Copenhagen

Copenhagen (Danish: København) is the capital city of Denmark and the center of a moderate conurbation that is home to one million Danes. This “lovely old girl of a town” is large enough to constitute a mini Danish city, with excellent shopping, culture, and nightlife, yet small enough to feel intimate and secure. Despite its diverse urban landscape, the city is simple to explore. Copenhagen, which overlooks the Øresund Strait and is only minutes away from neighboring Sweden, acts as a cultural and geographical gateway between continental Europe and Scandinavia. Copenhagen is a city where ancient fairy tales meet dazzling modern architecture and world-class design, and where warm jazz meets sharp techno from the city’s cellars. You could think you’ve seen all there is to see in Copenhagen in a single day, but more investigation will keep you finding new things for months.

Copenhagen has a lot to offer visitors. Copenhagen has fantastic shopping, culture, and nightlife. The cityscape is defined by parks, promenades, and waterfronts, which are linked by a number of bridges. Copenhagen’s tourist attractions include Tivoli Gardens, the Little Mermaid Statue, the Amalienborg and Christiansborg palaces, Rosenborg Castle, Frederik’s Church, and other museums, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Tourism is a significant contribution to Copenhagen’s economy, owing to the city’s harbor, cultural attractions, and award-winning restaurants. Copenhagen has been one of Europe’s fastest growing urban locations since 2009. The city’s hotel capacity is rapidly expanding. From 2009 to 2013, it had a 42 percent increase in foreign bed nights (total number of nights spent by tourists), with a roughly 70 percent increase in Chinese visitors. In 2013, the overall number of bed nights in the Capital Region exceeded 9 million, while foreign bed nights were 5 million.

City break tourism is expected to have generated DKK 2 billion in revenue in 2010. However, 2010 was a banner year for city break tourism, with turnover increasing by 29 percent in a single year. In 2015, the port welcomed 680,000 cruise passengers.

INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS

Wonderful Copenhagen is Copenhagen’s official tourism agency.

• Visit Copenhagen, Vesterbrogade 4A (Across from Tivoli’s main entrance, near the central station),  +45 70 22 24 42, fax: +45 70 22 24 52, e-mail: [email protected]. Jan–Apr M–F 9:00–16:00, Sa 9:00–14:00; May–June M–Sa 9:00–18:00; July–Aug M–Sa 9:00–20:00, Su 10:00–18:00; Sep M–Sa 9:00–18:00; Oct–Dec M–F 9:00–16:00, Sa 9:00–14:00.

Like the rest of Denmark, Copenhagen has four different seasons. The warm season, from early May to late August, is unquestionably the finest time to come. Current weather predictions may be found on the website of the Danish Meteorological Institute.

Spring, although perilous since no one knows when it will arrive, might be the ideal time to visit the city. Copenhageners come out of hibernation on the first warm day of the year, generally in early May, and flood the city streets, parks, and outdoor cafés in a real burst of activity, happy that the country’s gloomy and dark winters are finally over. Many locals believe this to be the apex of the year.

Summers in Copenhagen are often warm, with an average temperature of around twenty degrees, and the days are long, peaking at eighteen hours on June 21st. If the weather gets too hot, you may cool yourself in one of the free pools in the center, which are located in the cold harbour waters. Copenhagen’s harbor is often regarded as the cleanest urban shoreline in the world. The majority of Copenhagen’s yearly events take place in June and July, and there is always activity on the streets when the weather shines.

Autumn and winter have a significant impact on the city. As most Copenhageners return home from work, the lively summer life fades and the streets become silent. This is where the Danish idea of hygge, which loosely translates as coziness, comes into play. It’s the way the locals cope with the short gloomy days. Friends and families get together for home cooking and candlelit chats with peaceful music on the radio. The Danes celebrate an autumn break in week 42, with several activities taking place, such as the night of culture. Christmas gives some respite to the short days in December, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, stores, and people’s windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and the majority of Danes embark on a drinking binge, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas dinners, work and family.

Please keep in mind that the weather in Copenhagen may be volatile and unexpected. Make careful to take garments in case of unexpected rain or cold (or, in the summer, heat), even if long-term predictions indicate otherwise. An umbrella, raincoat, and shoes that can survive a strong rainstorm may be useful. Copenhageners dress nicely, but they also dress practically, knowing that rain might ruin their perfectly picked outfits at any moment.

Copenhagen is part of the resund Region, which includes Denmark’s Zealand, Lolland-Falster, and Bornholm, as well as Sweden’s Scania. It is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand, partially on the island of Amager, and on a number of natural and man-made islands between the two.

Copenhagen is located 42 kilometers (26 miles) northwest of Malmö, Sweden.

Copenhagen is Denmark’s economic and financial center. According to 2010 statistics, the great majority of the 350,000 people employed in Copenhagen work in the service industry, including transportation and communications, commerce, and finance, with fewer than 10,000 working in manufacturing.

A.P. Mller-Mrsk, Novo Nordisk, Carlsberg, and Novozymes are among the worldwide corporations headquartered in Copenhagen. In addition, the city features thriving company clusters in a variety of innovative industries such as information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and clean technology.

Tourism is also becoming an increasingly significant industry for the Copenhagen economy, with record numbers set for the third year in a row in 2012.

The total number of hotel nights surpassed 8.1 million.

Libraries provide free internet connection for one hour at a time, although it is generally necessary to sign up ahead of time. The Hovedbibliotek (major library) includes 12 free workstations and a large range of foreign newspapers, located at Krystalgade 15.

In Copenhagen Central Station, there is an inexpensive (under DKK 20/hour) internet café. Furthermore, many restaurants, cafés, McDonald’s, and gas stations provide WiFi hotspots for customers with laptop computers, however they are somewhat more costly than internet cafés. OpenWiFi keeps track of the city’s hotspots.

If you have your own laptop, you may also take an S-train, which all offer free WiFi. However, since you will need to activate your account by email confirmation.

The Tourist Information Office is worth a visit and is situated near Copenhagen Central Station (2 km walk). The staff is really courteous and speaks practically every language. It is possible to book hotels straight from this office using PC terminals, and they give information on all available activities in Copenhagen, including museums, concerts, and festivals.