Home Walking tours by city Copenhagen
Self-Guided Walking Tours in Copenhagen
Copenhagen pedestrianised its main street in 1962, when almost nobody was doing that, and has spent sixty years since removing cars from the centre a little at a time.
The result is a city that is quietly, almost invisibly, easy to move through on foot. Strøget runs 1.1 km without traffic; the harbour has swimmable water in the middle of the city; the bridges are built for bikes and walkers first. There is less spectacle here than in Rome or Paris, and more of a case for simply walking around, which is what the city is designed for.
Takes about a minute. Copenhagen is already filled in — choose your time, pace and interests and the route is planned around them.
What to build a Copenhagen walking tour around
Nyhavn
A commercial harbour dug in 1670 and, for most of its life, a rough sailors' quarter. Hans Christian Andersen lived at numbers 20, 67 and 18.
Tivoli Gardens
Open since 1843, and the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. Walt Disney visited and took notes.
Christiania
A former military barracks occupied in 1971 and still semi-autonomous. Photography is restricted in parts, and the rules are posted at the entrance.
Rosenborg Castle
Christian IV's summer house, now holding the crown jewels in a basement vault, surrounded by the King's Garden.
The Round Tower
A seventeenth-century observatory reached by a 209-metre spiral ramp rather than stairs — built so a horse and cart could carry instruments to the top.
Refshaleøen
A closed shipyard turned into food halls, saunas and studios. The clearest picture of what Copenhagen does with its industrial leftovers.
Three routes worth walking in Copenhagen
The classic centre
Rådhuspladsen, Strøget, the Round Tower, Rosenborg and Nyhavn — flat, car-free for most of its length, about 4 km.
The harbour walk
Across the Inner Harbour Bridge to Christianshavn, the Church of Our Saviour's external spiral spire, Christiania and out to Refshaleøen.
Vesterbro and the Meatpacking District
From the old red-light streets through the white-tiled Kødbyen — the part of the city that changed most in twenty years.
Practical notes for walking Copenhagen
- Terrain and surfaces
- Flat, with wide pavements and outstanding accessibility. The main hazard is the cycle lane — it sits between pavement and road, and moves fast.
- Best time to walk
- May to August, when daylight runs past 10pm. Winter is dark by 4pm, which is either cosy or grim depending on your tolerance.
- Driving here
- Expensive to park and unnecessary. Drive for Louisiana Museum up the coast, Kronborg at Helsingør, or over the bridge to Malmö in Sweden.
- Size
- Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark — population about 660,000.
Neighbourhoods worth a route of their own
Not just walking
The same route planner covers Copenhagen on foot, at a run, by bike, by car and with wheelchair-accessible routing that avoids steps and kerbs rather than simply relabelling the walking route. Pick the way you are getting around and the stops, distances and timings are planned for it.
Start one now for Copenhagen: driving tour · wheelchair-accessible route · cycling tour
Or read more: self-guided driving tours · accessible tours · audio tours
Questions about walking Copenhagen
Is Copenhagen expensive to visit on foot?
Walking is free and the city is designed for it, which offsets a lot. The harbour, the parks, Christiania, Strøget and the canals cost nothing; it is food and drink that make Copenhagen expensive.
How do you avoid getting hit by a bike in Copenhagen?
Look left before stepping off any kerb — the cycle lane is between you and the road, and it is busy. Never stand in a blue-painted lane, and cross at the marked points.
What is a self-guided walking tour?
A route you walk on your own schedule, with the commentary delivered to your phone instead of by a guide. There is no meeting point and no group — you start when you want, stop as long as you like at anything that interests you, and skip anything that does not.
How is this different from a guided walking tour?
A guided tour runs to someone else's schedule and someone else's route, and it covers what the guide covers. This builds the route around the time you actually have, the pace you want to walk at and the things you said you were interested in — and it will wait as long as you like at any stop.
Can I do a driving tour instead of walking?
Yes. Walking, running, cycling, driving and wheelchair-accessible routing are all supported, and each uses routing built for that mode — a driving tour follows roads and sensible parking, a walking tour uses paths and crossings.
Arriving by cruise ship?
A port day is a different problem — a hard deadline and a pier that may not be where you think. Our Copenhagen cruise port guide covers where ships dock, how far it is to the centre, and what actually fits in your hours ashore.
Other cities
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- Self-guided walking tours in Porto
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- All 43 city guides
A 24-hour pass is $6.95 and covers unlimited tours. Joining someone else’s tour is free.