“To Travel Is To Live” – Hans Christian Anderson

Christmas Markets in Copenhagen, Denmark

The beginning of December is the ideal time to visit Denmark’s idyllic city Copenhagen. Any city in Europe will get you in the Christmas spirit at this time of year but Copenhagen is particularly magical. Enjoy being surrounded by tasteful Christmas lights, multiple Christmas markets and get well acquainted with the Danish concept of ‘hygge’ (to be cosy in both body and soul).

Copenhagen has an incredible pace of life. Despite being a city, people appear relaxed and you will feel none of the hustle and bustle usually experienced in city destinations. We immediately felt the calm atmosphere take hold of us and could quite well understand how Danes achieve being one of the happiest nations on earth.

Read on to discover:

• Our top 3 things to do in Copenhagen
• Where to stay in Copenhagen
• Christmas markets in Copenhagen

The Top Things to do in Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a city full of unique fairytale-like things to enjoy and do. There is something about its main attractions that are particularly festive too, or certainly, seem to fit well with a wintery visit. Don’t miss our top 3 recommendations on your weekend in Copenhagen.

1. Tivoli Gardens

For any trip to Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens is a must do venture, but choose December dates if you really want the festive experience. This fairytale land from 1843 of theme park rides, shops and restaurants transforms into one of the most incredible Christmas wonderlands you will ever experience. Sit back with a large Gløgg (Danish Mulled Wine) under an outdoor heater, wrapped in a warm blanket and soak up the magical atmosphere. Tivoli is the 2^nd oldest theme park in the world and despite its additions since then, it has held on to its original charm.

If you are planning to visit Tivoli Gardens soon, we highly recommend you purchase Skip-the-Line Tickets in advance of your trip.

2. The Little Mermaid

You can’t really visit Copenhagen without bearing witness to The Little Mermaid statue either. And she is little. Be careful, because you might miss her. The whole city has wonderful fairytale specific experiences so if you love your children’s stories, give yourself time to explore and learn about the work of Hans Christian Anderson and other famous writers who were inspired by this place. After visiting The Little Mermaid, we walked through the Citadel. This is one of Copenhagen’s many wonderful gardens to enjoy. It’s great to have the choice of moving around the city in green and tranquil surroundings.

3. Carlsberg Ex’beer’ience

If you love beer, we’d recommend the Carlsberg Ex’beer’ience. You can shop, eat, taste beers and take a guided tour. It is a little further out of the more central areas of Copenhagen so aim to take advantage of the free shuttle bus. If like us, you miss it, a walk through these less consumer-focused areas of Copenhagen will give you an insight into day-to-day family life here and make for a pleasant inner city adventure, especially if you are blessed with brilliant winter sun. Wrap up warm though because the temperatures at this time of year are rather chilly indeed.

Where to Stay in Copenhagen

Picking the right base for your weekend in Copenhagen is vital in order to get the most out of your time and be in the right area for the activities you want to enjoy. That said, Copenhagen’s metro is straight forward to understand with very few lines and is very clean for a subway system so getting around is super straight forward.

For a base, we chose Wakeup Copenhagen Borgerade, a great location for shopping with easy access to lots of wonderful Christmas markets at this time of year.

Best Books for Hygge

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Wakeup Copenhagen Borgerade

From Copenhagen Airport, jump on the metro for just 20 minutes and find this hotel around a 5-minute walk from metro station Kongens Nytorv. Wakeup Copenhagen is modern and clean with small rooms with en-suite bathrooms. It is an ideal choice for a short break where you spend almost all of your time out exploring and don’t need your room to be anything fancy or grand. This location is also close to Nyhavn, a fantastic waterfront location with a variety of restaurants and picture-perfect, colourful buildings.

If you are planning a visit soon, check out all your accommodation options in Copenhagen or find availability and prices for your dates at our top hotel pick, Wakeup Copenhagen Borgerade.

Is Copenhagen an expensive city to visit?

Copenhagen is a little pricey so we believe a short visit is ideal. You can experience many landmarks in a day or 2 with everything being fairly close together and easily accessible, so our trip of 2 nights was perfect for not overspending but still getting to experience this wonderful city.

You may also like How to plan your trip to the German Christmas Markets.

Food in Copenhagen

We believe a mix of planning and spontaneity make for the best holidays. You want to make sure you don’t miss anything unique but at the same time, you need to have the flexibility to enjoy something you didn’t know was there. We stumbled across all the places we ate and drank in during our stay and were never disappointed by the quality offered.

Tivoli has a huge selection of restaurants inside the park and the area of Nyhavn offers a wide range of places to eat and drink in a very Danish setting.

If you have specific dietary requirements though, we recommend doing a little research into places that could accommodate you. We struggled to find soya milk in coffee shops and the menus we saw didn’t appear to have vegan-friendly meals or even a good selection of vegetarian options.

What is the Currency in Copenhagen?

The local currency in Denmark is Danish Krone so this is one of those European cities where you can still get excited about handling a different currency. Denominations are high and it is super easy to not realise how much things are costing. Our theory is, if it’s only for 48 hours, how much damage can we really do?

Is English Spoken in Copenhagen?

Try your best to get on board with a little Danish. A thank you always goes a long way! But if you struggle or are shy, we found that all menus were translated into English and Danes were happy to chat in English too. Tak Copenhagen!

Travelling around Europe? You may also like our Belfast City Break Itinerary.

Christmas Markets in Copenhagen

There are multiple Christmas markets running in Copenhagen, especially if like us, you visit in December. We’ve touched on many of these above as the city encompasses plenty of Christmas festivities within all its main attractions. For this reason, you do not need to worry about planning too intensely as it will be possible for you to visit more than one in your weekend visit. We highly recommend:

• Tivoli Gardens Christmas Market
• Visit Carlsberg Christmas Market
• Christmas Market in Nyhavn Harbour
• Kongens Nytorv Christmas Market

For more information on what is on, when and where, check out Visit Copenhagen.

You may also like the Christmas Markets in Brussels.

How to Spend a Weekend in Copenhagen

There is one thing you must not miss out on when visiting Copenhagen, and that is ‘hygge’. This Danish concept of ‘cosiness’ is strongly felt everywhere. You will notice that restaurants and bars offer outdoor seating even in the cold winter months, with blankets for wrapping up warm and feeling comfortable. It gets dark early in Danish winters, around 3.30pm during our visit, so you can appreciate the need to find little pleasures in these long, dark winters. In Copenhagen, they have mastered this well and it’s so wonderful to have the option of doing things outdoors during the colder months.

Lastly, don’t miss out on a Danish Pastry before leaving dear Copenhagen. You won’t be disappointed. From London, Copenhagen is roughly a 2-hour flight. Get Going!

Flight prices from London to Copenhagen in December can be as little as £25 return. Find and lock in the cheapest flights with skyscanner.com.

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Not quite what you’re looking for? Check out our other Romantic City Stops now.