4 Days in Copenhagen

In getting to the Faroe Islands, I bought a round trip plane ticket from Orlando to Copenhagen. I had never been to Denmark, or any of Scandinavia, so I was excited to bookend my Faroe Islands trip with the city of Copenhagen! I spent a total of 4 days in Copenhagen and I loved my time in this city!

13 Things to Do With 4 Days in Copenhagen

Have breakfast

The food was so fresh. By fresh, I mean fresher than our farm to table restaurants, F R E S H. While I loved the food, I was simultaneously annoyed by our lack of freshness States side, even in what is supposed to be our freshest offerings. Food is not cheap there, but when comparing to our farm to table restaurants, it’s not that much more, yet so much fresher and cleaner.

I loved breakfast in Copenhagen! All the food we had was great, including a few Somebody Feed Phil suggestions that I mention later! However, the breakfast trend in Copenhagen is to choose from five categories and end up with an amazing spread. While I enjoyed everything I had in Copenhagen, it’s the breakfast that stuck with me. There was a poppy seed waffle at Wuff & Konstali Food Shop that I still dream about.

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Explore by boat

My friend and I stumbled across these small boats within hours of being in Copenhagen. GoBoat rental was fairly easy to use and they gave you a map and route to take. This boat moves so slow. We were passed by kayakers, slow. The speed isn’t an issue in the small canals, but crossing the large river can feel a little scary. While I have plenty of experience paddle boarding, boat steering is a little different and took me some getting used to.

The beginning of the journey is in the big river with plenty of room to get accustomed.  If you don’t fancy the idea of hiring a small boat, there are tours available. However, seeing Copenhagen should definitely be on your list for your 4 days in Copenhagen.

Book the Copenhagen Sightseeing Classic Canal Tour With Live Guide

Book the Private Copenhagen Boat cruise in Scandinavian mahogany boat

Explore by Bicycle

Copenhagen is definitely a bike city. The staircases have a bike ramp. The bike lanes have turning lanes. It’s so easy to get around on a bike, though rush hour is a little intimidating. Even though it’s obvious we aren’t locals from our bike riding skills, no local honked, grunted, yelled or seemed impatient with us. They did pass us easily and their confidence and ease on a bike made me feel far less skilled. Adult Sarah is a long way from child Sarah riding with no hands. We also ended up riding during rush hour and survived.

If renting a bike and venturing on your own doesn’t sound appealing to you, then do a bike tour!

Changing of the Guards

Similar to Great Britain, Denmark has a royal family. Though less known in the States, they seem very proud of their Royal family and it’s worth checking out. I was there in late September, when tourism is slower, so the crowd was small during the changing of the guards. As a result, you can get close. I mean walk next to the soldiers as they walk to the various stations, close. Real close. The square of Amelienborg is also so beautiful and worth a short visit during your 4 days in Copenhagen, even if you don’t go for the changing of the guards at 12PM.

The Design Museum

Certain I had arrived to the Design Museum, my friend and I paid for the tickets. While listening to the overview I heard “Medical Museum.” Looking around now, I am just trying desperately not to laugh, while this nice lady explains the map of the Medical Museum. Once finished, the other two people there, who hadn’t paid yet, made a point to say they thought they were in the Design Museum (in case you thought it was just me who failed to confirm). The lady stated the Design Museum was much further up the road (it wasn’t that much further), but we had paid and I didn’t feel right about asking for a refund. So my friend and I explored the Medical Museum through actual tears of laughter. It ended up being a hilarious (to us) mistake and a memory for the books.

After the brief time in the Medical Museum, we made it to the Design Museum. Neither my friend or I are “must visit a museum” type, but both enjoyed the Design Museum. We also enjoyed a little dessert and coffee in the cafe. 

Walk or Shop along Stroget

We didn’t end up shopping much, but it’s worth a walk. Parts of the street had more NYC Chinatown vibes and other parts were more posh. I love a square (looking at you Lisbon) and there were a couple of cute squares to stumble upon.

From here we took a small detour and explored the Round Tower. We also got a snack at the Organic Hot Dog Stand (thank you Somebody Feed Phil show for this recommendation). I don’t normally like hot dogs, but I enjoyed these! Again, winning on the fresh food!

Visit Christiana

You have likely heard of Christiana before. It became famous as squatters took over a military base. They became known as a weed smoking, no rules community. In the market, I bought a shirt and a ring and the seller was clearly American so I asked where he was from. While his response was “America” I questioned further to find out he’s from Los Angeles and came over soon after Christiana was formed.

Are they still lawless? Weed is sold here, though illegal in Denmark, but this community has adopted rules over time. We visited in the middle of the day and there were plenty of tourists around, so we didn’t feel unsafe. You can take pictures while visiting, except for the weed selling street, which has no photo signs posted.

It’s an interesting place and if nothing else, served to show me that rules aren’t bad and no society can live without at least some rules. Would I live here? Not a chance. As much as I hate paying taxes, I will admit some taxes are necessary for general safety and upkeep.

It’s worth visiting during your 4 days in Copenhagen, but don’t expect much. It’s not nice, but it’s definitely interesting.

Eat in the food halls or neighborhoods: Meatpacking District, TorvehallerneKBH, Spisestedet FEED, among others.

I had been watching the Somebody Feed Phil Show, when only weeks before my trip was to start, I came across the Copenhagen episode. We tried the tacos of Hija de Sanchez, the Organic Hotdog Stand, Gasoline Grill, and Kodbyens Fiskebar. Enjoyed all of them. The Gasoline Grill burger was greasy, and though I don’t understand how, it didn’t leave me feeling gross. The Organic Hot Dog Stand was delicious and worth a try, even if you’re not a hot dog person like me. Orlando is taco mania and that’s not a complaint. I love tacos. If it wasn’t for the show, I probably wouldn’t have tried the tacos, since they are so common back home. However, I loved them. The location we went to didn’t have the ONE taco on the show that Phil freaked out about, but I was happy to have tried them regardless. Also had Lobster at Kodbyens Fiskebar in the Meatpacking District and it was delicious!

Aside from the one coffee shop I will not recommend, I didn’t have a bad meal in Copenhagen. We did eat dinner in Nyhavn. While a beautiful street, it’s far more touristy and for the price was our least impressive meal in Copenhagen. I’d recommend grabbing a drink here instead and eating elsewhere, unless you have a specific recommendation from someone. 

Of course, there are tours if you are short on time or just prefer a good ol’ food tour!

Book the Copenhagen Walking Food Tour With Secret Food Tours

Book the The Art of Baking Danish Pastry

Take a Day Trip Outside the City

While unnecessary if you are in Copenhagen a short time, we did take a day trip outside the city on our last full day in Copenhagen. While in the spa of our hotel, we asked some locals their thoughts about visiting Sweden. They suggested taking the train to Helsingor, visiting the castle there and taking the ferry to Helsingborg, Sweden. We forgot our passports and didn’t realize it until we were on the train. Thankfully, we didn’t need them to cross into Sweden from Denmark. We were, after all, already in the EU. When we arrived in Helsingor, we visited the castle. This castle was the setting for Hamlet, though Shakespeare never actually visited. It was a beautiful castle with rich history. From here, we hopped onto the ferry (fingers crossed we wouldn’t need our passports) and then walked around Helsingborg, Sweden.

Other than saying we went to Sweden, there wasn’t anything much to see in this little riverside town. Maybe pre-pandemic was better, but I was told a lot of stores, including H&M left the area recently. We did visit this adorable coffee shop for lunch! I hadn’t researched day trips from Copenhagen so I’m sure you can come up with a better plan.

Take a Cold Plunge

We absolutely did NOT do this. However, this is becoming such a popular thing to do, that you may be someone who fancies a dip a frigid water! While we did not take a cold plunge in the river, we did see a few naked bums, and plenty of swimsuit clad jumpers.

Yes, I saw a couple putting back on their jeans after jumping in the river! Now putting on jeans when you’re damp is a nightmare but I suppose if you are jumping in freezing water in your birthday suit, you’re a different kind of human anyway. So even if you didn’t bring a swimsuit to Copenhagen, you can still jump in if you aren’t shy!

Either way, I’m sure you will come across this at least once during your 4 days in Copenhagen.

Little Mermaid Statue

The Little Mermaid Statue is small. I just want to be clear from the start! However, it’s a bit of icon so we biked to the area to snap a photo! There were other tourists around snapping photos of the statue as well. It’s worth stopping by to see, but don’t expect to be blown away by the Mermaid Statue’s presence.

Lego Store

While walking along the Stroget, I saw a Lego Store. We didn’t go in but I remember thinking it was a little out of place. Come to find out, from our chat with a local during breakfast, that Legos were invented in Denmark! So maybe do make a stop in the Lego store during your 4 days in Copenhagen!

Frederiksberg Palace

The grounds of this palace are beautiful! I also enjoyed walking the neighborhoods on the way. There is a zoo in this area and a beautiful park.

Even if you don’t visit the actual Palace during your 4 days in Copenhagen I recommend at least strolling the grounds, especially if the weather is nice!

What I loved After Spending 4 Days in Copenhagen

The people didn’t seem to me to have any snobbery. They are perhaps more introverted and to themselves, however, they were always so helpful and kind when I did engage with them. They are beautiful people inside and out. During one breakfast (another loved aspect of Copenhagen), my friend and I spoke to the girl reading next to us. We were observing these people arriving to what looked like a baby shower dressed for a black tie event on a Sunday morning. Asking her if it’s normal, she said she had never seen anything like that before. We went onto chat about life in Copenhagen from the bikes to the cold plunges in the river to the food being so fresh. The longest conversation we had with a local and it was delightful. She didn’t seem put off that we were interrupting her reading and was lovely through and through.

I love that so many get around on bikes and that the work day ends a whole hour earlier (and starts later) than our work day. I enjoyed seeing some locals take part in the cold plunging craze. They may not have the option of swimming in their river, but cold plunging gives them the chance to experience their river and reap some health benefits. I love the fresh food standards and I wish we would have higher expectations here, in the States. I also loved the weather while I was there.

Where we stayed

Danhostel Copenhagen City – Hostel

Great for the price and great location! We stayed here the first few days, before visits the Faroe Islands. It was perfect for visiting Christiana, Amelienborg, the Little Mermaid, Kastellet, Design Museum, Stroget, Nyhavn, and enjoying the river by boat.

Axel Guldsmeden Hotel

We stayed in Axel Guldsmeden Hotel upon our return from the Faroe Islands. I’m generally one to choose a more budget friendly option, so this was a splurge from my usual. However, beginning of October they are cheaper so it wasn’t a massive jump! This group of hotels are beautiful! This one has a sauna and spa which we paid for and used! It’s not a spa you pay for a massage. More like a gym spa, with various types of hot tubs and saunas to utilize. You pay one time and use it for the duration of your stay. 

From here, we walked the neighborhoods to and from Frederiksburg Palace. We were close to the Meatpacking District and enjoyed that meal for this portion of our Copenhagen exploration. We were one block from Copenhagen Central Station, which we utilized to visit Helsingor and Kronborg Slot, before heading into Sweden for a couple of hours.

4 Days in Copenhagen

If you get a chance to visit Copenhagen, I can’t imagine you not loving it! I still dream about how fresh the food was and loved biking around the city! It’s such a beautiful city and the people might keep to themselves, but when you do interact they are so kind!

Whether you end up in Copenhagen for a day or more, I hope you enjoy this beautiful Scandinavian city as much as I did!