Christmas in Copenhagen: Best things to do (Including a free map)
- Gem
- Nov 14
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
Copenhagen is the perfect place to go during the holiday season. The city is full of christmas decorations, many christmas markets and seasonal treats. The cosy café's and the scandinavian weather make Copenhagen all the more special for a holiday trip. So, definitely a place to put on your list if you ask me!
During my visit at the end of november in 2024, I was on the quest to find all of the places that would get me in the perfect Christmas spirit. I luckily succeeded in my quest and even had a couple days of snow! Now I'm sharing a shortlist of the places that most contributed to my Christmas visit.
This list includes christmas markets, must-visit decorated streets, cosy café's to get seasonal delicacies and any other festive locations.
At the end of this quick read you can find a link to the google maps list of all the mentioned locations. In this way, you can easily find the best christmas locations as well. To get to these locations I hopped on the metro or I just walked there.
In a hurry? Pin this post for later!
1. Christmas Markets
Starting off with the most magical Christmas market: Christmas in Tivoli Garden. Tivoli is the world's second oldest amusement park which turns into a Winter Wonderland from the middle of November up until January (Exact dates 2025: 14th of November - 4th of January). During this period the park offers the largest Christmas Market in Copenhagen, including many magical stalls, stores and even restaurants.
Christmas Market at Tivoli Garden
To visit this magical place, you do have to pay for your
visit. Tickets can be bought at the entrance or online for 200 DKK (€26,79 or $30,84). The park also offers many rides for an extra contribution per ride or you can buy a ride pass to access them all. Although the price seems expensive, it is totally worth it compared to how big the park is and how much there is to see and do. I stayed here for around 3 hours in the evening, enjoying the views and stalls as well as drinks and snacks.
My two favourite, and free, Christmas Markets are Hans Christian Andersen Christmas Market and the Market at Thorvaldsens Plads. As you probably can guess, the Hans Christian Andersen Christmas Market is themed accordingly to the Danish storyteller. This market includes books, postcards, jewellery and food and drinks. Even Santa himself can be found here! The area around this market is also definitely worth walking around.
The Christmas Market at Thorvaldsens Plads is just as enjoyable for a different reason. At this Christmas Market you will find large 3D light installations as well as a very large lit up christmas tree. These installations and the market itself create a great atmosphere that you do not want to miss.
Lastly, located closely to the iconic Nyhavn, is the ice skating rink at Kongens Nytorv Square. From this square, you have a great view of many decorated buildings, especially Hotel D'Angleterre. This hotel goes all out with their decorations every year, on the inside and outside. This ice skating rink also has a couple of food and drink stalls located next to it so you can spend a bit of time here enjoying the atmosphere and the people.
Thorvaldens Plads Christmas Market (Left and Right) and the Ice Skating Rink at Kongens Nytorv Square (Middle)
2. Christmas Streets
There are a couple of streets that you can't miss while strolling around Copenhagen during the Christmas season. First of all, the iconic colourful street of Nyhavn. During the Christmas period, adding to the cosy restaurant terraces, the whole street is filled with christmas and winter themed stalls. This includes souvenirs, jewellery, clothing, food and drinks. Make sure to come here during the evening when the street is lively with lights and people.
Another street to add to your list is Strøget street, which starts on the left of Hotel D'anglettere. This street has a combination of high-end shops, souvenir shops and restaurants. The shops and the street are beautifully decorated which prompted me to take many pictures here.
Hotel D'Angleterre (Top Left), Nyhavn (Top and Bottom Right) and Strøget street (Bottom Left)
3. Cosy Café's for seaonal treats and drinks
During my visit I stumbled upon the cosiest café located on the water: Vinterhytten café (Also called Christianshavn boat rental & Café). In a festive atmosphere, with even a cute miniature Christmas train going around, this café offers seasonal and Danish pastries and drinks. Here, I tried Æbleskiver, which are pancake-like balls which are popular around Christmas time in Denmark. They were delicious! The coffee here is also great and you can also order Gløgg, another great seasonal product here described as spiced wine.
Coffee and Æbleskiver at Vinterhytten Café
These seasonal products can be ordered at many bars, restaurants and stalls around the city. Glögg can especially be found easily, but the price differs largely depending on its location. Buying a Glögg at Nyhavn or inside Tivoli Garden is significantly more expensive than at a stall elsewhere.
Another place to get delicious seasonal treats is Conditori La Glace, the oldest patisserie in Denmark. It is very popular with tourists as well as locals, also due to its great location in the city centre.
For book lovers: Paludan Bog & Café is the perfect place to go for a coffee or lunch. This café is placed inside a bookstore with many genres and languages.
Paludan Bog & Café
4. Other Locations
Other locations that I wouldn't exactly call Christmas locations, but that still were perfect to visit in this period were Frederiksborg Castle and Copenhagen University Library.
Frederiksborg Castle is located an hour outside of Copenhagen. It is fairly easy to take the train from the main station to the castle. Within an hour you step outside of the E-train in Hillerød, after which you can walk for 15 minutes or take a bus up to the castle. To find the right route I used the website publictransport.dk/getting-around.
The day I went to the castle it had snowed much, thus the castle and its gardens were covered in snow, adding to the magical atmosphere. Entrance to the garden is free, but I definitely recommend buying a ticket for 115 DKK (€15,40 or $17,75) to see the inside as well. Frederiksborg Castle is very large and has much to offer. Every room is different and there is even a church inside. Don't miss it!
Frederiksborg Castle in the snow
The Copenhagen University Library in Fiolstræde is a great place to escape to for book lovers and to escape from the cold or rain. It is also located close to many other attractions like the Rundetaarn and the Hans Christian Andersen Christmas Market. The library is over 160 years old and I was in awe of its interior.
Finally, I would recommend buying the Copenhagen City Card. I decided to buy this pass last-minute and it was definitely worth my money. With this card almost all popular attractions will give free entrance and it offers unlimited transport, even outside of Copenhagen. With this card I was able to go to Tivoli Garden and Frederiksborg Castle for example, saving a lot of money. Besides, it is also very convenient to not have to worry about buying transport tickets every time, since I took the metro very often.
The Copenhagen University Library
5. Online map with all locations
Here is a link to the Google Maps list which includes all of the mentioned locations:
All of the locations are easily reachable by public transport, as Copenhagen is well connected with the metro. The trains to outside of Copenhagen are also fairly easy to figure out.
Enjoy your trip and don't forget to also stay open for spontaneity!
Comments