Pictures of the floating world

Copenhagen with kids: 10 fun activities

By Anna Purpurpurpur

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is a perfect location to spend a few days with kids, because the whole city has magical fairytale vibes! Get some comfortable shoes, warm clothes in case of wind or rain – and go exploring the city of Little Mermaid and Lego!

1. Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen founded in 1843 is an amusement park with multiple shops and cafes. It’s transformed into a festive fairytale with Christmas decorations hanging everywhere, peacocks roaming around and hyacinths blooming by the sidewalks.

Did you know that it was both visited by Andersen and Disney? Tivoli Gardens are decorated seasonally – wish I could see it for the spring festival! And I was also lucky to pop into Tivoli Gardens all dressed up for Halloween, and just look how amazing are those spooky decorations!

2. The Little Mermaid statue 

Did your kids heard about the Little Mermaid – I’m sure they did! And the Little Mermaid statue doesn’t need any special introduction: you undoubtedly know the tragic story (not the Disney one!) of a mermaid who trained her voice for legs to win the love of a prince but failed and has disappeared as a sea foam.

The statue made by sculptor Edvard Eriksen represents a bronze mermaid sitting on a granite rock near the Langelinie Pier. It dates back to 1913 and was presented to Copenhagen by brewer Carl Jacobsen. Sadly, the statue was vandalised on multiple occasions but always restored to its full glory.

3. Andersen Experience 

If you want more tragic stories (and the reality is not enough) or you’re just a fan of museums like me, pay a visit to the Hans Christian Andersen Experience. It hosts a permanent exhibition dedicated to Anderson and his life.

To be honest, the ‘museum; is a bit of a big name for this place, but you’ll for sure refresh Andersen’s fairy tales in your head and learn about the events of his life too including his childhood, his travels, his life in Copenhagen and the inspiration behind his fairytales.

4. Kastellet fortress

All kids love fortresses, right? The Kastellet fortress, or the Citadel, is located literally a minute walk away from the statue of the Little Mermaid, and it’s still used as a site for military activity. The citadel’s construction began as a redoubt in 1626.

The fortress in its final look – after many rebuilds and reconstructions – was erected in the shape of a star but you can only notice it from above. There are many buildings inside including a windmill, guard house, and a church. Once inside, you can walk along the moat and admire the beautiful red houses called The Rows there.

5. Children’s Museum 

Children’s museum is located inside the Denmark National Museum of Denmark. It occupies The Prince’s Palace, built in the mid-18th century, and is located in the city centre not far away from the City Hall Square and the Christiansborg Palace. 

The Children’s Museum is great for discoveries of Middle Ages activities, the 1930s school, and a Pakistan market. And of course, come exploring the main sections of museum too, especially the cultural artefacts of Greenland, and Aarhus cathedral.

For traditional Danish smørrebrøds, pay a visit to the museum restaurant SMÖR on the first floor.

6. Planetarium 

Visiting the Planetarium was definitely a highlight of our recent trip to Copenhagen, and I would definitely love to go there again!

This gorgeous modern building was designed by Knud Munk and opened in 1989, and one of the best things you can do there is to watch IMAX and 3D science films on the largest screen you’ve ever seen located in the Dome.

Most of them are in Danish but sometimes you can get the English translation too! Visiting the astronomical exhibition is a great activity as well. 

7. Copenhagen Zoo

 We were lucky to see Copenhagen Zoo around Halloween, and it was dressed up fantastically for the occasion: it probably had one of the best spooky pumpkin displays I’ve seen!

Apart from it, the zoo looks very modern and well-maintained. You can pet goats, try milking a cow (not a real one, though), eat alongside the giant pandas, and observe over 4 thousand animals, including babies!

There, you can meet elephants, red pandas, giraffes, zebras, hippos, tigers, and many other species – and add to the list that you’ll find enclosures as the architectural highlights as well.

8. Flagship Lego store

The LEGO Store at the Strøget is a must in Copenhagen because Denmark is its homeland. The company was founded by Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932 and started as a game with wooden blocks. The word LEGO is an abbreviation of two Danish words: ‘to play’ – ‘at LEge’ and ‘good’ – ‘GOdt.’

And you’ll absolutely love their store on the main shopping street of Copenhagen with exclusive toys, a giant Lego dragon, colourful houses of Nyhavn, and a cool monitor that reads which toy you’ve chosen and brings it live in front of you.

You can also scan your hand, and the system will give you one of the LEGO characters (my fav was the one with the Star Wars).

9. Round tower

The 17th-century Round Tower is located in the very centre of Copenhagen, and your kids will definitely enjoy visiting it! Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, after whom the Planetarium is named and who’s buried in Prague (see my guide), played a game-changing role in this science field, and astronomy was seen as a very important field.

This Round Tower is a result of it: it was commissioned by King Christian IV in the early 17th century as an observatory for watching the stars. Now, it’s a perfect observation spot to admire the skyline of Copenhagen from almost 35 metres above the ground!

There is also a library and temporary exhibitions held inside the tower: during our visit, there was an ecological insight into the wolves’ lives and conservational issues.

To get to the top, you’ll need to climb the equestrian staircase: as the legend goes, Russian Tsar Peter the Great really rode a horse there in 1716 while visiting the city, and his wife followed him in a carriage. 

10. Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace is located on an island inside the city and is now a place where the Danish Parliament sits. The first castle on this site was founded in the 12th century by Bishop Absalon. Later, several palaces were erected on this site: all of them were extremely “lucky” to catch fires, and each time a new version of the palace had to be rebuilt. 

The current palace was built at the beginning of the 20th century. You can see the history of the buildings at the exhibition called ‘the ruins’ (cuteness alert: there is even a centuries-old print of a cat’s paw on the unhardened building material, nothing changed since then right?), as well as visit library, kitchen and stables (the latter are not open all day, check the schedule in advance).

Royal chapel also is worth a visit. Around the palace there are actually quite a few museums to see such as The War Museum, The Jewish Museum and the National museum of Denmark, and of course you might also want to visit other palaces of Copenhagen with your little ones such as Amalienborg, the current residence of the royal family, and Rosenborg, a former summer residence built for Christian IV.

You might also like my other Scandinavian articles:

Stockholm, Sweden
Helsinki, Finland
Bergen, Norway
Norwegian fiords

Hope you liked my blog,
Yours,
Anna xxx

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