Using the Copenhagen Card to Save on Denmark Attractions

Date: July 10, 2018
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
B.A.Livin’ Savings: ~$475
48-hour Copenhagen Card: 1,188 DKK Danish Krone – per person (48 hour Copenhagen Card cost 568 DKK and to pay individually for the museums and transportation would have cost 1,757 DKK)

72-hour Copenhagen Card: 1,838 DKK Danish Krone – per person (72 hour Copenhagen Card cost 689 DKK and to pay individually for the museums and transportation would have cost 2,527 DKK)

Copenhagen had many museums/attractions that we wanted to go to. When I added up the price of entry to those museums, it was more than the price of even the 120-hour Copenhagen Card. While most of the museums in Copenhagen close at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm, there are a number of attractions that are open until 7:00 pm, 10:00 pm or later. I looked at the opening times and with so many that could be done later at night, I determined that we would be able to visit all the attractions we were interested in during the 72-hour window. Brian did not want to go to as many castles or museums as I did, so he could do everything during a 48-hour window.

What is the Copenhagen Card?

The Copenhagen Card is a 24-, 48-, 72-, or 120-hour pass that provides free entry to 86 attractions in and around Copenhagen, free public transportation and discounts to a few restaurants and other tours.

Is the Copenhagen Card Worth It?

Absolutely! Everyone should be able to save money with a 24-hour pass. If you want to do more longer passes are available. We were able to save money by buying the 48-hour pass versus paying to get into each museum we wanted to go to. We even had time to go to many other museums that we were not planning to, but went to because they were free entry with the pass.

Where Do You Buy The Copenhagen Card?

You can purchase the Copenhagen Card online and pick it up at one of the 4 locations around Copenhagen or have it shipped. You can also buy the card at one of the 99 sales points around Copenhagen. When you are ready to start using the pass, you write the date and start time on the card.

What Did We Visit With the 48-Hour Copenhagen Card?

The Copenhagen Card is good for 48 consecutive hours from when it is first activated, not entire calendar days. We started using our pass at 1:00 pm, so it was good until 12:59 pm two days later.

We started by taking a bus to the old Carlsberg brewhouse.

In the museum is the largest unopened beer bottle collection in the world. At the time we were there there were over 22,000 bottels.

A Carlsberg brewer, Carl Jacobsen, donated The Little Mermaid statue to the city of Copenhagen in 1913. Here is a replica of The Little Mermaid statue in the Carlsberg sculpture garden.

The tickets to the museum included a free beer.

Copenhagen has many people that bike to get from one place to another. After we left Carlsberg, we walked along this path to get to the train station.

Once we arrived back in the center of Copenhagen we went on a sightseeing train tour.

The train stopped at the main building for the University of Copenhagen. The University is the second oldest in Scandinavia, founded in 1479.

After a stop at the Nørreport station we went by The Round Tower, Rundetaarn.

The train’s next stop was in Gammel Strand square. 

The train returned to City Hall Square. At each stop the driver got out and said a little bit about where we were. The full loop took about 45 minutes, and since we hadn’t walked around the town at all, it gave us a better sense of direction. The train loop was small, though, and during our time in Copenhagen we walked everywhere the train went. The little bit that was talked about while on the train would not be worth paying for in our opinion, if we didn’t have the Copenhagen Card. This was something we did extra because the Copenhagen Card covered it.

After the train tour we went and did a canal tour. This was also something we did primarily because the Copenhagen Card covered it. The canal tour was really enjoyable and we recommend doing it if you are in Copenhagen.

We got on the boat from Gammel Strand and started by passing the 17th-century stock exchange, Børsen, building. The building is currently used by the Chamber of Commerce.

On top of the building, there are four dragons whose tails are wound together.

Here is the Copenhagen Opera House, which opened in 2005.

The boat took a smaller canal where there were mostly residential buildings. It was nice seeing an area that we didn’t walk in at all.

Here is Amager Bakke, the waste-to-energy plant. The plant opened on March 30, 2017 and there is a year-round artificial ski slope on the roof that is set to open in the fall of 2018.

Photo taken on a different day

The boat then made it way toward the large group of people where The Little Mermaid statue is.

From the boat we were able to see the back of the statue.

The boat went past Amalienborg Palace, where the royal family lives. The building on the right is the home of the Crown Prince and the building on the left is the home of the Queen. In the center, the dome is Frederik’s Church, Frederiks Kirke.

Next, the boat went past the Church of Our Saviour, Vor Frelsers Kirke, which we would climb later in the week. 

The boat passed under many bridges during the canal tour. Most of the bridges were very low; if you put your hand up, you could touch the top. This bridge is the narrowest one. It felt like the boat only had a couple inches on each side.

After the canal tour we went to Tycho Brahe Planetarium where we saw an exhibition about where and how all elements in the universe formed. The planetarium has a dome-shaped theater with a screen over 10,700 square feet. In the dome theater we saw the movie: The Search for Life in Space.

From the planetarium, we went to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! I had not been in one before and it was a lot bigger than we expected. This model is made out of toothpicks.

This picture is made out of bread that has been toasted.

The display was entertaining and we stopped in because entry is free with the Copenhagen Card, and it is open until 10:00 pm. Connected to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy-Tale House. The museum is about Hans Christian Andersen’s life and the fairy tales he wrote. There are some displays that briefly tell a few of the fairy tales. Han Christian Andersen wrote fairy tales such as: The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Match Girl and many others.

Continue reading our next post about how we spent the next day with the Copenhagen Card.