Guest post by lprusinski
Map tips: each color represents a different day. Click a marker to learn more about the spot, and click the star in the map header to save the entire map under Your Places in Google Maps.
Day 1: Layover in Toronto, Canada
- CN Tower
- Momofuku Noodle Bar
We had an 8-hour layover and there’s a train that takes you directly to the CN tower from the airport. We ate and Momofuku (great) and headed back for our flight to Denmark.
Day 2: Copenhagen
- Nyhavn
- Strøget
- Fælledparken
Recovery day. Stroget Street is a car-free shopping area that we walked through. Faelledparken is a park with an amazing playground – we went there every day and our nephew loved it. They had trampoline-like sections which was a lot of fun for everyone.
Day 3: Christianshavn
- Havnebadet Islands Brygge
- Church of Our Saviour
- Nordhavnen
We rode the bus to Christianshavn and walked around the area. Havnebadet is an outdoor swimming area, but we didn’t go in because it was cold. The church was really beautiful.
Took another bus to Nordhavnen where a family member’s art was on display for the Copenhagen Photo Festival. There’s art all over the city and a really neat event. Lots of food stalls around, too.
Day 4: Copenhagen
- Frederiksberg
- Søndermarken
The Carlsberg brewery was closed so we viewed another photo exhibit and went to Frederiksberg Gardens, which were beautiful. Free admission. Went to Sondermarken, another park. There’s an an underground art venue there called Cisterne that looked pretty neat but we didn’t have time to go in.
Day 5: Copenhagen
- Trafiklegepladsen
- Round Tower
- ToRVEhallerne
- Botanical Garden
For families with young kids, they had the best “safety town” setup ever (trafiklegepladsen). They give you a helmet and bicycle for free and they have a huge area where you can ride around and learn how to safely navigate on a bike (which is a main mode of transportation in Copenhagen).
We walked through the King’s Gardens and then to the Round Tower. Definitely worth going up for the view of the whole city, small fee. Has a spiral ramp instead of stairs.
Had lunch at Torvehallerne, delicious sandwiches.
Went to the Botanical Garden and walked by the National Gallery of Denmark but didn’t go in.
Day 6: Lund, Sweden
- Pâtisseriet
- Lund Cathedral
- Botanical Garden
Took the train for a day trip to Lund, Sweden (just over an hour). We went through the city on foot, very charming town. Picked it because it was recommended by a friend, very glad we went here.
Lunch at Patisseriet was the best lunch we had on the trip.
The Lund Cathedral was founded in 1080 and is beautiful. You can go down into the crypt and the astronomical clock from 1380 is neat to see. We spent a good amount of time just exploring the cathedral.
The University had an archaeological dig happening and we watched that for awhile, too.
Day 7: Helsingor
- Kronborg Castle
- Maritime Museum of Denmark
- Café Olai
We ended up getting a Copenhagen Card, which gets you transportation, museums, and other attractions. You can pay by the day. Well worth the cost, and we bought a 3-day pass.
Took a 1-hour train ride to Helsingor, beautiful harbor town. The main reason we wanted to go here was to see Hamlet’s Castle (Kronborg Castle). This was my favorite thing we did – costs but our Copenhagen Card covered it. It’s basically a self-guided tour and they let you explore all over the castle. They have actors doing parts of Hamlet throughout the day. The best part was climbing up the tower to see the view across the water into Sweden. Also neat to go underground to see where the soldiers would hide if they were under attack. Have to navigate the tunnels lit only by lanterns.
The card also got us into the Maritime Museum. It’s built into an old ship dry-dock, very neat building with cool exhibits. Didn’t plan on it or know about it, but since it was included with the card we went in. Very glad we did.
Dinner at Cafe Olai was wonderful.
Day 8: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Lagkagehuset is a bakery chain and we ate breakfast there several times on the trip.
We spent the whole day at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Indoor/Outdoor, art all over the place. Lots of places where you could go outside for a bit, then pop back in and continue.
Day 9: Copenhagen
- National Museum of Denmark
- Rosenborg Castle
- Danish Architecture Centre
- The Royal Library
Took the bus to downtown Copenhagen. The National Museum of Denmark was the only thing we did that we wouldn’t recommend. We didn’t find it to be interesting, it wasn’t well set-up, and was very hot. Didn’t stay long.
The Rosenborg Castle has all the crown jewels and royal belongings. The king’s throne is made out of narwhal tusks, and if you’ve never heard of a narwhal, look it up.
Walked to the Danish Architecture Museum, which we enjoyed. Huge lego pit, which would be great for kids.
The Royal Library (aka the black diamond) is a really neat building. However, you have to be a member to go inside where the books are.
We rented an Airbnb in Osterbro for the whole trip. This is the family-friendly area of Copenhagen and it was very conveniently located. There are a ton of parks with awesome playgrounds – this is a very family-friendly destination in general.
The weather in June was 65-70 and sunny, occasional rain. Mostly beautiful weather in Scandinavia.
Traveled in June 2019
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