12 Things to Do in Copenhagen in December

In December, Denmark's capital is filled with lights, Christmas markets and celebrations, so during this month you'll find plenty of things to do in Copenhagen, including visits to the famous Tivoli Gardens, which is transformed into a magical place filled with Christmas decorations and a host of festive attractions.

You can also explore the city streets and discover small shops and local markets to find nice souvenirs of your trip. But I also recommend you check out the various restaurants and cafes for a warm and cosy atmosphere while enjoying typical Danish dishes.

Copenhagen is a magical city during the Christmas season, and one of the must-see attractions is to book tickets and visit the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. From 18 November until 31 December, the theme park is transformed into a Christmas paradise filled with hanging lights, Christmas trees, food and drink stalls and a host of festive attractions.

The atmosphere of the park is incredible during Christmas, so with so many Christmas delicacies to try, it's surely a good place to take one of Copenhagen's best food tours. There is one feature of this park that will catch your attention and that is that it is designed in a Victorian style and has its own mascot: "Nisse Tivoli", which is an elf that accompanies visitors on their tour.

In addition to the impressive Christmas decorations, you will also be able to enjoy a large number of attractions inside the park, ranging from roller coasters to carousels, not to mention the Ferris wheel, where you can enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the city illuminated by Christmas lights.

Interesting details

• Price: you will have to pay around 21 € per person.
• Opening times: Tivoli Gardens Park generally opens at 11am daily. However, opening times may vary depending on the season and time of year.
• Location: Tivoli Gardens is located in the city centre of Copenhagen, specifically at Vesterbrogade 3, 1630 København V.

And what better way to spend December in Copenhagen than in one of the city's major museums, cultural centres or palaces. The Danish capital is home to some of the best museums and cultural centres in the world.

Here are some of the options available when you want to escape the winter weather in this wonderful city:

• Danish Resistance Museum in Copenhagen, where you will learn about the history of the Danish resistance during the German occupation from 1940-1945.
• DanishWar Museum in Copenhagen, where you will visit a historic building and learn about the history of Danish warfare.
• :::link|text=Danish National Museum in Copenhagen|url=https://natmus.dk/museer-og-slotte/nationalmuseet/, where you will discover the whole history of Denmark from the Viking culture to the most recent history.
• Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, a wonderful building that today houses the Danish parliament.

Interesting details

• Price: from approximately 15 to 30 euros.
• Opening hours: vary depending on the museum chosen.
• Location: different locations in the city.

Another great way to escape the cold and party is to book a pub crawl around Copenhagen, a four-hour tour of the Danish capital's most popular pubs.

The tour, which takes in a total of five pubs in the city, includes two free beers and two free cocktails plus two free shots at each venue. It's a great way to get a taste of Copenhagen's nightlife and meet other locals and people from other regions and countries just like you.

The advantage of this tour is that it is also private. A must if you are travelling with friends.

Interesting details

• Price: from 37 € per person.
• Time: The tour starts at around 8pm.
• Location: different locations around the city.

I recommend you to stay in Copenhagen during the night of 12-13 December, so you don't miss the celebration of St. Lucia's Day. This is a very important holiday in Denmark, which has to do with the devotion and protection of light in the Catholic Church.

The celebration of St. Lucia includes a procession in boats decorated with Christmas lights, which arrives at Nyhavn at sunset, providing a truly magical and memorable atmosphere that you will not only want to enjoy, but also take pictures of. The history of the tradition of St. Lucia in Denmark dates back to 1944, during the German occupation, when the Norden Association introduced the custom.

You will love the atmosphere during the procession, not only for the religious energy, but also for the delicacy of the event and the familiarity of the Danish people. The feast of St Lucia marks the start of the Christmas festivities, and as it is a procession, it could be considered a good way to tour Copenhagen during the night. You can also take the opportunity to book a private tour of Copenhagen.

Interesting details

• Price: This is a free event, so you don't have to pay anything to enjoy this celebration.
• Time: This procession takes place at dusk.
• Location: A group of people gather in procession to go through all the main streets of Copenhagen.

If there's one thing you'll love to do during the colder months, it's to book and embark on a cruise along Copenhagen's canals with mulled wine on board. You'll board these small, luxurious boats that sail around the city's harbour and take in the beauty of the city in a unique and different way. The best thing about this is that during the cold months, the boats are equipped with awnings to protect you from the wind and the weather.

In addition, the people in charge of this experience will offer you warm blankets and blankets, which will allow you to keep warm while you enjoy the scenery, without feeling the winter cold. In addition to that, they will offer you hot chocolate to make your ride even more incredible and you will have the opportunity to meet the other passengers.

Although if you go with your family or a group of friends, you will also have the possibility to make an exclusive and private trip, booking a complete boat that will take you on the same ride, with the same conditions, but in this case, only with your group. For all these reasons, this is one of the best canal boat tours in Copenhagen this month.

Interesting details

• Price: These boat tours can be priced from €21 per person. Although the price may vary according to the type of trip you decide on.
• Time: Generally, these tours take place in the morning.
• Location: These tours take place along the canals of Copenhagen.

One of the must-do activities in December is to explore Copenhagen' s most famous landmarks, monuments and buildings, and what better way to do this than with a bike tour of Copenhagen. The best thing about this type of tour is that you can do the tour in an environmentally friendly way, while enjoying the weather in December.

In the middle of the tour you will have the opportunity to visit popular destinations such as the cathedral, Rosenborg Castle and the royal residence Amalienborg. Right after that you can visit the famous Little Mermaid statue and the colourful houses. At the end, you can finish your experience in the Free City of Christiania. You can bring your own bike or do the tour with a rented bike.

Interesting details

• Price: to do these tours you will have to pay at least 42 € to rent a bike.
• Timetable: These tours can be done at different times of the day.
• Location: Tourist attractions in the city.

At Christmas time you can't miss the opportunity to visit the various Christmas markets that are set up all over the city:

• The market on Axeltorv Square is one of the most famous in Copenhagen and is iconic in the city because each stall is named after a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. You can visit it throughout the month of December. Inside this market, which is located in a square in the city centre, you can find a wide variety of products, such as Christmas gifts, decorations, among other things, and thanks to its easy access, I recommend you book a bike tour in Copenhagen to get to know this place.
• Another one you'll love is the flea market at Tivoli Gardens. There you can enjoy a wide range of activities, including ice skating and tastings of Christmas flavours and hot drinks. The Nyhavn flea market is a must-visit because it takes place in one of Copenhagen's most picturesque neighbourhoods, the Nyhavn canal, and offers a wide variety of handmade goods, Christmas decorations and gifts.

There are also other famous markets in the city that you'll love to visit thanks to the wide range of food, drinks and local products on offer at their stalls. One of the characteristics of this type of markets is that you can also enjoy musical events that are usually organised in the middle of the markets and other typical seasonal activities.

Interesting details

• Price: Most of Copenhagen's flea markets are free to visit, although there are some that require you to pay an entrance fee.
• Hours: Markets usually take place during the night.
• Location: There are Christmas markets all over the city.

A very Christmas tradition is definitely going to see the Nutcracker plays in Copenhagen. You can see this play in several theatres in the city, and I even recommend you buy tickets for the Copenhagen Opera House, and go and enjoy this traditional Christmas show.

I'm sure you already know this story, and if you don't, I'll remind you that it's a ballet piece that follows the adventures of Clara and her Nutcracker in a fantasy world.

But, although there are many other Christmas activities that you will love to enjoy during this season, you should also know that the Nutcracker performance is one of the most traditional and not to be missed if you visit Copenhagen in winter, also because it is a play that you can go to see with your whole family, even with the kids.

Interesting details

• Price: you will have to pay from 20 € per ticket for adults. Children under the age of 5 get in free.
• Opening times: this piece is available throughout the month of December.
• Location: You can see the Nutcracker in the Tivoli Park Hall, or you can see it at the Copenhagen Opera House.

Strøget Street in Copenhagen is known for being the longest pedestrian street in Europe, so visiting it is one of the things you should do if you travel to Copenhagen. The street is about one kilometre long, and is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. It's a good idea to visit during the month of December because the street takes on a special atmosphere with the Christmas festivities.

The best thing about Strøget Street during the Christmas season is that many of the shops along the way decorate their windows with a Christmas theme, creating a unique atmosphere on the street. But in addition to the shops, you will also find a wide variety of eating and drinking options along the street, with cafes and restaurants offering traditional Danish products and delicious Christmas desserts.

Interesting details

• Price: You don't need to pay anything to walk along this street.
• Hours: You can enjoy the Christmas decorations at any time of the day, however, I recommend travelling to Strøget in the evenings.
• Location: Strøget Street is located in the centre of Copenhagen in Denmark.

In Denmark and especially in Copenhagen, Christmas is one of the most important festivities of the year, so in general there are many activities that take place in honour of the holiday that you will surely love to participate in. You will especially love to participate in Advent, which is the time when the Advent wreath is prepared, symbolising the time of waiting and the lighting of the candles for the approach of Christmas.

From 1 December you can also enjoy the rest of the Christmas festivities, but you will not only have the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas festivities, but also the popular traditions in the city. Among the most popular is the 24-window calendar, where you can find small gifts or festive pictures that you can buy in supermarkets.

If you are much more of a Christmas tradition lover, I recommend you to always watch children's television, where there is also a kind of folk tradition in which different Christmas-related stories are presented in 24 chapters, until Christmas is over.

Interesting details

• Price: you don't have to pay anything to enjoy the Advent season. You will have to pay for the window calendar, though, if you want one of those.
• Time: The advent ceremony can vary in time from year to year, although it usually takes place in the mornings.
• Location: Advent is generally experienced and felt throughout the city of Copenhagen.

If you are a lover of winter and snow sports, ice skating is an excellent option in Copenhagen. You can find, within the city, multiple skating rinks to enjoy with family or friends. This is one of those activities that I recommend you enjoy in December, especially because of the festive and Christmas atmosphere that pervades the city.

To enjoy this sport you just need to find the right skates and the perfect place to skate, and one of those places you can't miss is Broens Gadekøkken. At this icy rink you can go ice skating with your own skates or, if you don't have your own skates, you can rent them here.

Interesting details

• Price: You will have to pay to rent skates in this area.
• Opening hours: You can go during the day to enjoy the skating rinks.
• Location: This skating rink is located at Strandgade 95, 1401 København, Denmark.

As you can see there are numerous things to see and do in Copenhagen and one of them is to visit the oldest amusement park in the world, which is none other than Bakken. The park is usually open from the third week of November and offers both locals and visitors plenty of entertainment, sweets and other Christmas treats and above all rides to enjoy with the whole family.

If you are travelling to Copenhagen with children, this is an option you definitely can't miss. You will be able to go on many rides and attractions in the park, but you can also go to relax and enjoy good food in one of the restaurants in Bakken. Among the traditional must-tries during the Christmas season are mulled wine and apple slices, as well as the classic Christmas lunch with herring and schnapps.

Interesting details

• Price: Bakken ticket prices vary according to the condition of the visitor. But in general you can find tickets from €25 per person.
• Opening hours: Bakken Park opening hours can vary, although in general I recommend visiting the park at night to see the lights and decorations in the park.
• Location: located exactly at Dyrehavevej 62, 2930 Klampenborg, Denmark.