Denmark has a reputation for being expensive, but you can visit on a budget. The capital – Copenhagen – is a great city to explore however much you have to spend.
I visited solo in July 2026 – here’s how I enjoyed my Copenhagen trip without spending a lot of money.
Things To Do in Copenhagen – My Experience
There’s plenty to do in Copenhagen on a budget – here’s what I got up to.
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Free things to do in Copenhagen
Cheap things to do in Copenhagen
Cheap accommodation in Copenhagen
How much is public transport in Copenhagen?
Free Things To Do in Copenhagen
Swim in the harbour
Copenhagen has extremely clean water and there are a bunch of places in the city where you can swim.
Some swimming spots are a bit like a lido with roped-off areas for swimming and doing lengths, with lifeguards in peak times and toilet facilities. Others are more informal, with simply a ladder down to the water.
Don’t just jump in anywhere – there are designated places for swimming and if you try and do it somewhere unauthorised you could get a fine, not to mention it’s unsafe.
The water quality is monitored, and if for some reason it’s not OK to swim, there will be a red flag or a light to show it’s prohibited.
Sandkaj Badezone, Nordhavn
My favourite place to swim is Sandkaj Baths in Nordhavn. This is quite a newly developed area of the city – Århusgadekvarteret – and it felt laidback and local, which is how I like it!
Here there’s a lido pool, a swimming lane, lifeguards in summer and a toilet. It’s a short 5-minute walk from Nordhavn metro stop.
If you’re travelling solo and wondering what to do with your things while you swim – well here I just left them unattended. Of course you need to decide what you’re comfortable with, but in this specific spot I felt fine leaving my bag.
I actually didn’t even ask the person next to me to watch it – it felt like there was an unspoken agreement that everyone here has an eye on their neighbours’ things. It was quite a quiet spot without any real through-traffic though, and I left my bag where I could see it from the water.
Papirøen
This is a city centre swimming spot in the Papirøen area, currently under development.
It was cool to swim in the city centre opposite the iconic Copenhagen Playhouse, but personally I didn’t really like this swimming spot. There was no roped-off area, and lots of boats go past making the water quite choppy. It was also very busy, and I couldn’t see my bag from the water. Here I did ask someone to watch my bag, and they asked me to watch theirs too.
However, things will soon change – when building work is finished here, there’ll be a new Water Culture House (Vandkulturhuset) where you can swim in outdoor and indoor pools, and a whole acquatic and wellness centre too.
Here are some other swimming spots I researched before my trip:
Sluseholmen: For a while I thought I might stay in South Harbour – Sydhavnen – where Sluseholmen is. This is a laidback spot more frequented by locals and families.
Kastrup: This platform has a cool spiral formation and is known as Sneglen (the snail) – one for the design enthusiasts. Kastrup is near the airport (one stop on the metro) so a good one to factor into your journey to or from it.
Islands Brugge: The OG swimming spot. I went here on my first trip to Copenhagen and there’s a great vibe. In summer in the evenings everyone spills out onto the grass nearby for drinks and picnics. There’s a food truck near here, La Bristol, which looks delicious.
Visit Nyhavn
Nyhavn is an iconic part of Copenhagen which you’ve probably seen in pictures. It’s a very picturesque area with colourful houses along the waterfront.
My pet peeve with visiting popular places is that the advice is always to go extremely early – and I think, ‘But I’m on holiday! I don’t want to get up early!’. But I’d grudgingly say this one is probably a place it’s worth popping to first thing.
Unless you visit in summer like I did – then I suggest going later in the day. I went at 8pm and it was nice and quiet and still light enough for good photos. I sat on a bench with my dinner (and one eye on the gulls!) and had it all to myself.
Explore Christiania
Christiania is a self-governing area – a kind of city within the city. It first developed as a kind of counterpoint to the strict authorities, and even though it’s a more ‘official’ place today with many residents owning their homes, it still proudly displays its anarchic roots.
It’s a nice place to spend a few hours, maybe have a coffee or beer, shop for some local souvenirs and just soak up the lifestyle.
Visit Copenhagen’s gardens
On my last day in Copenhagen, when I had a full backpack I didn’t want to lug around in the heat, I decided to find a garden to relax in.
Royal Library Gardens – I spent a lovely few hours in the garden of the Royal Library. There are benches here and lots of shade, and there’s also a coffee stand. If you need the toilet while you’re here, you can go in Black Diamond – the library’s cultural centre – which is a few minutes’ walk away and worth a look at in its own right.
Other options I considered were Kings Garden (Kongens Have), which is the garden of Rosenborg Castle, and the Botanical Gardens – these are free (you pay to go in the glasshouse) but when I visited (July 2026) there was restoration going on so it wasn’t the zen location I had in mind!
Step inside the Black Diamond
The Royal Library’s culture centre is known as the Black Diamond, and it’s a stunning piece of architecture that’s free to go inside.
Go to a Copenhagen museum on a free day
Some of the city museums are free to enter on the last Wednesday of the month. These include:
Museum of Copenhagen – official city museum
Glyptotek – antique art gallery
Charlottenberg Palace – fine art museum
Thorvaldsens Museum – sculpture museum
See the Changing of the Guard
The guard at Amalienborg Palace changes daily at 12 noon, and you can watch them striding along the streets from their barracks by Rosenborg Castle up to the palace.
Perhaps more one for the kids, or enthusiastic royalists – just make sure you position yourself sensibly and don’t get in their path!
Admire the view from Chistiansborg Tower
To get a great view out over Copenhagen, you can climb the tower of the Danish parliament building for free. You can also pay a fee to visit Christiansborg Palace.
Catch the harbour bus
If you get a public transport pass while you’re in Copenhagen, then you can catch the yellow harbour bus for free – it’s included.
This is a great free way to see the city from the water without having to pay for a specific boat tour.
Cheap Things To Do in Copenhagen
Hire a bike
If you’re confident on two wheels, the best way to see Copenhagen – and experience it like a local – is on a bike.
The easiest option is probably to hire a Donkey Bike, which costs 12 DKK for the first 10 minutes (about £1.50 or $2) and 1.4 DKK every minute after that (about £0.15 or $0.20), capped at a maximum of 250 DKK (about £28.50 or $38) in a day.
Have a communal meal
In Denmark they have a word, fællesspisning, which means communal dining, and there are a few places in the city where you can do this.
I went to Folkhuset Absalon, which does a very reasonably priced one – 75 DKK (about £8.50 or $11.50). It’s a kind of community centre and has a whole events programme with lots of affordably-priced things to do. Definitely check out these out if you’re on a budget, and especially if you’re travelling solo and looking for a bit of community!
At Absalon they do fællesspisninig every day – Sun-Wed it’s a main meal only and Thu-Sat they do dessert as well (so it costs a little more). Book to make sure there’s space for you.
When I went the food was delicious and I shared a table with some lovely people – coming from Italy, Spain, India, the US, Denmark and the UK. There’s always a vegetarian option – just tell them in advance – and you can buy drinks there too.
There’s also a communal dinner at Kanalhuset hotel, which I didn’t do because I was on a very strict budget but it looked nice. You should also book this one in advance, it’s more expensive at 175 DKK – about £20 or $26.50.
Do a boat tour
If you aren’t buying a transport pass – which includes rides on the harbour boat for free – then a cheap boat tour option is Netto, departing from Holmens Canal or Nyhavn.
It’s a 60 minute trip that costs 80 DKK for adults – about £9 or $12 – and half that for kids.
Go up the Round Tower
This iconic building in Copenhagen has a spiral ramp which is quite a unique experience to climb.
Learn about the history of the building and see amazing views from the top, where there’s also an observatory – during winter you can look for planets!
It costs 60 DKK (about £7 or $9) to go up, but there’s some restoration work going on in 2026 so check before you go.
Eat a cinammon bun
I love to try local snacks and drinks when I travel, I find it’s a cheap way to try authentic food and drink without having to pay for a whole meal out.
Now when it comes to how much you can pay for a bun, the sky is probably the limit, but you can find cheaper bakeries.
I went to Sinne gas bageri in Østerbro, where a cinnamon roll and a BMO (bread roll with cheese) were each 38 DKK – about £4 or $6.
Dine in Nørrebro
If you’re looking for meals on a budget, then Nørrebro is a good place to head to, as here you’ll find lots of international cuisines that are typically more affordable – things like falafel, kebabs and noodles.
A couple of places I made a note of but didn’t get around to trying are Viet Thai and Shaku Maku (Shawarma & Falafel).
Cheap Accommodation in Copenhagen
Now accommodation in Copenhagen is pretty expensive, hotels can cost serious money here.
I’m a solo traveller, so I needed to get creative because without someone to split the cost of a hotel with, they are way out of my budget.
The cheapest options are to stay in a hostel or a capsule hotel – or my preferred one, which is to get a room in someone’s apartment. I use Airbnb for this, you can filter search results by ‘room only’ and easily browse what’s available.
My Copenhagen accommodation was definitely the cheap win of my trip. I paid £165 for 3 nights – that’s £55 per night! This was for a spacious, light, airy, clean double room in the city centre (Indre By). I think this is an amazing price and I don’t even want to think about how much a comparable hotel room would have cost!
Here’s the room I stayed in, they only accept female solo travellers. I found the family friendly and welcoming and the place was just perfect for my needs.
How much is public transport in Copenhagen?
I used public transport whilst in Copenhagen as I am not a confident cyclist!
I paid 220 DKK (about £25 or $33.50) for a 72 hour public transport pass. This is the City Pass Small and includes travel to and from the airport, all metros and buses in zones 1-4 and even the harbour bus – great for a free boat trip!
This is about £8 a day for unlimited transport, which I think is pretty decent for unlimited travel in a popular European capital.
A 24 hour pass is 100 DKK (about £11.50 or $15) and a 48 hour pass is 160 DKK (about £18 or $24.50).
Final Thoughts – Copenhagen On a Budget
You can definitely visit Copenhagen on a budget, so if you don’t have a lot of money for your trip – don’t be put off!
Keep costs down by doing free activites, being selective about the ones you pay for and either making meals at your accommodation or choosing cheap foods to-go. And of course, renting a room in an apartment will keep your accommodation costs down significantly.
My top tip is to visit in summer, because the weather is mild and you can do lots of free and cheap things like harbour swimming, picnics and just walking around experiencing city life.
You also get more daylight hours, and it’s easier to travel with just hand luggage because you need fewer layers!
If you’re curious, you can see more of my Copenhagen shenanigans over on my Instagram.
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