Copenhagen 2 Days Itinerary: Things To Do & Where To Stay

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It’s important to make the most of any time you have in a city, and Copenhagen is no different.

There are so many things to do and it can be hard to fit everything into an itinerary.

That’s why after my trip to Denmark, I created the perfect Copenhagen 2 Days Itinerary.

Let’s jump right in!

🇩🇰 When planning a trip to Copenhagen, I recommend using:
✈️ Flights: Skyscanner
🏨 Hotels: Booking.com
💵 Hostels: Hostelworld
🗺 Tours & Activities: Viator and GetYourGuide
🚗 Car Rental: Discover Cars
🚌 Transport: Flixbus
🏥 Travel Insurance: Safetywing
📱E-SIM: Airalo
💻 VPN: Surfshark

Copenhagen 2 Days Itinerary Overview

Throughout this post, I will outline every little detail about this itinerary. It’s pretty jam-packed, as I recommend 3 days as the number of days needed in Copenhagen. Don’t worry though, I’ve squeezed everything in! Take a look…

  • Day 1: Nyhavn, Canal Tour, Christiansborg, Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, Tivoli Gardens
  • Day 2: Bike Tour, The Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle, The Little Mermaid

This sums up the itinerary in 2 bullet points, but I will now go into further detail about every aspect of the plan.

A picture of Copenhagen City Hall.

Day 1: Nyhavn, Canal Tour, Christiansborg, Copenhagen Zoo, Frederiksberg, Tivoli Gardens

Begin your first day in Copenhagen by heading straight to Nyhavn. The coloured houses are the most famous attraction in Copenhagen, and the perfect way to start any trip. Flying into Copenhagen? Top tip: Get the train from Copenhagen Airport to the city centre.

The houses are even more beautiful in real life, they are extremely picturesque and look like something straight out of a fairy tale. There’s a reason that the houses are on all the postcards! You can get some incredible pictures here. My favourite photo of me in Copenhagen is in Nyhavn.

A picture of me at Nyhavn.

I spent around 30 minutes here, simply soaking in the atmosphere and taking in the beauty. I visited Copenhagen in January, so it was very quiet and peaceful. If you visit in Summer, it’ll be a lot busier!

While you’re in Nyhavn, it’s a good idea to take a canal tour. Most canal tours begin at Nyhavn and last approximately one hour. In my opinion, a canal tour is one of the best things you can do in Copenhagen. It would be impossible to take a trip without spending an hour on a canal tour.

The tour takes you to lots of Copenhagen’s main sights, offering a unique perspective on the city. You can see Copenhagen Opera House, the Church of our Savior, Amelianborg, The Little Mermaid, and more from the canal.

Of course, you have a knowledgeable tour guide who will commentate the tour. You will learn a lot about Copenhagen and the city’s past! The canal tour allows you to understand a lot of buildings in Copenhagen that you would have simply walked past. For me, it was Børsen, which I appreciated was a nice-looking building, but I would have never known it was the old stock exchange.

Seeing Nyhavn from a new angle at the beginning and end of your tour is always good too!

A picture of Børsen.
Børsen
A picture of Nyhavn from the canal, taking a canal tour is a must-do in my Copenhagen 2 days itinerary.
Nyhavn from the canal tour boat

Once you have finished your canal tour, which lasts approximately one hour, head from Nyhavn to Christiansborg Palace. It’s an 11-minute walk- everything in Copenhagen is quite close together, which is great if you are visiting Copenhagen on a budget.

Christiansborg Palace is beautiful, it’s the home of the Danish parliament and I’m extremely jealous of their politicians who get to go there every day for work! The palace is extraordinary, from all angles. You can walk through the archways, into the courtyard, and no matter how you look at it, the building is spectacular.

But what I love most about Christiansborg is that you can go up Christiansborg Tower, completely free of charge. The tower offers a stunning view of the city. It’s amazing how it’s completely free too- do note that there is a security check (as it’s a government building) similar to the security in an airport.

Christiansborg Palace with a view of the courtyard.
The view from Christiansborg Tower. During my Copenhagen 2 days itinerary, you get 3 panoramic views of the city.

From Christiansborg, you’ll want to go outside the centre of Copenhagen and head to Copenhagen Zoo. You might find this an unnecessary stop in an eventful Copenhagen 2 days itinerary, but in my opinion, it’s unmissable.It’s the best zoo I have ever visited.

Copenhagen is expensive, but you can take advantage of the free public transport included in the Copenhagen Card to reach the zoo! Entrance to the zoo is also included completely free of charge with the Copenhagen Card! Once at the zoo, I would spend 2-3 hours here.

As I said, it’s one of the best zoos in the world. Copenhagen Zoo is one of only 27 zoos in the world to have pandas and one of only 152 zoos worldwide that have polar bears. Having both of these rare yet wonderful animals makes Copenhagen Zoo a must-do when visiting Copenhagen. Not to mention the rest of the zoo is also top-quality.

There’s also a pretty cool viewpoint offered at Copenhagen Zoo. There is a wooden observation tower, which kind of looks similar to the Eiffel Tower, which offers another beautiful view over the Copenhagen skyline. This time, from a very different part of the city, compared to Christiansborg. It’s a more housed area, compared to the city centre.

You can read my complete Copenhagen Zoo review for more information.

A polar bear at Copenhagen zoo.
the view from the observatory tower in Copenhagen zoo.

While on the outskirts of Copenhagen, you should visit Frederiksberg Palace, which is directly beside the zoo. It’s a unique, yellow building, which is definitely worth checking out. I’ll be honest, I didn’t spend too much time at Frederiksberg, but it’s up to you how much time you spend here.

If nothing else, at least have a good look at it while you walk past on the way to/from the zoo. You can also get a nice view from the observation tower in the zoo.

A sign at Frederiksberg Palace with the yellow palace in the background.

Next stop on your Copenhagen 2 days itinerary is Tivoli Gardens! I personally suggest going to Tivoli in the evening, as it’s incredible seeing everything lit up. You can also enjoy a meal from the many food options. And not to mention it’s less crowded than during the daytime.

Tivoli Gardens is one of the world’s oldest active theme parks. Did you know Walt Disney visited Tivoli and used it as inspiration for Disney World? If you haven’t figured already, Tivoli Gardens is kind of amazing. You could easily spend a full day here, but unfortunately we simply don’t have the time.

Nonetheless, you can spend a good few hours having fun at Tivoli Gardens, going on some of the many rides and enjoying some of the delicious foods. The churros are my personal favourite! And with that, your first day in Copenhagen is complete.

An entrance to Tivoli Gardens at night with lights lit up.

Day 2: Bike Tour, The Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle, The Little Mermaid

Begin the second half of your Copenhagen 2 days itinerary with a bike tour of the city. A bike tour of Copenhagen is an absolute must! It’s how the locals get around, and Copenhagen is one of the most cycling-friendly cities in the world.

Taking a bike tour allows you to see many of the main attractions in Copenhagen in a short period of time. Although you have/will have seen most of these, it’s still pretty cool taking a bike ride around the city. You’ll discover that every street in Copenhagen is pretty. There are beautiful coloured houses everywhere, not just along the canal!

So I would suggest taking a bike tour of Copenhagen. It will only take about 2 hours of your time, and allow you to see many of the main sights. This means that if you don’t want to revisit, you could end your Copenhagen trip here. But I wouldn’t opt for this approach.

A person on a bike in Copenhagen, a bike tour is a fun activity during a Copenhagen 2 days itinerary.

Once you have finished your bike tour of the city, head to the Round Tower for a third and final extraordinary birds’ eye view of Copenhagen.

The Round Tower is a historic landmark in Copenhagen. You can visit the church as well as walk up to the top of the tower. Throughout the walk to the top, there are a few stops to learn about the history of the tower and what certain rooms used to be used for. It’s very enlightening.

The view from the top is amazing. It’s hard to compare the 3 views offered from Copenhagen Zoo, Christiansborg and the Round Tower, but I would say that the Round Tower is hard to beat. Take a look for yourself!

The view from the Round Tower.

There are two main reasons I love the view from the Round Tower. Firstly, Copenhagen and orange rooftops are synonymous to me, and the view from the Round Tower offers this. Secondly, Copenhagen is known as “The City of Spires” and once again, the Round Tower summarises this nickname perfectly.

From the Round Tower, take the short walk to Rosenborg Castle. The castle itself is beautiful and the green architecture is amazing, but the inside is equally as impressive! This is why I think you should re-visit things that were included in the bike tour. Although the bike tour allowed you to see Rosenborg, it didn’t allow you to go inside.

Inside Rosenborg is an arrary of items, artefacts and historical properties. The main attractions are without a doubt the coronation thrones and the Crown Jewels. They are the first crows I have seen. I’ve visited London but not the Tower of London, but the Danish Royal Family did not disappoint. Look, wow!

A picture of Rosenborg Castle.
A picture of two crowns in Rosenborg Castle.

And for your last stop on your Copenhagen 2 days itinerary, head in The Little Mermaid’s direction. The walk leading to the Little Mermaid is a peaceful and scenic one- the surrounding area is really nice with a windmill, castle and small church to observe while going towards the infamous mermaid statue.

However, I would say, if your bike tour visited the Little Mermaid, there’s not much point in returning. You will have seen everything there is to see.

And in my opinion, the statue isn’t everything it’s made out to be. It’s pretty underwhelming, to be honest. So if you are stuck for time and need to find something to skip, skip the Little Mermaid. That being said, if you do have time, I would visit anyway, just to say you have seen it. It’s one of the most known things in Copenhagen after all.

The Little Mermaid statue in front of the canal.

And unfortunately, that brings an end to your Copenhagen trip! 🙁

Essential Things To Do In Copenhagen

If you choose to make your own Copenhagen 2 days itinerary, you’ll want to know the “must-do” and “must-see” things in Copenhagen. To help you, I’ve compiled a short list of things that make Copenhagen worth visiting.

  1. Nyhavn
  2. Canal Tour
  3. Christiansborg Palace
  4. Christiansborg Tower
  5. Tivoli Gardens
  6. Bike tour
  7. The Round Tower
  8. Rosenborg Castle
  9. The Little Mermaid

On top of these 9 essentials, I would also visit Copenhagen Zoo and Frederiksberg Palace, if you have the time.

Where To Stay In Copenhagen

In my opinion, the best area of Copenhagen to stay in is near the Copenhagen Central Station, København H. This allows you to maximise your time, especially useful if you only have 2 days, as everything in Copenhagen is within walking distance. The most you will walk is 30 minutes.

There are amazing options for hotels, budget-hotels and even hostels. My personal recommendation would be Zoku Copenhagen. It’s a really nice hotel, located in the heart of the city. It’s also extremely highly-rated, with a 9.1/10 score on Booking.com. I would suggest staying here for anyone!

If your budget is a little smaller, you may choose Cabinn City, one of the best budget-hotels I have ever seen. It’s got the qualities of a top hotel but the price of a budget-hotel. You can’t really ask for much more than that! It’s also well-rated, with a score of 7.1/10, and overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Lastly, if you are a solo traveller, or a budget-traveller, you may wish to stay in a hostel. The best hostel I have ever stayed in, anywhere in the world, is Next House Copenhagen. You get a private pod instead of a bunk bed, there’s multiple bars and restaurants. And a gym and a football pitch. Can’t ask for much more than that!

➡️ Best hotel in Copenhagen: Zoku Copenhagen
➡️ Best budget-friendly hotel in Copenhagen: Cabinn City
➡️ Best hostel in Copenhagen: Next House Copenhagen

Copenhagen 2 Days FAQ

Below are a number of questions related to spending 2 days in Copenhagen, along with my answers.

How do you spend 2 days in Copenhagen?

Spend your first day visiting Nyhavn, Christiansborg, Copenhagen Zoo and Tivoli Gardens. On your second day, visit the Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle and the Little Mermaid. Also take a canal tour and a bike tour during your trip.

Can you do Copenhagen in 2 days?

Yes, it’s possible to see all of the main attractions in Copenhagen in 2 days, but you will have a very tightly packed schedule.

What to see in Copenhagen in 2 days?

Nyhavn, Christiansborg Palace, Tivoli Gardens, The Round Tower, Rosenborg Castle, and The Little Mermaid are 6 must-see attractions when spending 2 days in Copenhagen.

What is the best area to stay in Copenhagen for 2 days?

The best area to stay in for 2 days in Copenhagen is near the Copenhagen Central Station. Most of the main atractions are within walking distance of the station, meaning you won’t waste too much time on transport. It also means you will be near the station, making it easy for when you arrive and leave Copenhagen.

Copenhagen 2 Days Itinerary: Conclusion

And there you have it! A complete and detailed Copenhagen 2 Days Itinerary.

Make sure to be strict with your time and follow the itinerary closely in order to see all of the main attractions during your short amount of time in Denmark.

It’s a jam-packed 2 days, but 2 days that are worth it! Copenhagen is amazing and definitely worth seeing as much of as possible.

Have a great trip, you’ll love it!