Tour Copenhagen

AWC would like to share just a glimpse of Copenhagen Denmark. Here we will provide our visitors;

Map your way around Copenhagen
Copenhagens Current Events
Picture Gallery of sites around Copenhagen
Denmarks Royal Family
Tour Guide Links
Museum Links
Top 10 Cafe’s

Map your way around Copenhagen

Use these links to help you find your way around the city.

Public transportation guide; mark your destination.

http://www.rejseplanen.dk/bin/query.exe/en

Map your way around Copenhagen use this guide.

www.krak.dk

Online Hotel Bookings in Copenhagen

Bookings

Denmark's Royal Family

Queen Margrethe Alexandrine Þorhildur Ingrid

http://kongehuset.dk/english/

Crown Prince Fredrik & Crown Princess Mary

http://www.kronprinsparret.dk/english.php

Tour Guide Links

http://copenhagen.expozed.net/

http://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/

http://www.aok.dk/section/english

http://www.cruisecritic.com/

Hints from Cruise Critic a great online source guide for touring the city.

Getting Around
Copenhagen is a great walking city with most of its wondrous sights within a square mile of its center. A good place to begin a city tour is Town Hall Square; the Tivoli Gardens are across the street and just north of Tivoli is Rauspladsen, the central city square and the main terminal for the local bus network. To the east is the city's waterfront, including the canal district of Christianshavn.

There are more than 1,700 government-licensed taxis that service Copenhagen, and most accept credit cards for trips of any length. Just make sure you tell the driver at the onset of your journey. You can hail taxis easily enough and most drivers speak English. The first drop is approximately 23 DKK and 10 DKK per 1/2 mi/1 km thereafter on weekdays from 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. From 4 p.m. - 6 a.m., the initial fare increases to 11 DKK, with the same drop per mi/km. On Fridays and Saturdays, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. as well as all day on holidays, the first drop increases yet again to 13 DKK. Drivers round up to the next krone, but no other tip is necessary. We recommend that you only ride in metered taxis.

From the main cruise facility at Langelinie Pier, bus #26, which runs every 20 minutes, will take you to the city center. A waterbus near the polar bear statue at the end of the pier can also get you to the center of the city (a one-day ticket lets you can on and off all day). Taxis are plentiful for the 10-minute ride in. If you've disembarked at Freeport Terminal, shuttle buses are generally close by -- as are taxis. Copenhagen Airport is six miles (9 km) from the city's center. Shuttle buses are generally available to cruise ships, but contact your cruise line for more information. If you arrive at Terminal 3, there are trains every 20 minutes to town. A taxi to Langelinie Pier takes about 25 minutes and costs about 225 DKK. There's also a direct SAS bus running from the airport to Central Station. A local bus service (#250S) connects the airport with Rauspladsen and Central Station, but takes 35 minutes.

A basic ticket (grundbillet) is 15 DDK and allows for an hour of travel with unlimited transfers within the zone where you started your trip. You can buy a pack of 10 for 90 DKK. Kids under the age of 11 ride for half fare (those under four ride free on the trains, but the cut-off is six on the buses). For more information, call 70-10-00-10.

The 24/7 Metro, which operates virtually every two minutes during rush hour (every 15 minutes in the evening), runs from Vanlose (in the west) to Vestmager (in the south). To transfer to the S-tog system, you must transfer at Norreport. For more information, visit www.dsb.dk.

Note: You can transfer from all methods of public transportation with the same ticket.

Copenhagen has 1,300 free "City Bikes" that anyone can use within central Copenhagen between May 1 and December 15 by inserting a 20 DKK coin (get it back when you return it to any one of 125 City Bike Parking places) into the bike's locking mechanism. There are plenty of these hard-to-miss bright red or blue bikes by the Langelinie Pier, but not the Freeport Terminal. Pick up a City Bike Map from any Copenhagen Information Center (there's one next to Langelinie Pier, one on Bernstorffsgade and one at Tivoli's main entrance) and ask about three easy-pedal tours.

Car rental companies like Avis (www.avis.com), Hertz (www.hertz.com) and Danecars/National (www.danecars.dk) have offices in the city as well as at the airport. Check their Web sites for exact locations and prices. The cost of parking weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. is determined by zones (red, green and blue) and each has its own pricing. The further away, the cheaper (the red zone is 20 DKK per hour, the green zone is 12 DKK and the blue zone is 7 DKK). Other times are free. Parking away from the city center is free for up to 2 hours. Tickets are purchased from coin-operated meters at the parking areas.

Here's a hint: You might want to consider getting the Copenhagen Card, which offers unlimited free access by bus and rail throughout the metropolitan area for one or three days as well as complimentary admission to well over 60 sights and museums. One day: 199 DKK, three day: 399 DKK. For kids ages 10 - 15, the card is offered at 129 DKK and 229 DKK, respectively. Up to two children under the age of 10 are allowed free with each adult card. For more information, visit the Copenhagen Tourist Information Center at www.woco.dk.

Copenhagen is well known for so many major landmarks, museums, and monuments. These must see sites are listed below. - by Cruise Critic

Take a tour.

An excellent option for broad-stroke sightseeing is any one of several bus or canal tours. The nearly three-hour Grand Bus Tour that departs from Town Hall Square includes drive-by views of Tivoli, the New Carlsberg Museum, Christiansborg Castle, the Stock Exchange, the Danish Royal Theater, Nyhavn, Gefion Fountain, Grundtvig Church and Rosenborg Castle. Short stops are made to see the Little Mermaid, the changing of the guard at Amalienborg Castle and the Church of Our Lady, where the recent wedding ceremony of HRH Crown Prince Frederik and commoner Mary Donaldson took place. The hourlong Open Top Bus Tour includes much of the same, but offers an on/off option for those who wish to linger a bit longer at some of the stops. A one-hour Harbor and Canal Tour departs from Gammel Strand and Kongens Nytorv from May to mid-September. For those who prefer to tour on foot, staff members from the Copenhagen Tourist Information Office lead two-hour guided walking tours between May and September, Monday - Saturday at 10:30 a.m. For information, visit www.woco.dk.

The biggest museum in Denmark is the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, where works from the 13th century to present are exhibited. You'll see Rubens, Rembrandts and Hals, as well as the works of Eckerberg, Kobke and Hansen. French 20th-century art includes 20 works by Matisse. Inside the Royal Print Room, you'll have an opportunity to look at any one of more than 300,000 drawings, prints and lithographs by the world's most important artists. Tuesday and Thursday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Closed Monday. Solvgade 48-50.

Since opening in 1843, the 20-acre Tivoli Gardens has made visitors grin from ear to ear. You'll love the more than 400,000 flowers and almost as many sparkling lights that fill the Tivoli after dark. There are 32 restaurants covering all budgets, 150 concerts per year, 26 amusement rides (including a brand-spanking-new roller coaster), and colorful just-before-midnight fireworks each Saturday night. Don't skip the Pantomime Theater's free magical evening performances of ballet and acrobatics, which have been presented since 1844. Daily from 11 a.m. - midnight (until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday). It's closed from mid-September until April, but opens for a few weeks prior to the Christmas holidays with a terrific market and a chance to channel your inner Hans Christian Andersen by ice skating on the lake. Vesterbrogade 3.

The four 18th-century French-style Rococo mansions that make up Amalienborg Palace have been the homes of the Danish royal family since 1794. You can see the changing of the Royal Danish Guard at noon, only when the royal family is at home (you'll know they are if the swallowtail flag is flying above). Capped off in black bearskin busbies, the guards begin marching at 11:30 a.m. from the barracks by the Rosenborg Palace along different routes, depending on which royal is in residence. For the Queen, it goes along Rosenborggade, Kobmagergade, Ostergade, Kongens Nytorv, Bredgade, Sct.Annae Plads and Amaliegade. When the princes are residing at the palace, but not as regents, the parade route is along Gothersgade, CHr.IX's Gade, Kr. Bernikowsgade, Kongens Nytorv, Bredgade, Frederiksgade and Amalienborg. After the change, they return along those same routes back to Rosenborg accompanied by a band. Visitors only have access to Christian VIII's Manor (Margrethe lives at Christian VII's). May - October: Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; November - December 17 and January 2 - April 30: Tuesday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed Monday. Kobenhavn 1257.

Home to the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Royal Reception Rooms, Christiansborg Palace is a must see. Take any one of the daily guided tours (through September: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.; October - April: Tuesday - Thursday and Saturday - Sunday 3 p.m.) to see the Reception Rooms, Throne Room, Banqueting Hall, the Queen's Library and Parliament. Make sure you visit the ruins (year-round 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) of the 1167 Bishop Absalon castle (he founded Copenhagen) under the palace. Christiansborg Slotsholmen.

A citadel constructed by King Frederik III in the 1660s and still with some of its original ramparts, Kastellet was the city's main fortress until the 18th century, when it fell into disuse. During the Nazi occupation, it was the Germans' headquarters. Though the Danish military occupies its buildings today, visitors can stroll the lovely grounds. Don't forget to check out the five-point moat. Langelinie. Daily 6 a. m. - sunset.

The coyly reclining Little Mermaid is quintessential Copenhagen, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen and sculpted by Edvard Eriksen in 1913. She's been decapitated twice -- once in 1964 (the head was never recovered) and again in 1998 (this time the head turned up at a TV station, delivered by a masked person). Fortunately, the head was welded back on. Vandals cut off her arm in the early 1900s -- but because the original mold exists, her body parts were replaced.

If you're up to it, trek up the 400-step spiral steeple of the Baroque Our Savior's Church for an amazing city view. Urban legend says the architect jumped from the steeple when he realized the winding staircase curved the wrong way. Leave enough time to see the carved organ case. Through August: Monday - Saturday 11a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Sunday noon - 4:30 p.m.; September - October: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Sunday noon - 3:30 p.m.; November - March: Daily 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Annaegade 29.

Jam-packed with anthropological artifacts from the Upper Palaeolithic period to the mid-19th century, the National Museum houses the largest collection of artifacts in the country. The Viking stones and helmets are amazing, as are the 3,000-year-old lur horn (among the oldest instruments in Europe) and the 3,500-year old Sun Chariot. We recommend seeing the Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, too. On summer Sundays, they offer free chamber music concerts. Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed Monday. Ny Vestergade 10.

The 17th-century Renaissance-style Rosenborg Castle was built as a summer home Christian IV. Wait'll you see the ivory coronation chairs and Frederik VII's baby shoes. Twenty-four chronologically arranged rooms are filled to the brim with royal family artifacts. Head downstairs to the basement to see the crown jewels (including Christian IV's crown and the jewel-studded sword of Christian III) and Knights Hall. By the way, the crown jewels are so protected that even the Queen can't take them with her on visits outside Denmark. June - August: Daily 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; September - mid-October: Daily 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; mid-October - April: Tuesday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Oster Voldgade 4A.

Be sure to see Bertel Thorvaldsen's statues of Christ and the 12 apostles at the neoclassical 11th-century Vor Frue Kirke Church. Visitors are limited to Monday - Friday noon - 4 p.m. Fruegade 2.

Cafes

A complete list of Cafes in Copenhagen with reviews, maps, and payment options can be found here at the AOK website.

Cafe's of Copenhagen

http://www.aok.dk/section/english

Copenhagens Monthly Events

To read Copenhagens monthly updated events please check out Wonderful Copenhagen website.

WOCO Major Events

http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/

Thanks to bigfoto.com for the beautiful photos!