10 reasons why Copenhagen is Europe's greatest city for families

There are few capital cities as delightfully considerate to families as Copenhagen. From city beaches to the world’s prettiest theme park, Tivoli, you’ll find masses to do here on a break with kids of all ages in tow.

Here’s a roundup of 10 of the best. It’s worth investing in Copenhagen Cards if you’re planning to visit a few, as this will save a packet on admission fees.

1. Tivoli Gardens

Bang in the centre of Copenhagen, this twinkling, fanciful theme park has all ages covered, with rides running the gamut from face-tautening rollercoaster (with optional virtual reality), to Hans Christian Anderson fairytale tableaux, plus nightly fireworks, live music, a boating lake, and wandering peacocks.  

Best for: everyone, from wide-eyed five year olds to hard-to-please teenagers.

Over 8s day ticket from 120DKK (£14.86); Tivoli Gardens

2. The Blue Planet

A quick hop on the (driverless) S-tog (metro) from the centre, this stunning aquarium lies waterside and is thrillingly huge, with enormous walk-through tanks where you can see rays and hammerhead sharks swim overhead, centimetres from your nose. There’s a muggy rainforest section with tanks of glittering piranhas and loveable otters.

Best for: kids from toddlers up will love the colourful tanks, while the piranhas, the tunnels and the otters will be highlights for older kids.

Adult/child ticket 170/95DKK (£21/£11.75); Den Blaa Planet

3. Copenhagen Zoo

In leafy Frederiksberg, Copenhagen Zoo is spacious and you get to wander through enclosures populated by munching kangaroos and stalking flamingos. You can rent handcarts to pull along younger kids and there are lots of outdoor and indoor areas. The biggest thrills are the lions, tigers and the lumbering, mesmerizing polar bears.

Best for: toddlers and kids up to around the age of 12 will love this.

Adult/child 180/100 DKK (£22.30/£12.40); Copenhagen Zoo

4. KU.BE

Another quick S-tog hop from Copenhagen centre is the extraordinary playground KU.BE, the “House of Culture and Movement”.

This is a space of 3200 sq m entirely devoted to play, where children (and accompanying adults) are encouraged to explore the building. This is softplay Scandi-style, so the colours are not harsh on the eyes, but pleasingly pale dove-grey with yellow accents, and there is a vertical maze, a climbing slope with various length of slides, nets to climb and crawl over, and wooden stilts outside. Plus, it's easily accessed via the metro.

Best for: there’s a tiny soft play area for babies, but otherwise this will suit from preschoolers to kids aged up to around 13.

Free; Ku.be

5. Swimming & boating

The outdoorsy Danes have many places to boat and swim in their capital. You can head to the gleaming urban Svanemølle city beach, accessible by S-tog, or stay central and swim in one of the canalside pools. Harbour Bath Islands Brygge is most popular, beautifully designed by Bjarke Ingels, and including children’s and paddling pools. The DGI-Byen swimming pool has a selection of warmer pools as well as a huge ellipse pool set around a smaller children’s area. As far as boating goes, there are swan-shaped pedalos on Peblinge lake, or you can take to the canals via a solar-powered Go Boat complete with picnic table. For a bit more adventure, paddle the waters with Kayak Republic.

Best for: swimming will suit all ages, while boating will please older kids and teens who fancy taking control.

6. National Children’s Museum

The children’s area of the National Museum offers the chance to dress up as 19th-century school children or teach in an old-style classroom, as well as ride on a replica Viking ship and defend a medieval castle. Depending on your kids, they may like the Viking boats and mummies in the main museum as well, and everyone will adore the fun photo booths at the permanent Manga and Cosplay exhibition.

Best for: kids from around four to 12

Adult/child ticket 75DKK/free (£9.28); National Museum

The world's 50 greatest cities - according to you

7. Experimentarium

In Hellerup, around 10 minutes by S-tog (overground train) from the centre, this state-of-the-art place is a parent’s dream. It’s a gloriously imaginative and interactive exploration of science that feels like a playground: you’ll see your kids running from exhibit to exhibit, playing with a laser harp, investigating bubbles in the Bubblearium, steering a ship through the port, and learning about how sight, hearing, taste and touch work in the Tunnel of Senses.

Best for: kids aged around four, all the way up to teens. Admission is expensive, so this is one where the Copenhagen card will definitely be a boon.

Over 12s/child ticket 195/115 DKK (£24.14/£14.24); Experimentarium

8. Louisiana Children’s Museum

Louisiana is a fantastic contemporary art museum 40km north of Copenhagen, encompassing a wonderful collection of the works of Giacometti, and a glorious waterside sculpture park (with views across to Sweden). Zeitgeist contemporary exhibitions include artists such as Marina Abramović. But this is also a museum that considers the kids, with its three-storey children’s wing. There are daily workshops where kids get to use all sort of media, from paint to clay. If your children are aged under six, you must accompany them, but otherwise this may be a good opportunity to leave your children to create a masterpiece while you nose around the collection.

Best for: activities are aimed at children aged from four to 16.

Adult/child ticket DKK125/free (£15.47); Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

9. Open Air Museum

Frilandsmuseet opened in 1896, and is a rambling museum of houses from all over Scandinavia, all fully furnished, giving visitors a chance to peer into bygone lives ranging from those of the super rich to the straitened peasant. It covers 86 hectares, and is to the north of the city, but only a half hour trip from the centre. Like the zoo, there are trolleys for hire, so you can trundle younger children along if they get tired.

Best for: children up to the age of 12 will enjoy rambling around this extensive site and exploring the houses.

Adult/child ticket 65KRR/free (£8); The Open Air Museum

At a glance | Europe's other great cities for families

10. Flea market

The Frederiksberg flea market on Saturday mornings is renowned for its treasures; kids will get a kick out of searching for the unexpected, picking up old toys and bric-a-brac, and trying their hand at bargaining down the prices. It has the informal fun and crazy jumble of a boot fair, but there is actually some good stuff on sale.

Best for: older children will enjoy the chance to bargain, while there are toys on sale that will keep younger ones happy.