Copenhagen

I think one whole day is sufficient for Copenhagen. Visit : Christiansborg Palace (guided tour of the Queen's reception rooms), Nationalmuseet, sightseeing boat ride on the canals and harbor ( beginning near Christiansborg). The boat turns around near the Little Mermaid statue. Get off of the boat at Nyhavn canal and walk on Stroget streets from Kongens Nytorv to Vester Voldgade. If you will be at Copenhagen a second day : visit Rosenborg Castle and its Royal treasury (crowns of Danish kings, and beautiful large carved ivory tusks, ...), and relax at the King's Gardens (grass lawn in a park) that is very near the castle, if the weather is pleasant that day. Several rooms in Rosenborg Castle can be seen in Rick Steve's video travelogue of Copenhagen, made in the year 2008. That video was made after renovations were made in that castle. If a person sees that video of several rooms in that castle, going in there is not a high priority, in my opinion. I was in Rosenborg castle, in May of 2007. I own that video : it is on a Compact Disc that has several of Rick Steves' Television programs. I do not put a high priority on going in Tivoli gardens amusement park. I think it is a tourist trap, it has rides that can cause people to feel nauseated.

On our first trip we had a total of three nights and 2 1/2 days.

On the first 1/2 day we got our bearings and soaked in the atmosphere. On the 2nd day we saw a bunch of museums and took a nice evening walk. On the third day we took the train to neaby Fredericksborg (sp?) palace & LOVED it, then on to Hillerod to see the castle, then back to Copenhagen by 5 PM with the rest of the night in Tivoli Garden amusement park (we have children).

There are plenty of reasons to stay longer, put we felt pretty good about our time there - feeling like we accomplished a lot in a short time without being stressed.

thanks Randy. We have teens, so Tivoli Gardens sounds great.

We spent the same amount of time as Randy, and we also had teenagers with us. We took our day trip to Roskilde to see the Viking ships. We really enjoyed that. We also thought 2 1/2 days in Copenhagen seemed just right (that included the trip to Roskilde, which did not take a whole day). The only caution I have for you is that Tivoli Gardens is absolutely packed in the summer. We were there in July and while I was glad to see it, we could not enjoy ourselves with so many people.

I am intrested in doing the same amount of time this summer.

I planned on 1 day in the city, then 1/2 day to Odense and back, then the 3rd day would go see the castles in the north and Tovili at night.

Heidi, et al,

Sorry, I have to make a correction; Fredericksborg in IN Hillerød. It's Helsingør we went to next to see the castle there. I always got those two H's mixed up...

BTW, Tivoli certainly was crowded, but I don't think it was any more crowded than Disney or any local amusement park would be on a summer's night.

I realize my husband and I like to take a lot of time in places, but we were in Copenhagen for 6 days, and I wouldn't have wanted it to be less. We saw - the Jewish Resistance Museum, the National Museum (history), Ny Carsberg Glyptok (art), Frilandsmuseet (open air museum), Tivoli, Rosenborg Castle, Dragor, Fredericksborg Castle, Roskilde - shopped, walked, ate and ate, street fairs, bus tour. It was a wonderful trip.

I heard the Little Mermaid statue is on loan this year. I may be mistaken but, if so, don't spend time trying to see it.

The Resistance museum in Copenhagen is excellent. It is one of my favorite WWII sites.

I am agreeing with much that I see here, and I am strongly encouraging BOTH Roskilde and Tivoli Gardens. You can spend an entire day in Tivoli and never get bored. It's great for adults as well as kids, and there are lots of good restaurants there, so you don't have to leave.

Don't leave without a stroll down the Strøget - a wonderfully pleasant car-free shopping zone. And check out the Nyhavn! The old buildings are painted amazing colors, the people-watching is super, and you can either picnic on the street or sit at a cafe and have a bite and a Carlsberg (the only beer that matters).

As for Roskilde, also check out the cathedral while you're there. The Danes have been burying their kings and queens there since the middle ages, and there is MUCH "creepy Gothic" art -carved death's heads and skulls and whatnot - that kids generally really get a kick out of. And yes, the Viking Ship Museum ROCKS.

So I guess what I'm saying is that two or three full days wouldn't be too long.