How to spend 3 Days in Copenhagen
We headed to Denmark to spend 3 days in Copenhagen this September so I wanted to share with you my 3 Days in Copenhagen Itinerary. This was the first leg of our Europe inter rail journey that would take us from Denmark to Germany to The Netherlands to Slovenia and finally through to Austria. Since we were only staying 3 days, we had a list of most important things we wanted to see so we could get a taste of what Copenhagen has to offer.
What you will find here
Here you’ll find a 3 day itinerary of what I went and saw during my stay in Copenhagen. As an avid art and nature lover, I hit all the key spots you’ll need to see for your first visit to Copenhagen that will make you want to come back again. This post is written like a visual diary, with plenty of photography detailing our days. By the end I’m sure you’ll be just like me – wondering how I can possibly move to Copenhagen and spend my life going to cute cafes and ride my bicycle down colourful lanes. That is the whole point, right?
Day 1:
Tivoli Gardens:
Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen is a short walk from the København H station. This is the station we arrived at and would be staying near as this was where we would be leaving from, too. That meant Tivoli Gardens was our first destination after checking into our Hotel.
We got there in the afternoon, and the temperature was perfect for a lazy September Sunday. Friends were chatting and enjoying a coffee and the outside cafes, kids were playing on the retro rides, and we realised there was even a flower festival on! There is so much to do at Tivoli Gardens – especially in summer, so if you want to know more about what we got up to in Tivoli Gardens, I wrote a whole blog post on that.
Make sure you visit:
- The swing carousel (beautiful traditional ride by the gardens)
- Tivolis Springvand (Tivoli Fountain)
- Pantomimeteatret (old school Asian inspired outdoor theatre stage)
- Dragon Boats (located in the lake)
- The Alley (small, bustling alleyway lined with shops and drinking spots resembling a traditional Danish market town)
- The Nimb (beautiful traditional manor turned restaurant used for events such as weddings)
Meatpacking District, or Kødbyen
Early in the evening we headed to Kødbyen (also known as the Meatpacking District) to wander the area and get a drink and dinner. Here you’ll find lots of trendy breweries, restaurants, art galleries, and gentrified buildings. It is a really cool area for photos as the buildings are really beautiful and have that grungy, artsy, industrial vibe.
Make sure you visit:
- Mikkeller Warpigs (lots of outdoor seating)
- Ismageriet (ice cream shop)
- CPH Hotel (this is where we stayed)
Day 2:
Landemærket
We woke up early and wandered through Landemærket on the way to the Botanical Gardens. Landemærket is the street with the old town vibes in the heart of Copenhagen. We grabbed a coffee at Espresso House and looked at the beautiful, colourful apartments lining the street. I wouldn’t say this is a must-see like many blogs suggest as there are plenty of streets in Copenhagen with similar colourful buildings and you will stumble upon them easily as you wander around the city.
Make sure you visit:
- Rundetaarn
- Landemærket 49-55 (colourful houses)
- Apēron Apartment Hotel (cute hotel with rooftop views)
- 25hours Hotel Indre By (eclectic hotel with rooftop)
walk around Copenhagen Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens in Copenhagen isn’t the best botanical gardens I’ve been to, but it is a beautiful place to take a morning walk and enjoy the quiet, slow Copenhagen life. There are some beautiful statues here and a lovely greenhouse. The Rosenborg Castle and grounds are just across the road and the Museum of Natural History and SMK are not far away.
Make sure you visit:
- Rosenborg Castle (right next door)
- The King’s Garden (right next door)
- Palmehuset (greenhouse)
- Agpalilik (meteorite on display outside the Museum of Natural History)
- Discobolus by Myron (statue right by the bridge)
SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst
This is one of the highlights of Copenhagen in my opinion because I am an artist and art lover. If you’re not super into art, you could probably skip this but we spent most of the day here. Vilhelm Hammershøi, Anna Ancher, Peter Hansen as well as the biggies Matisse, Munch, and Dürer.
Make sure you visit:
- Click here to see the full life of major works at SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst.
Nørrebro
Then we headed to Nørrebro to grab a very late lunch. Nørrebro is a popular, hip neighbourhood with lots of trendy cafes and eclectic shops. We had some cakes and coffee at Kaf before heading to see Hans Christian Andersen’s gravesite and walk the beautiful grounds at Assistens Cemetery. It isn’t a sullen occasion, you’ll find many people walking the grounds and sitting and chatting as it is more like a park.
We headed to Jægersborggade, the main street popular for shoppers and photographers before heading to Mikkeller & Friends to enjoy a beer in the beautiful sunshine. There were lots of people just outside, enjoying the sunshine and chatting with friends and family. That basically sums up the Copenhagen lifestyle – it is very chill. We ended the visit with a walk through Superkilen Park, which is famous for its squiggly line park and you’ll find all over Instagram.
Make sure you visit:
- Jægersborggade
- Assistens Cemetery
- Hans Christian Andersen gravesite
- Kaf (for more vegan cafes I wrote a Copenhagen vegan guide)
- Mikkeller & Friends
- Superkilen Park
Day 3:
Nyhavn
We decided to head here early on our last day because we heard that Nyhavn was a bit of a tourist trap but we wanted to check it out anyway and thought early morning might be best. We were pleasantly surprised! Nyhavn was totally worth the visit, and I’ve written all about Nyhavn here if you want to know why.
Walk around Kastellet
Riding off the high of seeing Nyhavn and because we had a little bit of extra time (and the weather was gorgeous), we walked over to Kastellet to see if the Little Mermaid statue was also worth seeing. That is when we discovered just how amazing Kastellet was (spoiler: it is so much more than the statue, although the statue was also just worth going for). Since I loved it so much, I wrote a more indepth guide about Kastellet here.
Make sure you visit:
- The Little Mermaid sculpture
- Krigshistorisk Tidsskrift (red-lined old military base)
- Søofficers-Foreningen (cute yellow building)
- Kastelsmøllen windmill
- Kastellet bridge
Frederik’s Church
Next we went to Frederik’s Church, which is a beautiful church but if you’ve been to churches in Europe before it probably won’t blow you away.
Amalienborg Palace
Just around the corner is Amalienborg Palace, which is a massive square surrounded with extravagant palaces and a museum. It is the official residence for the Danish royal family so there are also royal guards here, which is interesting to see (if not slightly intimidating).
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace was the last stop we headed to before going to catch our train to Bremen, Germany. Like most of Copenhagen, it is a beautiful site without big crowds so it is easy to just enjoy yourself and look around. They do keep the horses here though.
What are the best hotels to stay in Copenhagen?
Budget traveler:
CPH Hotel (this is where we stayed!)
BOUTIQUE Hotel:
Luxury:
Best places to book your trip
Did you love this post? By booking through these links, you can support me at no additional cost for you. Your support helps me write honest guides and helpful posts!
🖤 Book a hotel with Booking.com (this is my favourite website to book hotels)
🖤 Get an e-sim for your trip with Airalo
🖤 Book experiences with Viator.com
🖤 Book experiences with GetYourGuide.com
🖤 Book a car with Rentalcars.com
🖤 Book lounge access for your airport with Priority Pass (I’m an airport lounge girlie)
🖤 Find somewhere to leave your storage with Radical Storage
VERDICT
Is 3 days enough for Copenhagen?
I think 3 days is a good amount of time for a visit to Copenhagen because it is enough to get a taste of Copenhagen but will leave you wanting more! I am already making plans to revisit this wonderful city because there are a lot more spots I would like to explore, especially outside of the main attractions. Copenhagen was really just such an easy, breezy, laid back kind of place where everything just works so it is very easy to travel around and explore without the stress that so many European towns have.
Thanks for reading!
I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you’re on Instagram, you can find me over here: @apicturesquelife or youtube: @apicturesquelife and I’d be happy to connect!
xoxo,
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