Visitors save with the cheap Copenhagen Card on sightseeing and tickets, especially when traveling by public transportation in Denmark.
The Copenhagen Card is a typical European city visitor’s pass that includes free admission to major sights, a travel card for public transportation, and further discounts on sights, events, experiences, tours, and restaurants. Active sightseeing, especially at the more expensive sites, can lead to big savings with the longer validity cards (up to 120 hours), particularly good value. The Copenhagen Card is also a very good deal for families with smaller children.
Using the Copenhagen Card
The Copenhagen Card covers admission to all major tourist sights in Copenhagen, public transportation in the city and northern Zealand region, and discounts for many experiences and restaurants.
Almost all major sights in Copenhagen are included for free admission on the Copenhagen Card. Major cultural sights and museums covered by the Copenhagen Card include amongst others the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK), the National Museum, and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. As are many sights in the larger Copenhagen region including, for example, all major sights in Helsingør / Elsinore (e.g. Hamlet’s Kronberg Castle), Frederiksborg Castle, the Louisiana, and Arken modern art museums, as well as the Viking Ship Museum and the magnificent Cathedral in Roskilde.
Top Royal sights in Copenhagen are also covered — the Renaissance Rosenborg Castle with the treasury and Danish crown jewels and the Amalienborg Palace.
Several experiences are also included in the Copenhagen Card such as the Visit Carlsberg beer brewery, Tivoli Gardens amusement park (ride tickets are extra), aquariums, and Copenhagen Zoo.
The views from the Christiansborg Palace tower are free but the more famous Rundetaarn Tower and Town Hall Tower are covered. Admission to churches in Copenhagen is free but the card gives access to the tower of the Vor Frelser Kirke in Christianshavn with its famous external staircase.
The Copenhagen Card also covers admission to many smaller and specialized museums making it worth at least peaking in for a quick visit e.g. the Museum of Copenhagen, the Medical Museion, the adjacent Design Museum, the Thorvaldsen Museum, the Danish Music Museum, the Odrupgaard Art Museum, and the Architect Centre.
Several further sights, tours, bicycle rental, and restaurants also give small discounts.
Free Transportation on the Copenhagen Card
The Copenhagen Card also includes public transportation for the larger Copenhagen region. This includes travel to amongst others Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Køge, Hillerød (Frederiksborg Castle), and Helsingør.
Travelers may use the Copenhagen metro, buses, harbor bus boats, S-trains (red), and regional trains. Some canal sightseeing cruise boats (not all companies participate) and lake boats may also be used. (Crossing the bridge from the airport to Sweden is not included!)
Saving with the Copenhagen Card
Huge savings with the Copenhagen Card are possible but largely depend on which sights are seen and if public transportation is used. The Copenhagen Card included public transportation for the larger Copenhagen regions, which usually cost DKK160 per day (City Pass Large 1-99), but many sights in central Copenhagen are easily reached on foot, or covered by a cheaper DKK80 City Pass Small 1-4 day ticket (buy at any metro station vending machine).
A handy app on the Copenhagen Card website allows visitors to easily pick sights and whether public transportation is required to compare prices with, and without, a Copenhagen Card. On an active day of sightseeing, most visitors will save using the card.
The card is valid once per attraction, irrespective of the duration of the card. (The previous once per day rule was scrapped.) However, it is still possible to enter a big site such as Tivoli, the National Museum, or Den BlĂĄ Planet aquarium, during the last minutes of validity and stay for hours.
Buying the Copenhagen Card
The Copenhagen Card is available for adults and children (ages 10 to 15) in four versions:
- 24-hour card – DKK419 (DKK209)
- 48-hour card – DKK619 (DKK309)
- 72-hour card – DKK759 (DKK379)
- 120-hour card – DKK999 (DKK499)
Two children younger than 10, i.e. aged 0 – 9 years, may accompany an adult for free on transportation and all sights.
Buy the Copenhagen Card at the service center at Copenhagen Airport, the tourist information office or Tivoli Box Office, or probably the easiest from many of the larger hotels in Copenhagen. It is generally not sold directly at attractions. It may also be bought online, e.g. from Get Your Guide but printed confirmation vouchers must be swapped for the physical card at tourist offices, easiest at the airport, main train station, or at Tivoli (when open). A mobile phone version is also available for immediate use.
Savings Tip: Buy the Copenhagen Card early in the year – prices usually increase in April but already purchased cards remain valid until the end of the year.
Apply the date and first full hour before using the card. The card only has to be valid at the time of entry to a site (or train) making it easy to extend any card by a few hours but don’t get stuck in admission queues at the critical moment!
The card must be shown to bus drivers when entering.
Many sights, especially museums, are closed on Monday and not all sights and experiences are open year-round.
Families Save with the Copenhagen Card
Families with smaller children may save the most with the Copenhagen Card as two children younger than 10 years travel for free with a paying adult. Although many sights are free to children anyway and children under 12 travel for free on public transportation if accompanied by a paying adult, families can save big when visiting some of the more expensive sights.
These are usually the ones aimed at families: an adult with two children almost break even on a 24-hour Copenhagen Card if visiting the Copenhagen Zoo or Den BlĂĄ Planet (National Aquarium) and will be ahead if using public transportation en route. A visit to Tivoli afterward saves another DKK300 or so. All three sites on a 48-hour card can save around DKK900.
