Start planning a trip to the Danish capital and you’ll soon hear about the Copenhagen Card. It’s a kind of discount pass that aims to save tourists money. Once you buy it, the card gives free admission to loads of the city’s best attractions and also includes free, unlimited use of the public transport network.
The question is: should you bother buying one? And will getting a Copenhagen Card actually save you money? We ran the numbers to find out.
How does the Copenhagen Card work?
The idea is that you pay for the Copenhagen Card upfront and then get free access to a whole bunch of attractions across the city.
What does the Copenhagen Card cover?
Buy a Copenhagen Card (get it here) and you’ll get free access to more than 80 different attractions, including museums and galleries. You’ll also get free use of public buses, trams and Metro services across the entire Copenhagen area, including trains out as far as Roskilde and Helsingør.
These are some of the attractions that are covered by the Copenhagen Card:
- Tivoli Gardens
- Rosenborg Castle
- Amalienborg Palace
- Den Blå Planet
- The National Museum
- Kronborg Castle
- Arken Museum of Modern Art
- Christiansborg Palace
- Guinness World Records Museum
- Copenhagen Zoo
- Danish Architecture Center
- And many more
Apart from free entry to those places, the Copenhagen Card also includes a variety of canal cruises and boat trips as well as the Copenhagen city mini train.
Holders of the card also get discounts of between 10–20% at a selection of restaurants and cafés, plus reductions on walking tours, bike hire and hop-on hop-off boat and bus tours. You can even get reductions on day trips to Malmö in Sweden and segway tours.
How much does the Copenhagen Card cost?
There are four different types of Copenhagen Card to choose from – they’re valid for 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours and 120 hours respectively.
Each paying adult can take two kids aged nine or under along with them for free; kids aged 10–15 years old need to have their own ticket which can be bought at a discounted rate.
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| 24 hrs | 48 hrs | 72 hrs | 120 hrs | |
| Copenhagen Card (adult) | 399 | 599 | 739 | 989 |
| Copenhagen Card (child) | 199 | 299 | 369 | 499 |
Prices (in Danish kronor) are correct at the time of publication.
Where do I buy the Copenhagen Card?
The Copenhagen Card is available to buy online. Just make your order and a voucher will be emailed to you. You can then bring this voucher to one of the tourist information points in Copenhagen and have it swapped out for a card.
There’s a handy branch at the airport, another in the main visitor centre in the city centre at Vesterbrogade 4, one in Copenhagen central station and one In the Tivoli Gardens.
Alternatively, you can buy the card via the Copenhagen Card App, then activate it on your phone at the first attraction you visit. You then just scan the app on your phone at subsequent attractions.
If you’d prefer to wait and don’t mind the extra hassle, you can always buy your Copenhagen Card in person when you arrive in town. The cards are sold at various outlets around the city, including selected 7-eleven shops, hostels, hotels, souvenir shops, campsites and visitor centres.
Is the Copenhagen Card sold at the airport?
Yes. You can buy the Copenhagen Card at the service desk within Terminal 3 at the airport – and it is valid for transport from the airport into the city centre.
If you want to guarantee that a card will be waiting for you, order it online and then pick it up from the same service desk when you land at the airport. You can then use the Copenhagen Card to get from the airport to the city centre for free, which is a big bonus.
However, if you are planning to have a relaxing first day when you arrive, you might find it cheaper to pay for the train from the airport into the city centre separately, then activate your card when you are ready to do some serious sightseeing.
When does the card start working?
Once you’ve got for your card and are ready to use it for the first time, just fill out the start time (you can do this right before you use it at the first attraction). After that, you can use the card to sightsee your way around the city until the end of the validity period.
Note that the cards are valid for 24 hours, not a single day, so if you validate it at 4pm in the afternoon, it will be valid until 4pm the following afternoon.
How do I use the Copenhagen Card on the train or bus?
Just show your validated card and you’ll be free to use buses, trains, ferries and metro trains across the entire Copenhagen region. It’s much bigger than you might think – you can actually reach some of the day trip locations mentioned in this guide for free, including the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde and Kronborg Castle in Helsingør (the castle from Shakespeare’s Hamlet).
Note that you cannot get to Malmö in Sweden with the Copenhagen Card, though it does give discounts on trips to Malmö. Check out our guide for tips on the cheapest ways to cross the bridge to Sweden.
So, is the Copenhagen Card worth buying?
Well, that depends on how long you’re staying in the city and what you want to see and do while you’re there. We’ve done some number-crunching to help you decide whether the card is worth buying.
You can definitely make a big saving if you’re in Copenhagen for three days and want to visit the city’s top ten most popular attractions, which are:
- Tivoli Gardens
- Rosenborg Castle
- Amalienborg Palace
- Den Blå Planet
- The National Museum
- Kronborg Castle
- The Round Tower
- Christiansborg Palace
- Copenhagen Zoo
- A canal tour
Visiting all these sights independently would cost you 1199 DKK, with public transport for 72 hours an extra 450 DKK, making 1649 DKK in total.
The 72-hour Copenhagen Card costs 739 DKK, so buying the card would save you a hefty 910 DKK.
What’s the verdict?
Well, if you want to cram lots of activities into two or three days, including the top paid-for attractions like Rosenborg Slot and the Tivoli Gardens amusement park, there are big savings to be had and we would definitely recommend buying the card online before your trip. You can get it here.
However, if you’re planning a more chilled visit and want to just explore Copenhagen on foot or by bike, and to check out free attractions like Nyhavn, the David Museum, Freetown Christiania and some of the great food markets, the Copenhagen Card might not save you much.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that, depending on when you visit, some of the attractions included with the card may be closed. Mondays are the most usual closing day – so check out the closing days of any sights that you particularly want to visit before you plan your itinerary.
Need more help deciding?
If you’re visiting for the first time and want to do a lot sightseeing, we reckon the Copenhagen Card will save you a nice chunk of cash. Ready to get the card and start saving? Just click the link below to get it online.
Copenhagen Card discount code
We haven’t been able to track down any discount codes for 2020. Watch out for spammy coupon sites that promise a ‘discount’ but actually just send you to the Copenhagen Card booking page and don’t save you any money.
See also:
60 cheap and free things to do in Copenhagen
