We will be in Copenhagen during the long days of July during our 8-day trip. My husband wants to spend at least part of a day at a beach. Any mention of beaches in the Rick Steves Copenhagen Guidebook involve a half day or longer day journey.
Do you know of a nice beach close to the city that is accessible by public transportation?
Yes, several. The largest being Amager Strandpark, reachable on the metro.
Smaller beaches north of the city centre and in the northern suburbs, reachable by bus/S-train: Svanemøllestranden, Hellerup Strand, Charlottenlund Strandpark and Bellevue Strand.
Inspiration can also be found here: https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/things-to-do/outdoor/baths-and-beaches
Half day journey?? is that on foot??? Klampenborg, north side of city is 17 minutes by regioanl train from main station and less from Osterport with the station almost on the beach!
Our favourite part of being in Copenhagen last summer was the canal swimming areas that were packed with locals every time the sun came out. Not the same as a beach with sand (though better in my opinion), but they have really great set ups to relax and swim by the water, with tons of restaurants and services nearby. No matter what we did during the day, we took time to hang out in the water in the evening...we were admittedly pretty lucky with the weather.
Just an alternative. Looks like other posters have lots of great beach suggestions.
Canal swimming will be a memorable experience. I was in Copenhagen in September 2024 during a heat wave over a weekend and canals were packed with swimmers. I didn't bring swim attire, but rolled up my pants and soaked my feet in water. I wish I could have taken a dip.
Chris and Joy,
Canal swimming sounds so fun! I had never considered it as an option. Do all canals have steps or ladders to allow easy exit from the water? If not, is there a way to locate such places using Google maps? I wonder if "canal swimming area near me" would yield results. Thanks!
Marti - I remember Visit Copenhagen website had a list and map of places for swimming with photos. It's the link shared above. For me, I just joined a group of people who were swimming but I just sat by the step. I came across as I was walking around town. It was closer to the Langebro bridge. There were also some harbor baths (like a shallow swim pool connected to canals.)
Have fun!
ETA: a friend who lived in Copenhagen had recommended I go to Sandkaj Harbour, but it was a little out of the way for me. And the heat wave caught me by surprise and I didn't go prepared for swimming.
Thanks, broccolihaar.
I just checked out the Visit Copenhagen link you included and, WOW! So many possibilities. I'll check them out and will check out canal swimming as well.
Great, glad someone provided better canal swimming information than I could.
Most of our canal swimming was by our hotel in Nordhavn, where there was an official swimming area, but also a great boardwalk area, with new signs that said swimming was prohibited. The locals said the signs had just gone up and were being ignored. Every once in awhile bike police would show up, and people would sit on the edge for a few minutes, then jump back in the second they left. Was part of the fun.
There were also lots of places renting stand up paddleboards which was a very fun way to hang out in the water.
We saw a lot of other official areas all over the city as well though. Just follow what you see the locals doing and you'll be fine.
Cheers,
