I didn’t see it all, but now I’ve got my list for next time (when I return in warmer weather). I’ll leave you with a few more random photos from my wanderings.
Farvel
tothandcotravels.com 