Folks asked us why we chose Copenhagen, Denmark as our first European trip with our 2.3-year-old twins! My response to all of them was that I searched for the friendliest European city to travel with toddlers and Copenhagen came up in every search. From the oldest amusement park in the world to gorgeous castles, largest national aquarium, Zoos, Parks, extremely well laid out and child-friendly public transportation and home of fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Anderson and Lego, it ticked all the boxes on our checklist. The more I read about Copenhagen, the more it made us excited to visit. Did it measure up to our expectation? Yes, it did! Read on to find out and what we covered each day!
We booked our flights and Airbnb in January to travel in June. June’s the beginning of Copenhagen’s peak summer season and we had decent weather most days. We flew Icelandair and I found the airlines extremely helpful and accommodating. My kids were given fruits, snacks, Skyr (an Icelandic yoghurt) and juice without us even asking for it. We took two big suitcases (still haven’t figured out how to travel light) two adult backpacks from LL Bean and two kids backpacks. I took our lightweight umbrella strollers and used them with a connector when needed.
Get the Copenhagen city card
To save on entry fees at various tourist spots and transportation we ordered our Copenhagen City card months in advance and picked it up from the airport upon arrival. I highly recommend buying the card online before you arrive. Also, download the Copenhagen Card App ( Android / iTunes ). Most of the tourist spots we wanted to cover were included in the Copenhagen Card. The card was very useful, not only did we not have to stand in line at any of the attractions, we also could make use of public transportation without having to stress about paying for it each time we used it. The card fee also included three entries to Tivoli Park and a canal ride, which we enjoyed in Nyhavn.
Day 1: Visit Malmo (Sweden)
Our flight landed at 6 A.M on Sunday. We took a train to Copenhagen Central Station and stored our bags there. We took the train to Malmo (35 min journey) to meet a friend and explore the Swedish harbour city and took a train back to Copenhagen Central in the evening. Met with our Airbnb host late evening and my husband walked back to Central Station to get our bags. We went to the closest Lidl store (supermarket chain) and stocked up on essentials.
Day 2: Carlsberg Brewery Tour & Aquarium
On Monday we had a late start, as our kids were pretty knackered. We visited Carlsberg Brewery and Aquarium. We intended to also visit the Planetarium; however, the shuttle to the Carlsberg ran late and we didn’t think we would get to the planetarium in time.
Day 3: Zoo, National Museum and Tivoli Park
For Tuesday our first stop was the Zoo followed by the Danish National Museum and a visit to most awaited magical Tivoli Park. My kids LOVED the zoo and Tivoli! The National Museum had a fantastic kids area. It was a great spot for us to let the kids roam around.
Day 4: Palaces, Museums and back to Tivoli
Wednesday we decided to start with Christianborg Palace, Glyptotek Museum and we went back to Tivoli Park late in the evening to see the fireworks.
Day 5: Castles, boat tour and foodie heaven
Today we visited 2 castles, namely Ameliaborg Castle, home to the royal family, and Rosenborg Castle, home to the Danish Crown jewels, before heading over to Nyhavn for a boat tour. Then we headed over to the food market on Paper Island, which we absolutely loved. At Paper Island we spent hours relaxing by the water, people watching and eating delicious food.
Day 6: The round tower and shopping
Last day of sightseeing! Friday we visited the Round Tower and wrapped up the day with shopping in Stroget.
Day 7: Goodbye Copenhagen
On Saturday we had breakfast at a café nearby, packed up, walked to Central Station and took a train back to the airport!
# The buses only allow 3 strollers. We got lucky and only once had to wait once for a second bus.
# If you are traveling from the USA your credit card may not work to buy tickets at the station. We had to buy the tickets from the main ticket counter, which had a bit of wait.
# Personal strollers are not allowed in the museums. You need to switch out to museum provided strollers when you get there.
# Restrooms have a dedicated diaper changing station, which was pretty awesome.
# Strollers are not allowed in the palaces so a carrier would be best. We did not know about it and our twins always timed their tantrums to start in the castle!
Our trip was astonishing and it was great to see how our twins traveled.
We didn’t have any jet lag issues (big surprise). Our favorite memories were of my daughter walking up and down the stairs without holding hands in Christianborg Palace and taking a nap in the Kings Garden on the grass. My son running with joy in the aquarium and chasing the birds in the king’s garden. They traveled by air, train, bus, and boat and enjoyed each and every experience. We definitely dealt with some tantrums and we had to cut short a lot of our plans for the day. Overall, we had a fabulous time and I am already planning our next trip!
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