Copenhagen on a student budget

By Twenty Abroad - September 02, 2017


Copenhagen so far is one of my most favourite cities in Europe. The city gave me a very pleasant and friendly first impression by greeting me with its typical colourful and lovely houses along the street. And the Danes are just as lovely as the city, at least those I have met. There were more than once a completely stranger came to me and my friend to check if we need any help when the two of us were trying to deal with the Google maps that was acting up. I mean it’s so amazing to realise how a simple act of kindness like that could make your day much much better. So after spending three days here I couldn’t find anything I didn’t like about it except for the prices (actually not only Copenhagen but Denmark as a whole). Copenhagen is undeniably really expensive, and if you haven’t known, the VAT in Denmark is 25%. Yes, twenty-five percent! 
                                                                               
You may now have a rough idea how difficult it is to travel around the city on budget. But I made it with just €200 for three days! If you’re students who are short on budget or simply want to challenge yourself travelling on budget in one of the most expensive cities in the world, these little tips might be useful for you! 


Accomodation

Crowne Plaza

I was really lucky because the friend I travelled with works in Crowne Plaza Geneva so she was able to get us a discount price for our room in Crowne Plaza Copenhagen. The amount we had to pay was roughly €30 per person per night. Considering it is a 4.5-star business hotel this price was really deal. Even without the staff discount the price here is still very attractive so I’d definitely recommend putting this hotel into your consideration list when you’re making plan for your trip to Copenhagen. The hotel also offers airport shuttle service so if you plan to stay here don’t forget to ask the reception about the service and book it beforehand. 


Transportation

Single trip ticket | 24DKK (approximately €3.3) for 2 zones

In order to save money we decided to only purchase train ticket to and from the city and walk for the rest of time. The ticket price varies depending on the number of zones you travel and you can use the same ticket on bus, train, and metro the purchase time up to 1 or 2 hours (it usually states on the ticket). So if you want to save money like we did, you can purchase a single trip ticket then go to the furthest place in your plan by train or bus, spend less than 1 hour there and immediately take another train or bus back to the city and walk from there. Although it may sound like a pretty smart plan but in reality it’s not that easy to achieve. We tried to do it twice but failed once because we were so amazed at the Citadel that were completely lost track of time. So in the end we had to walk back to the city for 30 minutes, in a sunny 23-degree summer day.

Citypass | 80DKK (approximately €11) for a 24-hour pass

If you’re not very fond of long-distance walking I’d advise to get a city pass, which offers unlimited travel by bus, train, metro for 24 or 72 hours in zone 1, 2, 3 and 4.


Things to do

Museums

When you come to Copenhagen you’ll find that most of the major museums here charge admission fees, which can be quite pricey. However, don’t make that stop you from checking all the excellent collections they have. Like some other countries, museums in Copenhagen also have special free-admission days for everyone when you can enjoy magnificent architectural experience, beautiful galleries and exhibitions without spending a single kroner.

Tuesday

The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek


Glyptoteket is the only museum that offers free admission on Tuesday and was also the only one I could visit on my trip. In the heart of the museum there is a Winter Garden where you’ll find yourself surrounded by tall palm trees, a little fountain and beautiful The Water Mother sculpture. This is not the biggest museum I have visited but it is still filled with high quality collections of classical Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Egypt art as well as modern Danish painting and sculpture. When you go there do not miss out gorgeous decorative glass ceilings, which creates luminous and some kind of magical atmosphere in the stair hall.




Wednesday

We couldn’t visit neither of the museums that are free on Wednesday because we had another plan to check out the Little Mermaid and Christiansborg Palace. So I can’t tell you my experience there but when you click on the museum name it will take you to the official website where you can find more details about its collections, ongoing events and exhibitions.

Danish Architecture Centre (From 5pm to 9pm)

Thorvaldsen Museum 


Attractions

Nyhavn


If you search for Copenhagen on Google I believe that half of the results for images are taken at Nyhavn. Although a lot of tourists gather here and restaurants by the river are more on the expensive side I still really enjoyed the lively atmosphere here. There are a few old sailing ships on the river where you can sit and chill out with your friends. Having a glass of cold beer while facing the harbour’s beautiful old houses, trust me, there is nothing could be more perfect.

Little Mermaid


The signature of Copenhagen. When I arrived there, exactly like what I expected, there were tons of people trying to take a photo with the statue so it was difficult for us to even come near it. If you want to take a photo with the Little Mermaid I’d advise to come early around 7 or 8 in the morning.

The Citadel (Kastellet)


This was probably my friend’s favourite place in Copenhagen. Just three-minute walk from the Little Mermaid you can see Copenhagen’s old star fortress that was found in 1662, remaining as one of the best preserved fortresses in Europe. It’s hard to tell that this is a military fortress because inside it looks more like a lovely small village in the past. Although it’s now open to public Kastellet is still a military operated facility, so keep it in mind that the fortress can be closed occasionally for military purposes. Otherwise, I’d say this is the perfect place to visit if you want to learn more about military history of Denmark or simply to have a walk in a sunny day.

The King’s Garden (Rosenborg Gardens)


Beautiful gardens in front of the Rosenborg Castle with Hercules Pavillon and Hans Christian Andersen statue on the side, and the vast flowerbeds during spring and summer months; this is more like a garden of fairy tales to me. In summer the park is always full of people but never get to crowded to secure you a place to relax and chill out with friends and family.

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These are a few places that are free to visit in Copenhagen I’ve discovered during my visit here. For sure that’s not all of them but I hope you guys find this guide useful for planning your own on-budget trip to this lovely city. 

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