Affordable Weekend Trip to Copenhagen and Places to Visit in Copenhagen

We, who never forgive when we find cheap air tickets, came to our emptiness and bought cheap air tickets to Copenhagen. I say come into the void because I wouldn't plan to go to Copenhagen now, when the Euro has increased so much (it was 5.52 when we set out). Complaining aside, we have planned a 2-day weekend trip to Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, the beautiful city of the north. Here are the answers to many questions such as Copenhagen travel notes and suggestions about places to visit in Copenhagen, how we save money for our Copenhagen trip despite the Euro, let's get started 🙂

The Copenhagen travel guide I prepared is quite long, you can easily reach the part you are interested in by clicking on the subheadings below:

Copenhagen Trip Preparations

As the time to go to Copenhagen approached, the Euro rate increased. Even though the currency in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the Danish Krone, we were affected by any kind of Euro increase from the cross rate. In order to minimize our expenses, we looked at our expense items, in general, our highest expenditure items in travel; transportation, accommodation and food and beverage. We found ways to keep these 3 items to a minimum, so I am writing this part in detail because it is asked a lot.

Budget Accommodation in Copenhagen

First of all, let's clarify something; There is no such thing as budget accommodation in Copenhagen. Therefore, it is the most economical accommodation method. hostel accommodation we chose to do. Since we are going to stay in the hostel, we decided to stay in whichever is the most central, and we decided to stay in the Nyhaun area. Bedwood HostelWe found . The view of our hostel from the outside was very beautiful, its central location was great and it provided us a lot of convenience, we had the chance to go back and rest when we got tired. However, we paid 45 euros per person per night, 2 euros per night for 90 people, which is quite expensive for the hostel. A few of our friends also Downtown HostelThey stayed in and were satisfied.

City Transportation in Copenhagen

I told you that we found cheap air tickets to Copenhagen, so we thought that we could keep our costs low if we also bring the city transportation cheaper as a way of making transportation cheaper. There is a 24-hour metro from the airport to the city center, it costs around 4 euros in exchange for crowns, we have solved this issue for 8,5 euros round trip. The metro network is quite widespread. There are daily and two-day cards for tourists to visit the city, but since most of the sights are within walking distance, we did not buy an extra metro card. On the second day, we rented an 8-hour bike for cycling around the city, and we paid 10 euros for it.

Food and Drink in Copenhagen

Do not eat or drink out in Copenhagen 🙂 I don't think there is such a thing as economical food, even the food sold as street food is around 90-100 crowns, and the meals in the restaurants start at that level. So what did we do? From Istanbul to our bag; We stocked up on olive paste, cheese, sandwiches, biscuits, cookies, chocolate, coffee, we took our thermos and water bottle with us, we bought our bread, drinks and supplements from Netto, which can be considered Copenhagen's BİM market, so we almost all of our meals (where we went for 2 days anyway). It was pretty easy for us) we prepared it ourselves. We filled our hot water from the hostel and prepared our coffee, we didn't pay for the water because we drink water from the fountain 🙂

In Copenhagen, locals often buy their food and drink from the market and sit by the sea or canal to fill their stomachs or enjoy a drink, and we followed suit. Netto and chain markets all have economical food options such as dishes that you can heat in the microwave or in a pan, and salads. With your drink, you can easily fill your stomach for 50 crowns per person.

Also, street food culture is quite common in Copenhagen. There are areas similar to the large market place where street food is served in different regions. Here you can find many flavors from drinks to sandwiches, from international dishes to desserts. Reffen district is the most popular place for street food at the moment, we couldn't get there, but if you want to go, you can reach it by ferry from Nyhaun. If you say you don't want to go that far, as soon as you cross the bridge built for bicycles and pedestrians in Nyhaun to the Christianshavn district, there is BroensGadeKokken (The Brigde's Street Kitchen) at the foot of the bridge.

It would not be possible to pass the food and beverage part without mentioning the two important brands of Denmark, Carlsberg and Tuborg. You can drink beer in the range of 10-12 crowns in markets and 30-50 crowns in restaurants. It is also worth remembering that they have many local beers besides Carlsberg and Tuborg.

Transportation from Copenhagen Airport to the City Center

Our flight to Copenhagen took off from Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 22:40 on Friday evening. This means that we will arrive in Copenhagen after midnight. One of the most beautiful features of Copenhagen is that there is a 24-hour metro from the airport to the city center. With the effect of the time difference between us and Denmark, we landed in Copenhagen around 01:00. The airport was quiet, the passport queue was short, so we could get out of the airport quickly. We bought the metro tickets from the kiosks at the airport with a credit card, there is an English language selection at the kiosks, so we bought the ticket easily.

A metro ticket costs 32 kroner per person, a little over 4 euros one way.

Copenhagen Hostel Experience

Since our hostel is in Bedwood, Nyhaun area, right in the heart of the city and where the nightlife is lively, the streets were still busy when we got off. We reached our hostel among the bodies shaking with the effect of alcohol and quickly settled in our room. Our room was a dormitory type room for 10 people, of course we knew that. However, the part we did not know was that there were friends in our room who snored like a symphony orchestra. I, who normally sleeps under all conditions, struggled with the sound of this orchestra for a long time. Headphones, music, whatever I did didn't work. Even though we reached the hostel around 02:30, it was 04:00 in the morning for me to sleep.

Although the external appearance and common areas of our hostel are very useful and beautiful, I can say that I am not happy with the dormitory part due to the snoring noise in the room we stayed in and the narrow beds.

Our hostel is one of the oldest buildings in the Nyhaun area and has an entrance from the main street to a courtyard, it is worth mentioning that tourists often come to see the building. If you go to Copenhagen, be sure to enter the courtyard Nyhaun 63 and have a look.

Copenhagen Attractions

Finally, our Copenhagen exploration begins. Although insomnia hits a bit, we are on the streets around 09:30 in the morning, the activity has not started in the city yet. Our list of places to visit in Copenhagen is long, our time is short.

nyhaun

Our first stop is Nyhaun, which we are already on! Nyhaun means new port. This is a long and narrow canal, once the trade of the city was here, now it is full of canal tour boats 🙂

From sailor shelters to warehouses, from brothels to bars, everything was made for sailors in time. Now it is the busiest and most touristic place in the city. This is the best place in the city to take photos, eat and drink. You don't necessarily have to sit at the restaurants by the canal, you can buy your food and drink and sit by the canal, which is what most people do.

Fairy Tale House by Hans Christian Andersen

If you will see two red houses side by side on the banks of Nyhaun, one of these houses is Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tale House. For 40 crowns, you can visit the house where the tales of the author of Andersen's Tales, which we enjoyed reading as a child, were brought to life.

Royal Danish Theater

When you move towards the opposite direction of the channel in Nyhaun, you come out to a wide square. The square was closed when we went to the metro station. In one corner of the square, you will see a magnificent building with sculptures outside, this is a theater building. Theater buildings in Europe are like works of art in their own right, and Copenhagen did not surprise us in this sense. One corner of this square leads to the famous shopping street Ströget, but for now we continue our tour not in that direction, but in the other direction where the castle is.

The name of this square is Kongens Nytorv, and it also hosts the Kongens Nytorv metro stop, which you need to get off to reach the city center from the airport.

Church of Alexander Nevsky

As you head from Kongens Square towards Amalienborg Palace, you will see an onion-domed church on your left. This is a Russian Orthodox Church built in the name of Alexander Nevsky with the support of the Danish princess who married the Russian Tsar. It is a typical Russian architecture.

Amalienborg Palace

Amelienborg Palace can be a suitable visiting point for those who want to see the royal assets. We did not go inside because we did not spare time to visit the museum and palace in two days. This place is still used as a palace and also has a museum. Every day at 12:00, there is a changing of the guard ceremony in front of the palace. I'm not really interested in these changing of guards, but everybody comes to see it.

We came to the front of the palace by chance at that time and there was a strange crowd. When I asked one of the Danes there, thinking that it was strange, I learned that it was the 50th birthday of the king and they gathered here to greet the people. His birthday was celebrated with different activities throughout the week, and we coincided with the day of his birthday.

Marble Church

Overlooking Amalienborg Palace, this church is one of the city's most impressive churches. It was named Marble Church because it consists of large marble blocks, actually Frederiks Church. We did not enter when the entrance fee was 25 crowns. Now I don't enter churches or places of worship unless they are very special, especially if there is an entrance fee 🙂

Getting married here is very prestigious for the Danes, so you may come across a wedding when you go. We could not coincide due to the king's birthday events. You can also go up to the dome of the church, and you can watch the Copenhagen view from above. But I have better suggestions for Copenhagen scenery, read on 🙂

Amalie Garden

If you pass the Marble Church and Amalienborg Palace and head towards the canal, you will reach the palace garden called Amalie Garden. A very nice little garden to sit and relax by the canal, don't think of a huge place when you think of the palace garden.

Kastellet, Copenhagen Castle

One of my favorite places in Copenhagen was this Kastellet or Copenhagen Castle. The castle, which looks like a pentagonal star when viewed from above, has two layers of inner walls, so there are two-fold water pools around it. If you build a castle surrounded by water in a city that is already green, it would look like a castle straight out of fairy tales. While approaching the castle, St. Alban Church, the windmill inside, the red military buildings, the heron swimming in the water, the swans and ducks are a fairy tale castle… We couldn't help ourselves to take a coffee break and spread out on the grass. The pentagonal star-shaped structure has 2 doors, and when you enter through the door, you enter another era.

There is also a small church inside the castle and we catch the wedding here, which we could not see in the Marble Church. We are living the continuation of the tale with the groom and his family members in military clothes.

The Little Mermaid

Copenhagen's symbol, the Little Mermaid, is probably the most uninteresting thing here. A small bronze mermaid statue, inspired by Andersen's The Little Mermaid tale, stays in the water when the water rises, stays out of the water with the rock on which it sits when the water recedes, we coincided with the time it was outside. We continued our tour without wasting much time next to the mermaid, which was flooded with tourists from the Far East.

Of course, you should see it while you're there, but I suggest you don't expect too much 🙂

Stroget Street

This is Copenhagen's busiest shopping and eating and drinking street. All the streets that cut this street, which is decorated with old Danish houses, are also worth seeing. The street starting from Kongens Square continues until the Town Hall. There is everything from Guinness Records Museum to Lego store on the street, from bands playing music in small squares to doner kebab shops.

funfair

After passing the Town Hall, you reach a large amusement park in Copenhagen, this is Tivoli. You can think of it as a playground for adults. The entrance fee was 110 SEK, if I'm not mistaken, maybe we could enter if we had a few more days in Copenhagen.

After wandering around Stroget and the surrounding streets, we are back in Kongens Square for the king's birthday parade. There is a marching band, a welcome team of veterans, a few policemen and soldiers, but also crowds of tourists and locals. The king humbly greeted the people.

After the parade, we wanted to throw ourselves in a quiet place by the canal and rest a bit. We sat on the steps in front of the Play House like Danes and enjoyed the view.

Play House and Opera House, two buildings built across the canal, are two ugly buildings that follow each other from the canal, architecturally incompatible with Copenhagen. An opera house that fits the architectural texture, like a theater, would suit Copenhagen much better.

Thus ended the first day. Since we were already sleepless, we wanted to go to bed and rest as soon as possible, we had another whole day ahead of us. By the way, the time the photos were taken was around 22:00 in the evening, and as the days got longer as we approached the north, we had the chance to make the most of the daylight.

Bicycle Rental in Copenhagen

We started our second day by renting a bike. We rented our bikes from the hostel where we stayed and paid 8 kroner for 80 hours, that is about 10 euros. Our bikes are pretty red, mine are two sweet bikes with a basket and my wife's without a basket 🙂 Copenhagen is one of the ideal cities for cycling because the city is flat, bike paths are marked all over the city, everyone is respectful and careful about bikes. When this is the case, cycling is also very enjoyable. Renting a bike gave us speed while traveling in Copenhagen, of course, but instead of speed, we used this situation as an opportunity to go in and out of every street with our bikes ready 🙂

Oster Voldgade Street and Sailor Housing

If you will see a series of streets under Oster Voldgade street and ending with “gade”, on the Copenhagen map. There are two-storey, one-of-a-kind houses painted in yellow on those streets, with red shutters. These houses were built as sailors' lodgings in the past. Now it has become a great neighborhood to take pictures with its colorful images. Of course, the residents of the neighborhood still live in it, so it is useful to behave respectfully.

Rosenborg Castle and Royal Garden

There are plenty of palaces and castles in Copenhagen. It may take days to even visit them all. Rosenborg Castle is a castle with a huge garden in front of it, resembling a small castle in the heart of the city. This is a lively place with ducks in its garden, various trees and flowers, people doing sports and playing games. There was an entrance fee to the castle building, but we did not enter it, I forgot to note the price, but I am sure it is on the internet 🙂

Copenhagen Botanical Garden

We went from one garden to another, this time to the Botanical Garden. This is a huge garden where plants from all over the world are exhibited and the entrance is free. In the garden of this place, picnickers, those who do sports, and those who sunbathe, have made a living place. A wonderful garden to breathe in the city.

Round tower

We spent a lot of time in the garden, we get on our bikes again and continue to Pilestrade street. Our target is the Round Tower, which was built as an observation tower in the 17th century and is the oldest observatory tower still in use in Europe. You don't use stairs to get to the 268,5-meter-high tower, you climb a spiraling ramp. The tower exit is a place where you can capture very nice photo frames if you catch good light.

At the top of the tower, Copenhagen view awaits you. This is one of the towers where you can watch the Copenhagen view.

The exit to the tower is 25 crowns; It can be visited between 10:00-18:00 on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and between 10:00-21:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Christiansborg Palace and Island

Here we are with another palace 🙂 This is an islet where the palace is located, on this islet there are the Old Stock Exchange Building, the Library, the Danish Jewish Museum and the Royal buildings. Do not miss a very beautiful building with its vines outside the building known as Kongernes Lapidarium 🙂

Christians Havn District

Our next stop is Christians Havn, which also includes the Christiana District. This is the opposite shore of Nyhaun, with the port of Overgaden Oven Vandet and an area that used to be home to boats docking at Nyhaun. The famous Savior Tower is also in this area.

Savior Tower

The Savior Tower and Church, which can be climbed out of the tower, are also located in this region. There is an exit to the tower, you climb 400 steps of 150 steps from the outside, it can be difficult for those who are afraid of heights. This is the other tower where you can watch the Copenhagen view. Marble Church, Round Tower and Savior Towers are different points you can choose for city view.

Christiana District

Christiana is one of the first places that comes to mind when Copenhagen is mentioned. This used to be a military zone, when the soldiers left, a group occupied this area and declared their autonomy. Buying, selling and using drugs (mild drugs) is allowed here. In the past, the police could not enter, it was forbidden to take photos inside, but now the old strict rules are gone, we took photos and videos openly, no one said what are you doing. Just as we were leaving, the police came to control the area. The autonomous region status continues, there was a concert when we went, everyone was having fun, not to mention the sharp smell of grass surrounding it 🙂

We especially left the Christiana Region for the end, so that we could close at the top 🙂

Instagrammable Copenhagen Streets

Even though Copenhagen is full of aesthetic streets in general, some streets are a little more beautiful than others 🙂 You may not have the opportunity to travel street by bicycle like us, so I wanted to make a quick list.

• Stroget: We have already said that this is Copenhagen's busiest shopping street, but it is still very aesthetically pleasing.
• pilestrade: This is the street that is an alternative to Stroget, and the Round Tower is on this street.
• pistolstrade: There are several very old colorful buildings in this street, and a restaurant in front of them.
• magstrade: Another street that cuts through Stroget. This is an area closer to our Karaköy, where cafes and bars are concentrated.
• Overgaden Oven Vandet: I mentioned this above, this is a pleasant harbor full of yachts.

What to Buy in Copenhagen?

If you ask what to buy in Copenhagen, I didn't buy anything.

Flying Tiger

Prices are high in Copenhagen in general, but there is one exception, a chain of stores called Flying Tiger. You can think of this place like a millionaire among us, but when the country is Denmark, the products inside are mostly designer products. Both tasteful products and economical.

Net

If you have seen the yellow logo below in Copenhagen, do not miss it 🙂 This is a supermarket chain that can correspond to our BİM. Prices are pretty good and they serve 7-23.

torvehallerne

Although this place is in our plan, we passed by without stopping by 🙂 When we realized it, we were quite far away, we did not come back. This is a covered market place, a place where you will find many alternatives such as food, greengrocer and butcher. Drop by if you have time, we missed it.

Exchange Money in Copenhagen

To change money in Copenhagen, you will find exchange offices in and around Stroget. In Nyhaun, there is no exchange office, so you should be prepared accordingly. Exchange offices charge 4% commission. Thus, 4% of the money you exchange becomes stamps, keep in mind. Since we went on the weekend, we did not have a chance to exchange currency from the bank, banks may not take commission, if you have experience, it would be great if you add it as a comment to the article.

How Much Did a Trip to Copenhagen Cost?

Despite the Euro, which we made for two days at the weekend, our trip to Copenhagen cost 244 € per person, all inclusive. Let's take a look at the details, shall we?

• It had been months since we bought our plane ticket, it was 450TL for that time, all my calculations were made with a rate of 5,49 euro, so 82€ plane ticket,
• The price we paid per person for the hostel where we stayed for 2 nights was 95 €, accommodation in Copenhagen is expensive ????
• We rented a bike for 8 hours, one bike cost 10€
• When we got tired of traveling, we decided to do a canal tour and we paid 1 € (11 kroner) for a 85-hour canal tour, there was also a cheaper (50 kronor) tour, but we missed the last one. My recommendation; no need for canal tour
• We paid a total of 8,5 € per person for the train we used to go to and from the airport.
• We paid about 3€ for Round Tower exit (25 kroner)
• The remaining 34,5 € is the amount we spent on food, including the food we brought from Turkey and the grocery shopping we did in Copenhagen. We gained the most advantage here against the Euro 🙂
• The tap water is drunk, we did not pay for the water,
• We made our coffee in the hostel and carried it with us in a thermos, we did not pay for the coffee.
• Every public toilet in the city is free, and we didn't pay for it.

They use the Danish Kroner (DKK) as their currency, I have written the Copenhagen trip costs in euros for clarity.

Our two-day trip to Copenhagen was full, colorful and active. I tried to prepare a rich guide for those who want to go, I hope it will be useful for those who read 🙂

If you want to follow my travels instantly Instagram you can browse my account, for my video content youtube  You can subscribe to my channel.

Stay on the Road.