Copenhagen Travel Guide: Hour-by-Hour Itineraries

Copenhagen itineraries from half a day to 7 days, hour by hour, at a relaxed, balanced or packed pace.

Plan with your own dates Christmas in Copenhagen New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen

Christmas in Copenhagen

Hour-by-hour Copenhagen Christmas itineraries, 1–4 days: Tivoli, the Nyhavn and Strøget markets, a canal tour, the palaces and 24–26 Dec hours.

1 daySaturday 12 December: the National Museum, Strøget’s markets and Tivoli in the evening.
2 days12–13 December: the markets and Tivoli, then Nyhavn, Amalienborg and Kastellet.
3 days11–13 December: Rosenborg, Christianshavn and the Christiania market too.
4 days10–13 December: four full days with Christiansborg, a canal tour and the Glyptotek.

New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen

Hour-by-hour Copenhagen New Year itineraries, 1–4 days: midnight on City Hall Square, Tivoli’s fireworks and 31 Dec–1 Jan opening hours.

Itineraries by length

Staying more than 7 days: deep-dive blocks

⛵ Day trip: Roskilde: A 25-minute train ride: the Viking Ship Museum with five ships raised from the fjord, and the UNESCO-listed cathedral where Denmark’s kings are buried. Check the winter hours before you go.
🏰 Day trip: Frederiksborg Castle: Forty minutes on the S-train to Hillerød: the Renaissance castle on the lake, the Museum of National History and the Baroque garden.
🇸🇪 Day trip: Malmö: Thirty-five minutes by train across the Øresund Bridge to Sweden: the old town, Lilla Torg and the Turning Torso. There can be ID checks at the border, so bring your passport.
🎨 Design Copenhagen: Danish chairs at Designmuseum Danmark, the antique dealers of Bredgade and the design stores around Strøget. The museum closes on Mondays.

Frequently asked questions

How many days should I spend in Copenhagen?

Two days covers the main sights; three to four lets you really get to know Copenhagen. With six or seven days there is room for a day trip to Kronborg and Louisiana.

What is the difference between the three paces?

At a relaxed pace you mostly enjoy the city from outside and from its streets; on trips of several days you go inside just one place a day. At a balanced pace there is at least one museum or iconic interior every day. At a packed pace every major ticketed landmark is planned inside, entry times included. On trips of two nights or more, every pace includes the city’s signature evening (flamenco in Barcelona, a boat trip on the Seine in Paris).