5 days in Copenhagen and surroundings (help with transportation/stay)

Hi,

Sounds like a nice and exciting trip you have coming up.

Places to stay in Copenhagen: I recommend staying in central Copenhagen. It's walkable, pleasant (sometimes a little loud), and where most tourist attractions are located. The historic city centre is nestled around/in between Nørreport, Kongens Nytorv, Christiansborg and Rådhuspladsen. Christianshavn may also be a nice alternative, and lots of not as expensive hotels near the central station.

Transportation day 1, 2, 3 and 5:
City Pass is a public transport pass and nothing more. Comes in different sizes and durations.

Copenhagen Card "Discover" version combined entry to many places with public transport (Don't confuse it with the "Hop" version).

You can also pay as you go. Depending on your public transport use this may be cheaper. DOT Tickets app (for regular tickets) or the 'check in' feature in DSB's app (which let you travel for "Rejsekort" fares).

Transportation day 4:
Neither City Passes nor Copenhagen Cards can help you with transportation to Funen.

You will need a ticket from DSB, the train operator. If you book ahead and commit to a specific departure time, you can get a discount with the "Orange"/"Orange Fri" tickets. I'd also recommend getting seat reservations.

Egeskov Castle is a little out of the way. However you can get there by public transport. See journeyplanner.dk (this website works for public transport in all of Denmark, I recommend bookmarking it).

If you choose to rent a car and drive, you should be aware of the road toll on the Great Belt Bridge.

And a few comments to your itenerary:

Day 1:
How about a harbour sightseeing tour? They take about an hour and depart from Nyhavn. It's a nice way to get an overview of the city and see the nice harbour front.

Day 3:
Due to opening hours I would recommend the following direction: Frederiksborg + baroque garden -> Kronborg -> Helsingør -> Louisiana (usually open late on Fridays).

Day 4:
The train between Copenhagen and Odense take a little over 1h each way. I haven't checked timings for going to Egeskov too. Might be a bit optimistic when it comes to time. So maybe there would be reason behind staying in Odense overnight between day 4 and 5. I think you will have to check up on that and whatever works for you.

Additional recommendations: Depend on your interests. In/near Copenhagen: Design Museum. National Museum. SMK. Glyptoteket. Climbing the spire of Vor Frelsers Kirke. Bakken. Popular day trips include: Møns Klint. Roskilde (Cathedral + Viking Ship Museum). Malmö/Lund (Sweden). Arken. Forest Tower in Camp Adventure (maybe more if you're young at heart?).

We will be arriving at Copenhagen airport around 2 pm.

If you're coming from Oslo, you should make that an arrival at Copenhagen harbour instead in my opinion.

Regarding food, the stereotypical view of traditional Danish food is that it very much based on pork. But they are also famous for their smørrebrød which are available in vegetarian versions. And they have great rye bread in Denmark that you need to try. And if you're brave you can try some Gammeldansk (not my cup of tea but some people like it).

Based on you itinerary I see no reason to rent a car, it will just be an expensive headache.

I did this trip in June/July 2023. broccolihaar above has excellent advice, but I will give you my thoughts, perhaps reiterating a bit.

We used the Copenhagen card for everything except your day 4 to Odense where it doesn't apply. Copenhagen Card was great - transportation (including to Helsingnor and Frederiksborg) and entry to most (all?) of the sites you're planning. We had the cards on our phone - bought prior to landing in Copenhagen and activated once there. Easy to use. Caveat- I haven't checked the current prices or conditions and don't know if the current Copenhagen Card operating rules are the same as in 2023.

Train to Odense - Train tickets may be cheaper if purchased early. Double check, but I think that train from Copenhagen is faster than driving. We stayed for 2 nights giving us one full day and a couple partial days. We didn't try to get to Egeskov Castle by public transport (no rental car for us), but we did visit Funen Living History Museum - Funen Village. https://denfynskelandsby.dk/en/ We traveled by boat as indicated on this link (scroll down). https://denfynskelandsby.dk/en/how-to-find-us/

If you did Odense as a day trip, in my opinion, you could comfortably see the central Odense attractions, but getting to the Castle or Funen Village might leave little time to explore these sites.

Overall comments - your plans are aggressive! (Not a criticism, I am also a see-it-all sort of traveler.) I am not sure you can manage everything on Day 3 in one day. Don't under estimate the hours needed to explore each site you interested in.

Christiana - many including me will suggest skipping this. You can google this site for some recent reviews. RS touts the area, but many feel differently - reminiscent of a tent city.

If you like museums, the National Museum is impressive - much Viking history as well as exhibits and artifacts from Danish history from pre-history to the present. Ethnological and other exhibits as well. On Day 1, the Danish Resistance Museum is in the area - it is truly a moving experience. A number of art museums, all central and walkable.

Hi, I also invested in the Copenhagen card, and wound up saving money. It was well worth it as I was there on a solo trip for 3 days. But I would advise you to do the math if you're unsure.

Your itinerary looks good, but I would second the recommendation to visit the National Museum, which I loved. There were a lot of very interesting and unique items there.

I also loved visiting Roskilde Cathedral—in fact, it was one of my favorite places. It's very near the Viking Museum, which was interesting, but I could easily have skipped it. However, the cathedral was just magnificent and I'm so glad I went.

I'm glad you're visiting Tivoli Gardens in the evening—I think that is when the magic happens. If you go there, try to visit Cakenhagen, which had the most beautiful pastries I've ever seen. I chose one that looked like a perfect apricot. It was lovely and very delicious. :-)

I don't believe any of the sights on your itinerary will be that crowded or require advance tickets in June. You may want to have a list of options and decide what to see each day depending on the weather, your preferences, and museum opening times.

I second the suggestion of a canal boat tour as a great introduction to the city. Amalienborg, the Little Mermaid, and Kastellet would not be on the top of my list for Copenhagen. We recommend Copenhagen City Hall at Rådhuspladsen and the guided tour in English. The Cisterns in Søndermarken are unique art installations in the old underground Copenhagen cistern and are a good rainy-day option.

I would agree with ORDtraveler that Day 3 is overly ambitious. I suggest choosing between Frederiksborg Castle or seeing Helsingør and Louisiana. In addition to Kronborg, there is a Maritime Museum right in Helsingør.

Danes love their pork but it is not too hard to find vegetarian food, especially since there's lots of pizza and Middle Eastern food around. Torvehallerne market is fun to walk through, but I think more of getting a pastry and a coffee there over a vegetarian dinner. I've heard good things about Beyla. We really like Sankt Annae 8 in Christianshavn, and they have vegetarian options. Sasaa is a pan-African restaurant in Nørrebro where we had a fun vegetarian shared, tasting meal.

Fwiw - since your itinerary doesn’t allow a lot of time for wandering around, I see no need to skip Christiania if you’re interested in it. You can combine it with a general Christianshavn walk. The rest of Christianshavn has a much ritzier and more organized vibe. Personally, it’s Tivoli I would skip. I find it overpriced and not as charming as the actual streets of Copenhagen. But plenty of people like it so follow your heart and make up your own mind if you have the budget for the entrance fee.

I’m a museum person and I like the glyptotek, national museum, design museum, and Thorvaldsens museum (free on wednesdays). Enjoy!