Copenhagen, Denmark
Hello my lovelies and welcome back to another Armchair Traveler! It’s been a minute, but I’m so glad to have something to write about in this segment :) This past weekend I went to Copenhagen, Denmark for the first time. I’ve actually been to Denmark once 2 years ago, but we took a €5 flight to Billund and it was kind of a crazy trip … that’s a story for another time. This time around I was sooo excited to go because we have been planning this trip since last summer and the primary reason for going there was to see one of my absolute favorite artists (who just so happens to be playing in the background as I type this) Noah Kahan. The concert itself was amazing, succeeding all expectations. I think in general I don’t expect artists to sound as good live because of all the environmental factors etc. but I really need to start giving the benefit of the doubt because both Hozier and Noah have blown my mind with their live performances. I’m not a huge concert person because crowds that large freak me out and I tend to get overwhelmed and socially anxious from them, but I also think it depends on the artist because anyone who listens to Noah Kahan or Hozier gives me ‘safe space’ energy. Anyway, the weekend was such a fun break from Prague (and uni) and I’m going to go through our general itinerary and give you some recommendations if you’d like to go there, too :) I also want to be transparent and write down the prices of things so that you have an idea, because although I had been warned Copenhagen was expensive, I didn’t know in what regard. Hope this helps <3
Friday, February 23:
Flight details -
Departure: 12:35 (delayed an hour so ended up being closer to 14:00)
Arrival: 14:00 (more like 15:00)
We booked the flight January 21st, and per person (from Prague) they ended up being $98.96 USD (€91.20)
Train from CPH Airport to Next House Hostel -
24,00 DKK (€3.22), I think this is the guaranteed price for the airport train route (don’t quote me on that)
It was only around 15 minutes, but it was a bit confusing trying to make sure we went in the right direction at first
Get the DOT Billetter app, it allows you to purchase the correct tickets after inputting your current location and destination
Hostel Details: Next House Copenhagen -
290 DKK/night for 2 people, 870 DKK total
This comes out to around €116.59 or €58.30 PP total (3 nights)
To be honest, this was probably the coolest hostel I’ve stayed in. It felt like a combination between a student dorm and a hotel because it had a TON of rooms, three bars (plus a rooftop one), an attached restaurant, a workout area, a movie room, pool, and a ton of mingling areas. Also that weekend they happened to have in-house tattoo artists which was so cool but out of our budget unfortunately :( but overall it was fantastic
We stayed in a 6 bed female-only room with an ensuite bathroom which ended up working out fine. It was a tiny bit cramped but the beds themselves offered more privacy than hostel bunks usually do and everything felt very clean and modern
I think the price was extremely fair for the amenities and it was a 10 minute walk from the train station and a 15-25 minute bus from most of the things we wanted to see
Friday Night Concert -
We totally fumbled with transport for this; it was fine getting there because we took a bus and then a train but on the way back I took us in the wrong direction twice lol
It took around 30-40 minutes to get to the location, which didn’t surprise me because that’s similar to the other concerts I’ve been to
We went to 7/11 after for a late dinner
*Side note about the transport tickets: I am 99% sure there’s a better/cheaper way to get around than we did. The weekend we were there they were doing a special ticket offer where you could get a 12-hour ticket for all zones for 50 DKK (€6.70) (which was amazing) but since we got in on a Friday we ended up paying for two 1.5-hour tickets to go to and from the concert which were 30 DKK each (€4.02). Obviously this isn’t an insane price but it adds up and paying around €11 for one day is annoying, so next time I would definitely do more research on the ticket offers. They have zones like many cities and your ticket has to cover the zone you’re passing through, so for example the 12-hour one we bought for the weekend dates were Zones 1-99 which is the entire city/region (?), but some other tickets might only be Zones 1-4 (definitely a bit confusing to a foreigner!). I know there’s a Copenhagen City Card which I’ve done in other cities and those are nice because you also get entrance to attractions and guaranteed transport (including the zones I mentioned before) so that might be the best option if you’re in CPH for a few days and don’t want to worry about getting multiple tickets.
Saturday, February 24:
Morning coffee at Kafferiet -
Right at the entrance of Kongens Have (The King’s Garden) which is also where Rosenborg Castle is (this was a happy accident!)
The coffee shop was so freaking cute and we ended up walking into the park/garden and sitting on one of the benches in the sunlight while we talked. It was so peaceful and I had the change to people watch and get a picture of the lifestyle and vibe of Copenhagen. Genuinely I thought it had such good energy and I adored watching people walk their dogs, spend time with their kids, or just sit and enjoy the sunlight like we did. I love slowing down and watching people live their lives in the city I’m visiting because it reminds me that although I am a visitor to that place there are people who call it home and feel comfort in the things I may be unsure of
118 DKK (€15.81) total for 2 people
A latte was around 55-65 DKK (€7-9) everywhere we went
Lunch at Crisp Nørrebro -
We were kind of wandering around a bit looking for food and the original place we had intended on wasn’t our vibe so we walked down the street to Crisp - honestly it was so yummy & the chicken sandwiches were HUGE & the parmesan fries were incredible
230 DKK (€30.82) total for 2 people
Little Treat at Andersen & Maillard -
We picked up a cinnamon roll and an espresso croissant to eat that evening and they were SO good. It was pretty busy but the selection of baked goods was impressive and I could have bought so many more things to try
Shopping at Green Living -
I popped in here while we were waiting for our bus and I was not disappointed. The shop had a ton of sustainable items & work from independent artists supporting a number of initiatives and I truly wish I had the money and luggage space to buy so much more, 10/10 would go back
Afternoon -
Took a bus to Frederik’s Church which is right across the street from Amalienborg
Walked from there to Nyhavn (5 minutes)
Booked a Canal Tour with Stromma
318 DKK (€42.62) for 2 people, unfortunately they didn’t offer a student discount (something we noticed at a lot of places)
We went at 16:30 which was perfect because we got to see the sunset on the water
It’s a bit of a splurge but I love taking boat/canal tours when I travel because it puts the city in a new perspective & there’s almost always a guide so you get to hear a bit about all of the attractions you’re passing. I did one in Amsterdam and I really enjoyed it so I would recommend budgeting to do one if that’s your cup of tea!
Got 7/11 wraps for dinner and went back to the hostel for a free beer
Before this trip we had agreed that we would get 1 meal out and the rest would be grocery/convenience store foods since we are uni students and we’re balling on a budget. This worked out fine for both of us because 7/11 had a lot of fresh, quality options (it did end up being around €10-15 though)
Sunday, February 25:
Morning coffee at Coffee Collective Bernikow -
This place was soooo pretty; there was an outdoor but secluded courtyard between buildings with a gorgeous flower display (if you want to take some cute little pictures I highly recommend)
Walked to Rundetaarn (The Round Tower) -
This was recommended by a lot of Copenhagen visitors and I really loved it because you get a view of the entire city from the top. It was build as an astronomical observatory and it has a spiral walkway up to the top but the views from each “floor” were really cool & provided great photo opportunities of Copenhagen architecture
40 DKK (€5.36) PP
Wandered & Shopped at Butik Pyrit -
We walked around for a while just getting a feel for the city and we ended up in the cutest jewelry shop with the absolute loveliest owner. I ended up getting myself a little birthday present because she had a lot of discounts and we had a sweet conversation about Prague and traveling.
Lunch at Katz -
We were originally going to go to Fabro which is a famously affordable pasta place highly recommended in CPH but they weren’t open on Sundays so we went to Katz instead and it was really good, we both had open-faced sandwiches and fries :)
149 DKK (€19.97)
Walked to Christianborg Palace -
We didn’t pay to go inside (we were feeling pretty broke at this point) but it’s still nice to walk around the grounds and the streets around it were very pretty
Little Treat at Cinnamon & Coffee -
At this point we were both pretty tired and wanted to chill for a while, and after this we grabbed food and went back to the hostel because we had to be up at 5:00 for our flight
Monday, February 26:
Flight back to Prague at 7:50 :(
Overall thoughts:
I loved Copenhagen. I think the energy was so nice and it felt much less overwhelming and congested than I’m used to when I travel to a touristy city. While it being February was certainly a factor in this, I do think in general CPH is more spread out than other cities (it’s also half the population of Prague which I didn’t expect). It was very sleepy and peaceful in the mornings when we would first head out and I never felt overwhelmed by the number of people around me. It truly seemed to embody hygge and all of the people we encountered were lovely. Yes, it was pricy, but in general I found the food & coffee prices to be similar to what I would pay in the United States. I was a bit disappointed they didn’t offer student discounts at the attractions we went to so I think if I went back I would invest in the Copenhagen Card which would also make figuring out public transportation easier. I would absolutely love to go in the late spring/early summer to see how it differs and to go to some of the attractions that weren’t open (like the Tivoli Gardens). I really want to explore more of Scandinavia and I think Copenhagen was a perfect start to that :) Also, I recommend (if you can take the time to) sitting and people watching anywhere you travel — I think you’ll learn a lot about the people and culture and it gives you the chance to stop and take in where you are. Seeing people in their comfortable environment is honestly kind of intimate and a beloved part of travel for me, and I’d love to share it with you.
As always, I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity to travel as much as I do. This trip was a birthday trip for me, which is part of why I was willing to spend a bit more on activities such as the canal tour, but we also did try to follow a student budget as much as possible. Although it’s certainly more than I’ve paid on other trips, I do think there is a way to make it bearable and still get to enjoy the city and attractions. I’ll write a roundup of everything that I bookmarked on Google Maps prior to going (something I always do when traveling and highly recommend, all you have to do is search the city on Instagram or TikTok and you’ll get some great recommendations) and although I wasn’t able to see it all I do want to provide the list to you.
I save everything in a folder on Google Maps so that I can have it easily accessible and I can pull up what’s near me wherever I am instead of having it in my notes and trying to figure out how to get there. I started doing this in London last year and it makes my life so much easier when I’m traveling!
Things to see:
Rundetaarn (The Round Tower)
Nyhavn (the canal street you see in every CPH picture, so worth it) & Canal Tour
Magstræde & Snaregade (two of the oldest streets in Copenhagen)
The Little Mermaid (touristy, I know, but cool to see)
You pass it on the canal tour if you don’t want to go out of your way to see it
Tivoli Gardens (second oldest amusement park in the world, not open in winter though)
Botanical Gardens
Frederiksburg Palace
Frederik’s Church
Amalienborg
Christiansborg Palace
Rosenborg Castle
Church of Our Savior
Museums:
ARKEN Musseum of Modern Art
Designmuseum Denmark
Museum of Natural History
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
I’d love to hear if any of you go to CPH (or have been) and have any feedback/advice! Have a lovely rest of your Sunday and I hope March is good to you.
