Must see sights in Copenhagen

I enjoyed Tivoli very much. It's so pretty, and I loved the old, enclosed roller coaster (I'm not one for rides, but it was really fun). The harbor tour is great, as well. What I regret not seeing were the Carlsberg Glyptotek and The Cisterns. Next time!

With only a day and a half I would focus on what truly interests you/calls to you rather than what is "worth" it. This list under "At a Glance" should get you started https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/denmark/copenhagen

I recommend the boat tour as you’ll see so much more. You will see a lot of charm by walking through the city.

Here are some ideas. And YES, Tivoli Gardens is definitely worth a visit. I would suggest going in the evening when they turn on the lights, as it really becomes magical then. It's fascinating and fun, and wonderful to just walk through and look at all the creative exhibits and gorgeous displays. You can get some great food here, and I highly recommend Cakehagen for some coffee and a delectable pastry.

The National Museum is just amazing with incredible exhibits. There was the prehistoric skeleton of an auroch, circa 8600 BC and a life-size hand-carved statue of St. George on his horse killing a dragon. It came complete with sound effects, which I didn’t know until some guy pressed a button, the dragon roared, and I jumped out of my skin. He thought that was hilarious. But seriously, there were so many gorgeous things to see there.

You could also visit Roskilde, home of Roskilde Cathedral and the Viking museum. It’s an easy 30 minute train ride from Copenhagen. I was in awe of this cathedral when I went in. From the gorgeous frescos to the incredible sculptures, it was beautiful. Roskilde cathedral was built in the late 1100’s, although there had been several previous churches on the same site. just about every king and queen of Denmark is buried here. There were over 20 tombs in the cathedral. One of the crypts off to the side had eight tombs in it. Four of them contained the remains of more kings and queens, but there were four small ones that contained children. Three of them were for children who are age 4, six and eight, but the smallest one was for an unnamed infant.

And the Viking Museum is a very short walk away. I liked the cathedral more, and I doubt that I got as much out of it as someone who really knows wood and carpentry, but seeing the history of the Vikings and the ships they built was really interesting. There are five huge Viking ships over 1000 years old that were discovered in The Roskilde fjord and then painstakingly excavated and pieced back together. They also have working replicas of the five ships on display in the water, and that was really interesting to see. I really loved walking along the harbor and seeing the ships, and all the other things they have on display, like rope making, carpentry, etc. they take pains to use the same tools that the Vikings used 1000 years ago.

Do you have any particular interests?

Here is a list of recommendations from Rick Steves, which can be found on this website: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/denmark/copenhagen

▲▲▲ Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen's classic amusement park, with rides, music, food, and other fun.

▲▲▲ National Museum History of Danish civilization with tourable 19th-century Victorian Apartment.

▲▲▲ Rosenborg Castle and Treasury Renaissance castle of larger-than-life "warrior king" Christian IV.

▲▲▲ Christiania Colorful counterculture squatters' colony.

▲▲ Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Scandinavia's top art gallery, featuring Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans, French, and Danes.

▲▲ Christiansborg Palace Royal reception rooms with dazzling tapestries.

▲▲ Thorvaldsen's Museum Works of the Danish Neoclassical sculptor.

▲ City Hall Copenhagen's landmark, packed with Danish history and symbolism and topped with a tower.

▲ Museum of Copenhagen The best city history museum in town.

▲ Amalienborg Museum Quick and intimate look at Denmark s royal family.

▲ Museum of Danish Resistance Chronicle of Denmark's struggle against the Nazis.

▲ Rosenborg Gardens Park surrounding Rosenborg Castle, filled with statues and statuesque Danes.

▲ National Gallery of Denmark Good Danish and Modernist collections.

▲ Our Savior's Church Spiral-spired church with bright Baroque interior.

Also adding - Rick's Scandinavia guidebook has a good self guided walk showing many of the highlights of Copenhagen. Might be a good idea since your time is limited to see main points of interest around the city on the walk and still have time to tour Rosenborg Castle and/or visit Tivoli.

If you’re on a cruise, maybe you won’t want get onto other boats, or maybe different boats would be of interest. The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde gives tours on their reconstructed Viking longships from May 1 to the end of September, so your timing will be good. We were there in early October, so just missed being able to get a sailing tour out in the fjord, but did get to climb onboard one, and see how the giant sail was erected and stowed, and how oarsmen would’ve propelled the craft.

Then there are canal tours in Copenhagen, from two different tour companies. It was interesting seeing parts of the city from the water, and the guide on the microphone up front described what we were seeing in Danish and English. Our tour was less than perfect, though, when we were seated in the last two open seats, one row from the back of the boat, in front of two separate groups of loud, drunk people. They were clearly there to just drink the beer or champagne they’d brought onboard, talking loudly over the narrator we were trying to hear (and we made several requests to please not do that, and subsequent disapproving glances at them never made any difference, either), with no interest in the sights we were passing. Hopefully, you might get more respectful fellow passengers if you go on a canal cruise in the city.

We didn’t go inside Tivoli Gardens, but did see their nighttime fireworks show from outside one night.

I took the Baltic Cruise from Copenhagen in 2019.

Tivoli Gardens is worth the visit.

Also went to the National Museum of Denmark, and the Glyptoteket. I was not expecting to love the Glyptoteket so much.

I took a canal boat ride and went to Christianborg Palace

All places that I mentioned are worth it.

You will be havng to make some difficult choices.

It's a wonderful, beautiful and interesting city. You are going to love it.