Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen highlights

Ködbyen
Canal boat tour
Round tower
King’s Gardens
Tivoli gardens
Danish architecture centre
Skydebanehaven playground
Experimentarium science museum
Louisiana art gallery

Why visit Copenhagen?

For one of the best cities in the world - efficient, clean, safe - with family friendly activities and a strong focus on art and design.

Getting there and around

In August 2020 we travelled to Denmark. Our kids were aged 5 and 8.

We flew from London Stansted to Copenhagen with Ryanair.

To reach our hotel we took a 15 minute train to Copenhagen central station centre where we took another train for just one stop to Dybbølsbro. The hotel was a five minute walk from Dybbølsbro station. Getting from the airport to the hotel, even with suitcases, was a very quick and easy journey.

We used the city’s metro system to get from the airport to our hotel, and from our hotel into the city centre. In the city centre we walked or cycled. We also used local trains for excursions such as to the Louisiana. The public transport in Denmark is quick, clean, cheap and efficient.

Scandic Ködbyen Hotel

Ködbyen
The ‘meatpacking’ area is full of bars and restaurants. We had lots of fun people-watching as the square filled up with local hipsters and party-goers each evening!
We ate at Mother (pizza) and Magasasa (dim sum) - both excellent.

Boat tour

On our first day we took a boat tour of the city’s canals and river from Ved Stranden.

A boat tour is a relaxing and quick way of getting to know the city.

Copenhagen has an eclectic mix of old and modern buildings and the period canal side buildings are extremely pretty, particularly at Nyhavn.

Round Tower

Copenhagen is a compact, flat and walkable city.

Following our early morning boat tour we walked through the city centre which has a wide range of excellent shops.

We are huge fans of Scandinavian design and there are lots of shops showcasing the best in Danish homeware, furniture and ceramics.

We visited the Round Tower which provides 360 degree views of the city. The Round Tower has a ramp rather than steps, which was to enable horses to use the tower, and lots of nooks and crannies - cue lots of races up and down and games of hide and seek with the kids.

King’s Gardens

We made our way on foot to the King’s Garden park which has a playground.

We had a lovely lunch at the Orangeriet cafe at the park.

Then we explored the area next to the University which has some cool shops and student cafes. We loved the Faraos Cigarer toy shop on Skindergarde where we bought some beautiful Djeco jewellery boxes as gifts for friends and family.

For supper we found a great book cafe - ‘Paludan Bog & Café’ - located next to the University.

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli is a theme park right in the city centre which first opened in 1843.

It has an old fashioned funfair vibe, and is packed full of rides, attractions and floral displays.

We ate a leisurely lunch at Wagamama to take a break from all the excitement (there is an excellent selection of Danish and international restaurants inside Tivoli).

After more rides, we settled down to enjoy the early evening ballet performance on the theatre stage. We sat on the grass, ate hotdogs and popcorn, avoided the wasps, and enjoyed the show.
It was a beautiful summer evening and Tivoli had a joyous atmosphere, with families enjoying their late evening picnic.

Bikes

Copenhagen is flat and has great infrastructure for cycling.

We hired bikes from Baiskeli. It was really safe and very easy to cycle in Copenhagen thanks to the bike lanes and priority given to cyclists.

Danish architecture centre

A highlight of our visit with interactive exhibits including a big indoor slide, minecraft themed climbing frame and a virtual reality exhibit.
Outside it had giant foam blocks which the kids could move around to create their own soft play. The staff were lovely and they provide free creative workshops for the kids.
Danish design and architecture is a very high standard and **Copenhagen is a wonderful city to explore for anyone interested in urban planning and architecture.** The architecture museum showcases this well and kept the children engaged too.

Skydebanehaven playground

Copenhagen is full of great playgrounds but our favourite was this one near our hotel. It had lots of apparatus of varying difficulty and free bikes, tricycles and scooters for everyone to use. It was a great find and a lovely place to unwind and let the kids burn off some energy.

When we were there, a big group of school kids arrived with their teachers to play and we reflected on how we wished English schools would let kids have more free play outside, instead of the hours spent inside learning phonics, subordinating conjunctions and times tables.

Experimentarium

Science museums are one of our family’s favourite activities, especially if they are interactive and hands-on.

One super fun area in the Experimentarium was the bubble exhibit where you can make your own different size bubbles (including extra gigantic ginormous ones) and send them into the air. Bonus points if one bursts in your face!

The Ideas Company was a brilliant section where we were given a challenge and asked to solve it. Our challenge was to work in teams to come up with a way of making sports more accessible for disabled people, and then to build a Lego model illustrating our ideas. This was creative problem solving and team work presented in a super fun way - we loved it!

There was tonnes more to do - a set of Olympic challenges, an interactive film about climate change, and a human body exhibit.

The Port area teaches kids about trade and how it moves around the world.

At its simplest it involves moving boats from one part of the room to the other, like a giant transport themed soft play.
Delve deeper and you can get involved in complicated negotiations between Singapore and Copenhagen and the global freight trade!

Louisiana art gallery

Alongside science museums we are also very keen on modern art galleries (the more provincial and quirky the better), and the Louisiana did not disappoint.

We took the train to Humlebaek and then a bus to the gallery; the journey took about 90 minutes which included a fairly long wait for the bus. It is possible to walk from Humlebaek station to the gallery but we didn’t fancy it in the hot weather.

The Louisiana is housed in a beautifully designed building which in itself is a work of art. The building is surrounded by landscaped grounds filled with sculptures including some by Henry Moore and Miro and is located by the seaside. It’s a gorgeous setting and well worth the trip.

Once inside the gallery we were treated to a fantastic collection of modern art and also a workshop space where the kids made some pottery.

We ate lunch at the gallery cafe where they served a perfectly proportioned plate of fruit, veggies, cheese and bread for the kids, and delicious mains for the adults.

Final thoughts

Copenhagen is a compact city packed full of things to see and do. We spent a week in Copenhagen and could have stayed longer - there were other things we didn’t get round to doing including visiting castles, and swimming in the harbour pools.

Getting about was very easy thanks to the efficient integrated transport system. We purchased a Copenhagen Card which gave us entry into all the main sights and free public transport. Children are included for free on the Copenhagen Card.

We loved our hotel and would definitely stay in a Scandic hotel again based on their Ködbyen branch. The meatpacking district was cool with numerous restaurants and bars to choose from.

Danish society is very child-friendly and everywhere we went there were play areas and facilities for children. Copenhagen is one of the best cities we have ever visited. If living costs were lower and we could get visas we would seriously consider moving there!

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