15+ Unusual Things To Do in Copenhagen | Weekend in Copenhagen

In this post, I would like to share with you over 15 unusual things to do in Copenhagen if you already visited all the touristy spots or maybe just want to do something different!

I wanted to say big thanks to Visit Copenhagen, who provided us with Copenhagen VIP cards. With Copenhagen cards, you can can save a lot of money on museums, transport (it’s free with the pass), excursions and even canal tours. For some of the attractions that we are featuring in this post, we paid using our Copenhagen cards, so it was very helpful. 

Before we start with unusual things to do in Copenhagen, let’s clarify a couple of questions first. 

How expensive is Copenhagen?

After I published photos from Copenhagen on Instagram, some of my followers DMed me and asked, whether Copenhagen is as expensive as everybody says. Well, I must confirm that everything people are talking about is true – Copenhagen is expensive even for Londoners. However, you don’t have to spend a fortune in Copenhagen to enjoy your stay in the city and there are ways to visit Copenhagen on a budget. Especially if you’re planning to visit some of the unusual things to do in Copenhagen, as non-touristy attractions are often free!

Even though the flights to Copenhagen are normally quite affordable (especially with Ryanair), hotels are really expensive. We stayed in a hotel called Moxy, which was just 8 minutes away (by train) from the central train station in Copenhagen. Getting there was very easy and also, the hotel was very modern, had a great breakfast and overall, left a wonderful impression. It wasn’t that expensive as well – in fact, it was one of the cheapest hotels in Copenhagen – we only paid about £100 per night (that’s cheap in Denmark). Prepare to spend at least 300DKK per person per day for meals in Copenhagen (that’s about 36 GBP). However, if you go to a nice restaurant, 1 dish will likely cost that much. That’s why so many people come to Copenhagen for a weekend and not any longer – even a weekend in Copenhagen is already pricey!

Where to stay in Copenhagen?

If you’re wondering, where to stay in Copenhagen for a weekend, I would recommend Hotel Moxy, where we stayed for 1 night. It’s affordable and close to the city centre, however, you need to take public transport to get there (but it only takes 10 minutes by train to get to the hotel). If you’re looking for even more affordable options and hostels, consider staying in Steel House Copenhagen or Woodah Hostel.

Some cool tours to take in Copenhagen:

If you’re interested in taking an alternative or cool tour in Copenhagen, you might want to consider these options:

2.5-hour Alternative tour of Copenhagen 

3-hour tour – Copenhagen by bike 

2.5-hour food tour of Copenhagen 

2-hour “Hidden Gems” canal tour 

What to pack for Copenhagen?

Wondering, what to pack for Copenhagen? Well, Copenhagen is not the warmest city in Europe, so make sure to bring many layers of clothes, even in summer. I also recommend bringing a waterproof parka and shoes that don’t get wet easily. Summer can be very warm, but it can also be quite cold, so bring a couple of hoodies or sweaters even if you’re going in summer (unless you’re going for 2 days to Copenhagen and the weather forecast says hot and sunny).

Finally, without further ado, let’s get started with 15+ unusual things to do in Copenhagen for a weekend!

15+ unusual things to do in Copenhagen

Hire an electric scooter 

One of the activities that you must do in Copenhagen is to hire an electric scooter. One of the biggest companies out there is Lime. We were familiar with Lime from London, that’s why we had the app installed before we even arrived in Copenhagen. If you don’t have the Lime app, you can download it from here. 

Hiring an electric scooter is not cheap (you pay per km and per minute), however, it’s very fun and Copenhagen is a city that is perfect for bikes and scooters with plenty of cycling lanes and overall a very chilled atmosphere. We drove all the way from the city centre to Reffen street food market and paid about 60 DKK per person. 

​Visit a street food market 

Restaurants in Copenhagen are very expensive. And unfortunately, for that price, they aren’t even that good. That’s why I recommend you to visit one of Copenhagen’s street food markets. The biggest street food market in Copenhagen is Reffen – it has over 50 stalls of different foods, from Danish smorrebrod (smørrebrød) to Jamaican Jerk chicken. That’s where I also tried the best ceviche in my life – very unexpectedly!

​Take a boat tour

We got a free boat tour with our Copenhagen city cards and we really enjoyed it! The tour lasted for 1 hour and it was great to see the city from the water as well as see different areas of Copenhagen, where we later returned on foot and by scooter. 

​Visit some of the most Instagrammable streets

Copenhagen has plenty of amazing Instagrammable places and I should definitely write a post about the most Instagrammable spots in Copenhagen. If you wanted around the city centre, you will see a lot of beautiful streets with really photogenic and Instagrammable houses.

​Try the traditional smørrebrød – Danish open sandwiches

You can’t leave Copenhagen without trying the traditional smørrebrød – a variety of open sandwiches on rye bread with fishes (e.g. herring or salmon) or meat, eggs, butter and various spreads and veggies. You can try them in any traditional restaurant or even in a food court of a shopping mall.

​Enjoy a panorama of Copenhagen sipping Danish coffee

Coffee is a very popular drink in Copenhagen and you can find it basically everywhere. However, unlike London, not many places do decaf (I only drink decaf, so it was a problem for me, however, I suppose, it wouldn’t matter much for you). One of the best places to drink coffee and enjoy a stunning view is the department store Illum. On the top floor, there is a space with plenty of cafes, restaurants and shops. You can grab a coffee and go on a terrace overlooking the heart of Copenhagen.

​Try a traditional Danish pastry in Lagkagehuset 

You also can’t leave Copenhagen without trying a traditional Danish pastry. Some of the best Danish pastries you can buy in a chain of bakeries called Lagkagehuset. However, if you’re living in London, you know that there is Lagkagehusen in London as well, where it goes by the name Ole & Steen. 

​Visit the Freetown Christiania

If you haven’t heard of it before, basically, there is an anarchist community in the middle of Copenhagen that has about 1000 residents. Christiania was started by the group of hippies, squatters and anarchists in 1971 when they occupied an empty military territory in the heart of Copenhagen. Since then, it was a sort of independent territory, where drugs are legal and sold on the streets. However, Christiania is not dangerous for visitors (at least during the day) – it has plenty of nice coffee places, shops and even restaurant, so people often go to the area to party. Moreover, Christiania is also very popular with tourists. You can’t, however, take photos in the Main Street, where the drug trade is happening. Visiting Christiania is one of the hipster and alternative things to do in Copenhagen.

​Enjoy the rides in Tivoli 

Tivoli is a theme park in the city centre of Copenhagen. You need to pay the entrance fee of about 140 DKK just to enter the park and then pay for the rides separately or you can buy an unlimited ticket that includes the entrance to the park and all the rides. If you have a Copenhagen Card, the entrance is free, so we went in and were very impressed how nicely decorated the park was. If it was a bit warmer, we would have definitely taken a couple of rides as well! Even if you’re only spending a weekend in Copenhagen, you have to visit Tivoli (you can do it after all the other attractions close, as Tivoli is often open until midnight).

​Watch the sunset in Nyhavn

Nyhavn is the most famous and also the prettiest area of Copenhagen. You must have seen it on all the magnets and postcards and it’s very photogenic! It’s usually very crowded during the day, however, we noticed way fewer people during the sunset and the views were also stunning!

​Have a picnic in Kastellet

Kastellet or Citadel is a very famous fortress in Copenhagen. It’s located on a small island (very close to the Little Mermaid) and you can get there by crossing the bridge. Inside the fortress, there are plenty of buildings, however, the most remarkable one, in my opinion, is this windmill. On a warm and sunny day, you can just sit in the park and have a snack or even a picnic with a wonderful view. 

​Have a shot of traditional Danish Akvavit 

One of the traditional Danish drinks is Akvavit – a drink very similar to vodka. It is distilled from grain and potatoes and has different flavours (depending on the herbs used). We tried it in a Danish restaurant and, well, it was an interesting experience!

​Climb to the top of Our Saviour Church 

If you climb to the top of Our Saviour Church, you will see a stunning 360 degrees panorama of the entire city. You need to climb over 400 steps and some of them are pretty tough (you need to climb), however, the view is insane and worth the climb!

​Enjoy a walk around the area of Christianshavn

Christianshavn is one of the nicest areas of Copenhagen. You will see beautiful colourful houses, canals and lots of people kayaking. There are also plenty of cafes you can visit in the area and it’s a great destination for a walk. 

​Go shopping to Strøget

If you want to buy some nice sustainable clothes from Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, head to Strøget – a shopping area of Copenhagen City Centre. 

​Try Liquorice Tea

Finally, the last of the cool things to do in Copenhagen, but not the least one is to try Liquorice tea and also some liquorice sweets (in case you haven’t tried them before). In my experience, people are divided into two categories – the ones that love liquorice and the ones that hate it. I really dislike liquorice, however, I fell in love with Liquorice tea. Maybe you will like it as well? You never know!

I hope you enjoyed this post about 15+ unusual to do in Copenhagen! Of course, there are more things to do including fabulous castles and interesting museums, however, this time, we only focused on millennial, cool and hipster things to do in Copenhagen. 

Have you ever been to Aarhus? We loved this Danish city as well! Check my post about the best things to do in Aarhus >>>

Interested in visiting other Scandinavian countries? I’ve got a post about the best things to do in Stockholm, Sweden and also a post about a Baltic sea cruise visiting Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Stockholm!