Copenhagen is a wonderful city full of tourist attractions. Here you have our Copenhagen travel tips. It also has several places less known but equally worthy of a longer visit but you have to careful to be on a budget. It takes at least two days to explore the city. But the ideal is to make a three-day itinerary as it allows you to know better the city and some places outside the traditional route. However, it is an expensive city to travel, so the visit must be properly programmed so that it can become a budget destination.
General Travel Tips for Copenhagen on a budget
– Book the hostel on time because it will save you a lot of money;
– Browse travel outside the months of July and August because the prices of accommodation fall to less than half;
– Search for a hostel with dinner included (in the case of Downtown Hostel) which will save you a lot of money;
– Choose a hostel with kitchen, which allows you to buy food at the supermarket and cook. The meals are extremely expensive in Copenhagen bu food prices in the supermarket are ok.
– Use recyclable bottles and fill it with tap water every day in the morning. The water in Copenhagen is good quality. This is only a sustainable behavior;
– If you have student card, Youth card or teacher card take it with you. Gives great discounts in museums and monuments.
– Visit the Ny Carlsberg Glypotek Museum on Sunday because the entrance is free.
– Choose well the places where you will have lunch. Give preference to street food, like hotdogs, pizzas and sandwiches.
Transportation
Access to the airport: There are several ways to get to and from Copenhagen airport. The metro is the fastest and most frequent option, but you can also use the train or the S-train.
Within the city: There are several options for moving around within the city of Copenhagen, like the metro, the S-train, the train and boat. Tickets are for all means of transport but are only valid for about an hour and a half. This means that to get anywhere, it doesn’t matter how many transports you will use, but it depends of the areas in which you’ll move. If you come from the airport to the city center you should purchase a 3-zone ticket (36 Dkk) and take the metro. Even if you need to change line or to a bus, you continue with the same ticket. Tickets are sold in vending machines available at all stations or in buses. You can pay it with money (only coins) and bank cards (also accepts the European cards).
Metro: the metro network is quite small but possibly suitable for the entire area that you will use. The Kongers Nytorv station is the most central and gives access to the harbor – Nyhavn – and the main tourist locations. The Chirstianshavn station provides access to the Christiania neighborhood. The Lufhavnen station is the station that goes directly to the terminal 3 in the airport.
For now there are only two metro lines (M1 and M2), but more are being built. When the new metro lines (M3 and M4) are ready the subway map will be this:
The Metro website allows planning the trip and see the necessary connections as well as practical information on access to the city from the airport.
S-train: the S-train is very useful to explore the metropolitan area of Copenhagen out of the city center. Use the same tickets of metro and the same zone system. Lines are identified in alphabetical order.
The Osterport station allows you to explore the area of the Citadel and the Little Mermaid. For those who want to visit the Ordrupgaard Art Gallery should take the S-train line C to Klamperborg and then take bus 388 to the gallery (4-zone ticket – Dkk 48 / person). To visit the Frederiksborg Castle should also take the S-train, line E to Hillerod, then catch a local bus: 301, 302 or 324. You can also walk from the station to the castle but the journey takes about 20 minutes.
Train: You can take the train from the airport to København H (central station). If you are programming rail travel you should be aware that most regional trains begin with IC, or OR for regional trains between København H and Malmö, Sweden. These are not the only names, but are the most common. The line from Helsingor goes through Copenhagen on his way to Malmo, Sweden, and it is the most used for day trips and connection to Sweden. To plan your trip you can click this site
Boat: The port of Copenhagen crosses the city and separates it from Christianshavn and Amager, two southeastern islands. It is a clean port that offers beaches, kayaking and a beautiful view of the city. You can move up and down the port using the “bus-boat” with the lines 901 and 902. There are six stops, and the journey begins in Nordre Toldbod and goes to Det Kgl. Bibliotek (Black Diamond Library). The total travel round trip takes about an hour. It can be an inexpensive way to make the “cruise” of Copenhagen.
Coach (bus): Copenhagen has a complex and dense bus system but for those who will spend much time in the city can be a good option. Buses provide a visual information of the name of the next stop which is very handy, although this information is not available on all lines.
On the streets you can find bus stops looking for a yellow pole with the numbers and itinerary of the bus at the top. Regular buses run from 6 am until midnight.
NOTE this Copenhagen travel tips: The fine for riding without a valid ticket in urban transport is very heavy (750 Dkk, $ 127, € 100), so not worth risking.
There is an official site about Copenhagen with some Copenhagen travel tips. You can also search here.
What to see in Copenhagen on a budget?
Monuments / Free visits:
– Glipoteca Ny Carlsberg Sunday;
– National Museum of Copenhagen
– National Gallery of Copenhagen
– Nyhavn (Copenhagen harbor)
– Church of Marble
– Russian Church
– Church of Our Saviour in Christiania
– Neighborhood of Christiania
– Citadel
– Little Mermaid
– Town Hall Square
– Danish Parliament
– Changing of the Royal Guard at Amalienborg Palace
Monuments / visits that charge entrance fee but that is worth to go:
– Climb the tower of Our Saviour Church in Christiania
– Castle and Museum Rosemborg
– Boat Tour in the canals
Carla Mota
I am a tirelessly curious portuguese world wanderer and also a travel photographer. My main passion lies in capturing disappearing ancient cultures, human condition and amazing nature wonders, challenging situations. My passion for travel photography has taken me to more than 80 countries which has helped me to create a vast collection of images of people and places from around the world.
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