What to do in Copenhagen for 72 hours 🇩🇰

Hey there, I’m Jess ✨. On The Signature, I share reflections on beauty, routines, travel, wellness, culture, and everyday life. For those drawn to a calmer, more intentional way of living, I send a free newsletter each month on the 7th. You're welcome to join.

Disclaimer: this article was first published in my former newsletter sent in August 2017 and updated for this new website in July 2026. Hence me calling my now husband "my boyfriend" through the text.

In the Summer of 2017, I went on a Scandinavian tour to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and finished back in Denmark. This is Part I of that unforgettable trip.

Let's start this guide with some raw honesty: I had never dreamed about Denmark in terms of a travelling destination. It's a country I had most been familiar with thanks to its adorable Royal Family and its global shipping companies. I started thinking a bit more about the country thanks to my boyfriend, as he studied and worked there several years prior to our trip. He has the happiest memories from his brief time in the Scandinavian country.

We first went to Denmark together on a whim, in a moment of the year where the world is dreaming of warmth and sunny days: in peak August! When we did the reverse of everybody, going from the Algarve to the North of Europe. I love doing things opposite to what everybody expects!

Making the most of a layover in Germany

We chose Lufthansa - my favourite airline in the world - with a 5-hour layover in Frankfurt.

I love Germany and it was the occasion to make the most of said layover and leave the airport. We went to the historical city centre, where I had not been in over ten years.

It was also my boyfriend's first time in Germany and he quite enjoyed it. Even if we had copious amounts of food in the airplane, we were inspired by Mark Wiens and we chased fresh sausages and schnitzel, as well as sauerkraut and kartoffel-knodel (a type of potato croquette). Everything was so delicious!

We then went back to the airport to continue our journey north. One hour later, we landed in Denmark. I have over 30 years of experience travelling yet it was the first time I was given ice cream aboard a flight. It was completely approved even if we were so full already!

Landing in Copenhagen for the first time

I unfortunately am a very blasé person and I have a hard time appreciating the beauty in small things. I force myself to show surprise and admiration when I am with other people but deep down, I am mostly bored.

Yet when I was about to land in Copenhagen, I really didn't have to fake it. I looked through the window and asked my man, who is a Civil Engineer, if he was seeing what I was seeing: a road that seemed unfinished in the middle of the sea? I would see car coming and going but I just could not understand it until he explained the bridge turned into a tunnel and united Malmo in Sweden to Copenhagen in Denmark. I mean, I was completely dumbfounded. A road that transformed into a tunnel in the middle of the sea. You cannot make that one up. The child in me was let out and I was filled with wonder. And to be honest, I felt alive with so much uncontained amazement from myself. I immediately thought I was in a trip of a lifetime and I was not mistaken.

I came to know this bridge was called Øresund Bridge and a few months later, I started watching the show The Bridge, thus cementing my love for Nordic tv shows. The Bridge is a joint Danish and Swedish production about two members of the police, from both sides of the border, investigate crimes ocurring around the bridge.

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The SignatureJess

Do you remember the last time you did something for the first time? My first time in Denmark was filled with first time experiences. It was my first time being surrounded with so many Danes, read everything in Danish, withdraw Danisk kroner (DKK) from an ATM to pay for train tickets to get to the city. It all tasted like something brand new with a familiar touch from the bikes to the brics used in construction, thanks to family vacation spent in the Netherlands as a child.

First impressions of Copenhagen

We arrived in Central Copenhagen in the early evening, after taking the metro/regional train from the airport to the central station. Our hotel was only a 10-minute walk away from the station, which was ideal for us. We were absolutely not hungry (thanks to all the food from the airline and our layover) and although we were tired, we went for a first walk in the city and enjoy Copenhagen at dusk. We didn't take pictures. We just wanted to enjoy those first moments of wander and left the photograph-taking for the morning after.

The day after, our first full day in Denmark, we went on a comprehensive 23-kilometre stroll around the city. My boyfriend did his Erasmus experience in Denmark and that is where he met one of his closest friends, an Icelander who moved to Denmark in the early 2000s.

Visiting Copenhagen with an insider was one of the most immersive experiences into discovering a new city for me and I am forever thankful for it. Regardless, I was not prepared to walk so much with my heavy winter boots but as it rained through the day, with sunny intervals, they proved to be more than useful.

We started by going about our hotel's neighbourhood called Kødbyen, very similar to the Meatpacking District in New York. Old industrial structures were refurbished into art galleries, shops and the most up-and-coming restaurants. Just like in New York, quickly this neighbourhood became the trendiest to live in.

The most iconic sights of Copenhagen

From Kødbyen, we moved to the city centre by Rundetarn - one of the oldest observatories in the world with a spiral stair so that you could go up in a carriage back in the day -, the Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square), the oldest amusement park in the world called Tivoli Gardens (which inspired Walt Disney in creating his), the Rosenborg castle (where you can find the Danish Crown Jewels, as well as a stunning garden, just in front of the military quarters) and the Christianborg Palace where the Danish Parliament convenes.

Close to the City Hall, you can find the Rainbow Square, which celebrates the freedom of queer people, as Denmark was the first country to have authorised gay marriage. Close to that Square, we went to Centralhjørnet, the oldest gay bar in the world, as it opened over a hundred years ago. It was still closed at it was the early morning, but we asked to get in to take photos of its peculiar decoration and they happily allowed us.

From then on, we went to Nyhavn, the historical harbour of Copenhagen, with its iconic monument (an Anchor in steel), in homage to all civilian sailors who died during World War II.

It was a long stroll from there to the Royal Playhouse (opposite to the Copenhagen Opera), Maersk headquarters (Denmark's biggest multinational), the Amalienborg Castle (where the Danish Royal Family lives. Unfortunately, they were not home), the Churchill Park, the intricate star-shaped caserne Kastelett and... the Little Mermaid.

If I had been to Copenhagen on my own, I would not have done so many kilometres just to see the Little Mermaid as I don't believe in going out of your way for a single picture (one of my travel pet peeves!) yet I came to see her several times during this trip...

In the inner islet of Christianhavn, we visited Freetown Christiania, a liberated style of neighbourhood where residents do not pay rent or taxes, and they can purchase, sell and consume drugs freely.

It was really not my vibe but we stayed there for quite some time and I can now say it's a destination ticked off my list.

At night we had dinner close to the river and we went back to the hotel, which entailed over an hour walking. It was one of the most tiresome days of my life yet absolutely worth it.

On our second full day in Copenhagen, we took it a bit easier and took the metro with our Copenhagen Cards. I was so impressed with the public transportation! It was one of the best I have ever experienced as it provided a French-TGV first class experience, where even the bikes had an allocated area.

We went to visit the Carlsberg museum, that was more entertaining than I was expecting. I am not a beer drinker and I would recommend the museum to both drinkers and non-drinkers too. I find it absolutely admirable how a family can have a dream and successfully pass it from generation to generation and turn said dream into one of the biggest companies in the world. The Jacobsen family - who founded Carlsberg - was responsible for commissioning and offering the Little Mermaid statue to the city of Copenhagen in 1913 thus having a smaller replica, much easier to photograph, in its gardens.

Speaking of gardens, the museum proposed horse rides to visit the historical stable, where it is impossible not to go through and admire those huge and beautiful horses. At the end of the tour, we were offered gifts and a beer tasting.

The entrance to the museum is also included in the Copenhagen Card, which we also used to go back to the city in a double decker bus. And it was the best idea for some sightseeing under the rain. We were still tired from the day before so we took it easy in the afternoon and we went to the Tivoli Gardens, to check the attractions out and to grab a bite.

I scare very easily and I didn't want to get in any attraction but I thought it was funny to see people have fun on those. We found a very cute restaurant inside the park, by the lake, where we heard the fanfare play, the rain fall, the fake cannons from the both being fired (as an attraction, worry not!)... and we ended our stroll by feeding the fish and the birds of the garden. It was an absolutely enchanting experience.

At the end of the day we were not remotely hungry so we left the hotel after a quick nap, as we wanted to just have a quiet cocktail before calling it a day. That is when we found one of the cutest bars of our lives called Lidkoeb, just a few steps from our hotel in Versterbrogade. They had a menu with very original cocktails and the lights were warm and dimmed. This speakeasy ambiance is one of my favourites when I go to a bar. I hope to go back to it if I ever go back to Copenhagen.

On our third and final day in Copenhagen, it was a Monday so I had to work as I was working remotely during this Scandinavian tour. I just allowed myself to leave in the afternoon to have lunch with the boyfriend at the Torvehallerne market. After lunch, we did a canal cruise also thanks to the Copenhagen card. It was a spectacular one, with amazing sights such as the Opera and Amalienborg Palace complex.

Is the Copenhagen Card worth it?

As we knew we would spend a total of 4 nights in Copenhagen, we opted for purchasing the Copenhagen Card before the trip. The Card gives access to a dozen museums and public transportation as well as discount for tours, restaurants and many other attractions. I must confess we walked more than we expected and we did not go to as many museums, as we caught on some great weather. It just made us want to enjoy the outdoors. Regardless, the Tourist Cards were great and clearly compensated its cost for the activities we went on about doing.

Where did we stay in Copenhagen?

We chose the Hotel Savoy, really close to Copenhagen's central station. We did not know anything about the hotel as we did our booking. But once we were there, we learned that it was one of the few Art Nouveau buildings in town and it had the oldest elevator in all of Denmark. How glorious!

Breakfasts were generous and different from other hotels we had been to. No bacon and scrambled eggs here! There was a vast array of bread with seeds, boiled eggs, cured meats and Danish pastries, organic yoghurts and butter and always a lot of coffee. There was also fruit but juices were not freshly squeezed unfortunately.

Aside from breakfast, the Hotel Savoy would lend us umbrellas to go about our day. These proved to be quite useful.

As for the less positive notes about the hotel, windows had blinds but... they did not cover the whole windows. So as soon as the sun rose - by 5AM - the natural light would bathe the whole room and wake us up. It was impossible to keep on sleeping like that especially as we were not ready with eye masks for it. Now we know! Aside from that, the beds were small and individual, even for a couple. That is a recurring theme in many accommodations in Scandinavia... and the room and ensuite bathroom were small and narrow. This is also what happens when you choose a historical hotel.

Where did we eat in Copenhagen?

We found fabulous places where to eat in Copenhagen and it deserves its own article. Check this space: this is where I ate the best pizza of my life!

What stayed with me from this first trip to Copenhagen?

Staying just for a few days in Copenhagen was not enough to deeply know the city but it allowed me to feel its vibe in a nutshell. What fascinated me the most about Copenhagen were its intricate towers, ones more gorgeous than the others, such as the one from Børsen (Copenhagen's Stock Exchange) with 4 dragons tails intertwined.

The construction is limited in its height through the city, with very little tall building. As such, most of the decoration comes from ceilings and towers. The covers of churches and state building were the most spectacularly ornamented, such as the Vor Frelsers Church in Christianhavn.

Aside from the towers, we had the opportunity to check several spaces with the famous danish design that you can now see reproduced for a fragment of its original costs in houses all around the world. Many of our strolls around the city took us from touristic streets to more residential ones, but in most instead of having a parked car many had... a parked small boat! I just loved this side of their culture.

Furthermore, what stayed with me the most about Copenhagen was how the Danish just know how to enjoy life. As we did our first full day with my boyfriend's bestfriend, we could not have had a better person to immerse us onto the Danish way of doing things, with both praise and criticism. One of the notions he shared with us was about Hygge, which is a Danish state of mind that celebrates good living and human comfort. These are represented by the small moments of pleasure in the smaller details...

In the morning... it was sitting down alfresco for a coffee with a kanelsnegl (cinnamon bun) in your hand and a blanket on your lap, while waiting for the rain to stop so you go on about your day.

In the afternoon... it was sitting by the canal, drinking beer (for him) and cider (for me) and peoplewatch as they went on on their small boats (their own or rented for the day), celebrating birthdays (with many small Danish flags, a local tradition) and a lot of drinking.

We stumbled upon several hen dos and stag parties with the funniest ongoing dares and pranks for the ones about to get married. In one of those small parties, some friends suddenly took off their clothes and threw each other in the river. As they went back to the shore, they would throw themselves again, laughing and enjoying the moment.

Those small memorable snippets and seeing how each time the sun would be out, in the middle of a rainy day, people would just enjoy themselves and make the most of it. But not get scared with the drops of rain, but just incorporate it into their day. In some cultures, especially southern European ones, a drop of water is a reason to stay indoors. Not here.

it has absolutely stayed with me to enjoy the smaller moments of life and not just the big ones, no matter where I was or the weather or the surrounding circumstances. It made me fall in love with Denmark and absolutely want to go back.

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