Copenhagen can take a big bite out of your travel budget. Many people give Denmark's culture capital a miss, for this very reason. However, if you are careful with your money, the long warm evenings of northern sunlight and happy Scandinavians can be all yours. I visited Copenhagen in June 2008, and here are a few money saving tips I used to stretch my weak dollars.
!b>Eating & Drinking
1—Picnic: Dine al fresco at least once a day. Restaurants will gobble up your travel budget pretty quickly in Denmark. Visit grocery stores like Super Best. Super Brugens, Irma, Netto, and Aldi for cheese, crackers, fruit, and juice. you'll be in heaven. Laks is served 10 different ways in Denmark. Cups and napkins are really pricey, so pack a few in your suitcase (or borrow from the breakfast buffet at the hotel). A Swiss Army knife will come in handy to cut up salami or open wine. Also a light sarong will make an easy picnic blanket. Feel free to bring a lunch with you whenever you visit a park, museum, festival, or event. The Danes do.
2—Dining Out: Eat out at lunch, when you visit a restaurant. Lunch is much less expensive than dinner. Lunch is also a delicious tradition in Denmark: smorbrod or open-faced sandwiches are a treat. Curried chicken, pickled herring, and burgers are eaten with a knife and fork. Buffets abound in Copenhagen: try Riz Raz vegetarian restaurants (there are 2 in the city). Each restaurant offers a huge Mediterranean Buffet with giant ceramic bowls full of homemade items like hummus, marinated vegetables, Greek salads, pastas. And for the kids, there's pizza. There's a Waggamama Noodle House just off Tivoli Gardens. The Japanese dishes are reasonable and yummy.
4—Beer: Buy a Turborg can at the market and drink in parks and along canals. What? I hear you say—I am not a wino. No, never said you were. It's just how the local folks do it. A beer at a café is about 35 KR ($7) and a beer at the store is about 5 KR ($1). Visit Nyborg Harbor on a sunny day and you'll see groups of gorgeous businessmen drinking in just this manner. It is legal to drink in public areas, and CPH is adorned with lovely parks.
5—Other libations: Be sure to visit the duty-free shop on your way into Denmark. Pick up a bottle of liquor or wine either at your stateside airport or while en route. There's also a duty-free shop open to all in-coming passengers at Kastrup Airport.
6—Coffee: Buy to-go (take away) coffee at 7-11. It is really quite tasty and costs 19 KR, versus the price of 30 KR in coffee shops. The 7-11 convenience stores in Denmark look grubby on the outside, but inside you'll find a clean and well-stocked shop that offers fruit, fresh Danish pastries called Weinerbrod, juices, and a cappuccino machine that makes good coffee.
7—Water & soda—Not a beer drinker? Have kids with you? Well, a Coke at lunch will cost you 22 KR. Tap water may cost you about 5 KR per glass! What to do? Order a big bottle of mineral water with your meal. The price for a liter of mineral water is about 30 KR and you'll have about 6 glasses to drink.
8—Carlsberg Brewery Tour: I wondered why the tasting room was so crowded, while tour was so empty of visitors, but now I know why. The locals skip the tour of the beer factory and go straight to the tasting room. For a 50 KR entry fee to the beer museum, you sample two full-sized beers (one premium and one standard brew). In contrast to the 100+ year-old brewery facilities, the tasting room is modern with sleek Scandinavian lines in glass and wood. Deliciously-cold beer served perfectly in pretty glassware. The same two beers in a café or bar would cost well over 75 KR. Pop by and take a tour, and maybe then pop back a bit later in the week for the drinks alone. Why not? The local folks do.
9--McDonalds: Okay, just listen. McD's in Denmark is designed with Scandinavian lines and décor. The value menu costs a 10 KR per item and there are lots of local Danish folks inside. Of course it not smorgasbord, but if you're in a pinch for something fast and inexpensive, McD's is a fairly good deal. They also offer items we rarelty see stateside, like "cheesy toppers" and joerdbeer McFlurries.
Every Little Bit Helps
1—Shopping Bags: Bring a bag for your shopping (or you'll have to buy one!). If you have a canvas bag or a string shopping bag, bring it along. Or, maybe just a plastic shopping bag from home will do. If you forget your bag when you shop, you'll spend an extra 5 KR every time you renter the shops.
2—Cup Return: At Tivoli, return your beer and soda cups in the little rekey machine and get 5 KR back per cup. Don't toss the cup away, like I did. I effectively tossed $3.00 into the trash bin after lunch at Tivoli.
3—Recycle: Don't toss your cans! Return and get back 1-3 KR per can. Recycle centers are quick and easy and fully automated. All you do is slide the can into the tube and the machine registers the can. When it's over, you'll get a receipt.
4—Pin Number: Do not leave home without it. Call your credit card issuer and ask for a pin. I read this advice in Rick Steves' Scandinavia and did not pay attention. Well, I was shocked when I could not pay my 500 KR dinner tab. No pin, no access to your credit (you use a pin, rather than signing here, it seems).
5—Fees: Be aware that many restaurants will charge you an additional fee of 3-4% if you use a credit card. They are simply passing on to you their costs of processing the card.
6—VAT: If you plan on a big purchase (say over $100) on an item you will take out of Denmark look for a shop with a "Duty Free" sticker. These shops will automatically reduce the price of your purchase by 25% (removing the Value Added Tax that EU residents pay on goods).
Activities & Sight Seeing
1—Concerts: CPH is chocked full of festivals, concerts, and productions in three summers. Find one, pack a picnic and head out like the Danes do. One way to see what's on is to read the English-language paper available weekly. Copies are available at hotels and at the Rathaus in the city center. Read up on all events in What's Up, a free guide in English to the city. Ask at the hotel front desk. Look for signs in parks, too. At Tivoli, there's a free rock concert every Friday night, include in the price of admission (85 KR to enter, 200 KR with ride bracelet).
2—Museums: Many museums in Copenhagen are free all the time: The National Museum of Denmark, the Statens Museum for Kunst, and the Museum of Danish Resistance. Also, be aware that several museums offer a "free admission" day. The glorious Ny Gyptotek is open to all on Sunday; the Danish Museum of Art and Design is free on Wednesday afternoons. Read your guide book and plan your itinerary around free days.
3—CPH Card: The Copenhagen visitor card is a pass to the city is 199 KR for 24 hours (www.visitcopenhagen.com). The card's price seems a bit much at first, but it will pay for itself if you use it wisely. Look over the book that accompanies the card and plan ahead. The card is only valid once you sign it, so fill in the date and time once you arrive at your first attraction.
Here's how I used my CPH Card to for maximum benefit. I visited attractions near one another, so I did not waste time traveling. I only visited free entrance attractions, rather than those only offering a discounted admission. I selected the attractions with the more expensive entrance fees. I include the full cost of the entry fees in brackets for an adult and child. My son entered free while accompanied by me.
On Tuesday, I arrived at the Denmark's Aquarium at 13:00 (one o'clock) and started the card (90KR/45 KR).
Next, we traveled to the renowned Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, which is open until 22:00. With all the sunshine until ten o'clock, we made the most of this gallery overlooking the sea (90 KR/0).
On Wednesday, we were up early at waiting for the H.C. Andersen Eventyruset to open at 10:00. After visiting the fairytale world of The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Pea (67 KR/ 34 KR) we ran over to The Danish Museum of Art and Design (50 KR/ 25 KR). At noon, we took the Metro (20 KR—all public transport is included on the CPH Card) to the Zoologisk Have (120 KR / 60 KR).
We barely made it, but we did enter the zoo at 12:45 -- and as you can see, we saved a considerable amount of money.
4—The Beach: Copenhagen sits on the sea, and all along its north and south shores, you'll find nice beaches. The water is clean and cold, and the rules relaxed. Feel free to sunbathe topless, have a beer, play paddle ball, or watch the ships sail by on their way to Sweden. Some fine beach towns are up north, like Gilleleje Veststrand. It's all good and free. There's even swimming in the CPH at Havnebadet, a pool by the harbor side (www.islands-brygge.com). Wherever you have a dip, you'll find ice cream kiosks (Is) all over. Have a kagler the Danish-way: two scoops in a waffle come topped with whipped cream and a squirt of strawberry sauce (20 KR).
5—The Park: Frederiksberg Have is a lovely park full of ducks and swans, a waterfall, a pacifier tree (little kids hang their binkies in the branches in hopes the fairies help them kick the habit, or so I've been lead to believe), boat rides along the canal, and elephants bathing. The city park is built along the zoo, so the elephants can be viewed as easily by those in the zoo and outside the zoo. The park is open and free and full of Danes being happy.
Denmark is a very expensive city, but the Danes are the happiest people on earth, according to a recent poll. How can that be? I think they are simply frugal and spend wisely. The advice I wrote above is based upon my month in Denmark, my friendship with two Frederiksberg's residents, and my own travel habits. I hope they help you to travel well, wisely, and above all—happily.
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