How To Reach Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark, and is one of the jewels of Zealand and Amager coastal islands. It has links to Sweden’s Malmo in the south and hence is easily reachable by road. But the best way to reach this Danish land is by air. With its rich history, castles and palaces and gardens, Copenhagen beckons the world into its stunning arena. Here’s a guide to take you to and through Copenhagen.

The city hosts its own airport - the Copenhagen International Airport, located 8 km away from the city centre. The airports is a major centre for most of the Scandinavian destinations, especially for Sweden’s Malmo region that is just a stone’s straw away. You have easy connection to Copenhagen from all of Europe, especially cities like London, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris and Amsterdam. From India, you will not be able to catch a direct flight to Copenhagen, but Delhi and Mumbai do operate one-stop and two-stop flights that lay over at cities like Paris, London or Frankfurt.

Copenhagen can be termed as the gateway to Scandinavian countries, as it houses the airport that is mostly used to travel into the region. This means it is well connected to the region around itself pretty well with regards to roadways. Germany and Sweden, two of its neighbours have regular buses plying into Denmark, most terminating in the capital city. You have the option of choosing from services like Nettbus, Eurolines, Greyhound etc. But road travel is long and winding and not the best suited unless you are a fan of road-tripping.

Railways are just as well developed in the Scandinavian region, so expect good trains, great connection to places around and scenic views to go with it all. Copenhagen hosts the Copenhagen Central Station. There are Eurail train passes for tourists on discount if you are touring around Europe, or you can buy a ticket and hop on. Budget travellers can choose National Railways instead of the Eurail to travel to Copenhagen or elsewhere. There are regular trains coming into Copenhagen from cities like Munich, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Berlin and Frankfurt.

Copenhagen is based in an area with easy access to channels of water. The DFDS Seaways Terminal is located quite close to the Nordhavn station, from where ferries can be taken to other Nordic and North European regions. The two most frequently used connections here are Copenhagen-Oslo (Norway) that includes night departures and 16 hour journey, and the other is to Fredericia (Denmark).

Copenhagen has a brilliant public transport system. There are the S-Trains that centre around the Central Station and then there are the intercity rail lines, metros, buses and more S-trains centred around the Nørreport Station. rejseplanen.dk is the best place to check timings, schedules and book seats. If you are familiar with the German S-Bahn network or even the RER system of Paris then you will easily be able to traverse on the Copenhagen’s Zonal system of trains. What’s more is, they are very clean, comfortable, and offer free WiFi.

Taxis in the city are mostly of the luxuriant variety. You won’t find a taxi model below Mercedes or BMW, expensive with a capital E and very difficult to find on a weekend evening. Otherwise, choose to go the Danish way and cycle arond the city.