Like Norway, Copenhagen is one of those cities you can fly to for super cheap ($40) from the U.K…..but once you arrive be aware its very expensive. Nothing was cheap about our stay and we probably spent the same amount for two nights in Denmark that we could have spent in a week elsewhere in Europe. Nevertheless, my family had a wonderful long weekend there in mid November . We arrived just before the Christmas season which was nice as there were no crowds. There were some markets open but Tivoli Gardens was a week from its winter opening and we unfortunately didn’t get to visit.  With only one full day we decided to get HOHO tickets and just explore the area based on its stops.

Where we stayed

Good Morning Copenhagen Star is a really good location as its near Tivoli Gardens. Since that wasn’t on our itinerary we would have liked to have stayed closer to Nyhavn, however; we really needed to budget where we could. It’s really close to the train station and plenty of restaurants in the area. Very simple, basic rooms which is all you need for a quick city stay.

Nyhavn

Our first night we went straight to the Christmas market to explore. I’ve said it a million times but no one does Christmas better than Europe! As the markets were just setting up for the season we probably didn’t get the full experience; although we had fun walking around, shopping and eating. Very beautiful and magical at night.

We went back during the day to explore a bit more. The area is on a canal lined with bright, 17th century buildings. Hans Christian Anderson once lived here and now it is filled with bars and cafes. I imagine in the summer this is a really busy area and it was nice to have the intimate feel in the off season. There are a couple of little squares off the main strips where we could let the boys run around while we sipped coffee.

Freetown Christiania

Freetown can be accessed on the HOHO and we really wanted to visit because its something different compared to what we usually do/see on city trips. I’ll spare you the long details but in short: after this military area was abandoned some hippie folks decided to use it as an economically self sustaining community where they could create their own government and society. There are currently around 1,000 members but you wouldn’t know it considering it seemed like ghost town when we visited. Really fun to walk around despite the weather we faced.

The Little Mermaid

I had a friend tell me how overrated this statue was and she was right. Just a statue…on a rock…on the water…

Alas, its famous. It was made 100 years ago based of the work of Hans Christian Andersen. It’s a stop on the HOHO- so why not?

Amalienborg Palace

I love royal history so it was exciting to go see where the Danish royal family reside. There are four palaces facing each other with a square in the center. There is a changing of the guards ceremony, which we missed. We walked along the square and the exteriors.  It is by the water and it was very windy and cold! So just a quick stop.

Other photos from HOHO stops