Copenhagen gives kids a lot for nothing. Think trampolines set into the harbor promenade, big playgrounds, wild commons to roam and street festivals that fill the squares through the year. We pulled together the free plans we track, from seasonal markets and parades to parks and indoor spots you can walk into on a rainy day. Check each one for hours, and for any free spots you need to book.
A big new library exhibition built around The Comet Is Coming, the Moomin story where the world teeters on the edge of disaster and the Moomins find their way through it together. It is about friendship, joy and coping when things feel uncertain.
It suits families who already know the Moomins, and kids old enough to talk about a story with a bit of worry in it.
Nytorv and Gammeltorv, two neighboring squares in central Copenhagen, turn into what the organizers call Denmark's largest Christmas market, with rows of Christmas stalls and the market's own glühwein.
For kids the draw is the outdoor ice rink, where skates are lent out on the spot, plus a chance to meet Santa. It works best as a stop on a city-center walk rather than a whole day out.
An open house at the nature center on Amager Strand, all about the fish and crabs of the Øresund. Educators guide families through dissecting a fish with scissors and tweezers, looking at it inside and out.
At the water tables, kids learn the gentle way to hold a crab and how to tell a male from a female. It suits curious kids who like to touch things.
A new Christmas market in central Copenhagen, with wooden stalls selling handmade decorations, crafts and food from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
For kids, the draw is an interactive Christmas world: talking trees wake up and tell the Christmas tale of Julius Kleine, with music and entertainment on the square each day. Snack on warm æbleskiver while you browse. It suits a relaxed stroll, not a full day out.
Bakken, the world's oldest amusement park, turns its lanes in the Dyrehaven forest into a lit-up Christmas village. Kids can meet Santa, skate on the new rink, explore the new cake land and catch the Christmas parade, while prankster elves stir up mischief among the market stalls.
A good fit for a festive family outing, with a few rides mixed in.
Denmark's longest Christmas parade has marched down Amagerbrogade for more than 50 years. The procession stretches over a kilometer: Santas, vintage cars, nisse children (Danish Christmas elves), Disney and cartoon characters.
It suits kids who like a spectacle and don't mind standing in a big, cheerful crowd. Families who find crowds hard may prefer a quieter Christmas outing.
Hundreds of kayaks strung with lights paddle through Copenhagen's harbor and canals, stopping to sing Santa Lucia and Christmas carols with a live choir on a canal boat. Kids watch from the quays, then walk along to catch the next singing stop.
Paddling takes sea-kayak experience and cold-water gear, so for most families this is a walk-along. The tradition has run since 2006.
A festival of light art that takes over Copenhagen's squares, buildings, bridges and hidden corners in the darkest weeks of winter. Sculptures, installations and projections by light artists, designers and students line a walking route through the inner city, with a few pieces further out.
Kids hunt for the next glowing work in the dark, and the route lets a family walk as far as tired kids allow.
A stage version of Ole Lund Kirkegaard's classic Danish children's book. Topper finds a magic pencil, and there is a yellow rhinoceros on the second floor of the old house by the harbor. Add an angry police chief who stomps and shouts, and the floor can't take it.
André Andersen's energetic production is played in Danish, so it suits kids who follow Danish well or already know the story.
Copenhagen Sakura Festival brings Japanese traditions, performances, music and food to the cherry trees of Langelinie Park, near the harbor, for one weekend each spring.
It suits families who like to wander: kids can watch a show, try Japanese snacks and browse the craft stalls, then move on. Children curious about Japan or Japanese food will get the most out of it.
Copenhagen Pride is the city's yearly LGBTQ+ festival: a week of events plus a big parade through the center. The hub is Pride Square on Rådhuspladsen, in front of City Hall, where families can drop in, see the rainbow flags and take in the street-party mood.
It suits kids who enjoy color and crowds. Toddlers who find big crowds hard may do better with a calmer weekday visit.
Valby Kulturhus is a City of Copenhagen culture house. Its second floor holds Børnekulturstedet Valby, a children's zone with a workshop and a mirrored dance hall, where kids join classes in dance, drama, art and role-play.
The same floor hosts a parent-run toddler playgroup with a big tumbling mat and play equipment. Bastard Café, also in the building, has 1,000 board games to choose from.
Torvehallerne is two covered market halls on Israels Plads, opened in 2011 where the city's vegetable market stood until 1958. About 50 stalls sell bread, cakes, fish, meat, cheese, fruit and flowers, plus ready-to-eat food.
Kids can watch the bakers at Albatross & Venner shape the day's pastries, then eat porridge at Grød or smørrebrød at Hallernes Smørrebrød.
Kalvebod Fælled is a 20-square-kilometer nature reserve on Amager, home to deer, horses, sheep, cows and many birds. Naturcenter Amager is its base: rangers share ideas for the day, and the visitor house rents bikes, binoculars and campfire gear.
Near the center, the Himmelhøj nature playground has a 50-meter ark with mazes, stages and a fire pit, plus an insect forest of tall black trunks to hunt through.
Naturcenter Amager Strand is a city-run nature center and nature school in Amager Strandpark, run by Copenhagen and Frederiksberg since 2015. Weekdays belong to school and daycare groups.
On weekends and school holidays, family open houses change theme through the year: Øresund crabs and fish in water tables, a guided fish dissection, or stone hunts on the beach with a stone saw back in the workshop.
Dyrehaven is a former royal hunting forest, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, where about 300 red deer and 1,600 fallow deer roam free. Herds of several hundred graze the open Eremitage plain below a hilltop hunting lodge.
Cars are banned, so the wide roads suit strollers and bikes. In the hilly Ulvedalene, kids climb inside a hollow oak worn smooth by generations of play.
Two staffed playgrounds face each other in Remiseparken on Amager. Bonderen is a farm for younger kids, with hens, rabbits, ponies, pigs and a goat pen, and set feeding and care times kids can join. The farmhouse playhouse has toys, board games, fish and stick insects. Opposite, Byggeren is the bigger kids' adventure playground, with a ball court, table tennis, sandboxes and a fire pit.
Kastrup Sea Bath, known locally as Sneglen (the Snail), is a circular wooden bathing deck shaped like a conch shell, about 100 meters out from the beach in the Øresund. The water is deep enough for dives, with jumping platforms at 3 and 5 meters and views across to Saltholm and Sweden.
It suits confident older swimmers. Families with younger kids are advised to swim at the beach instead.
Kalvebod Bølge is a wooden boardwalk that rises and dips in waves along the harbor, designed by JDS Architects and Urban Agency. Its swim zone is a marked stretch of the harbor with direct access to the water.
Inside the zone sits a small dip pool with a fixed bottom, 3 by 3 meters and about 1.2 meters deep, which the city calls suited to kids in summer.
A harbor bath built into the canals of Sluseholmen, with four pools in the harbor water: a 25-meter lap pool, a 5-meter-deep diving pool with platforms at 1.5 and 3 meters, a play pool about 1.1 meters deep, and a shallow children's pool. The angled wooden decks double as sunbathing spots.
A harbor pool built out over the water at Kalvebod Brygge, beside the Fisketorvet shopping center. It has a 50-meter lap pool, a 5-meter-deep diving pool with platforms at 1, 2 and 3 meters, and a shallow pool for small children.
Kids swim in the harbor water itself, and the bath has been open since 2002. Freshwater showers run in summer.
An open-air harbor bath on wooden decks off the Islands Brygge quay, open since 2002. Four pools sit side by side: a toddler pool 0.1 to 0.7 m deep, a play pool 1.2 m deep, a 75 m lap pool, and a 5 m deep diving pool with platforms at 1, 3 and 5 m.
It suits families with swimmers best; non-swimmers stay in the two shallow pools.
Charlottenlund Beach Park is a 13-hectare seaside park on the Øresund, with a white sandy beach and wide lawns wrapped around Charlottenlund Fort. The fort was built in 1886-87 to guard Copenhagen's harbor, and a restaurant now sits on its old ramparts, with a campsite inside the fort grounds.
Kids can dig in the sand, swim off the bathing beach and run the open lawns between dips.
Bellevue is a 700-meter sandy beach at Klampenborg, with lawns behind the sand for spreading out a blanket. The blue-striped lifeguard towers and geometric kiosks were designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1932, the year the beach opened, and are now listed buildings.
With up to 500,000 visitors a year, it is one of the most popular beaches around Copenhagen.
Svanemølle Beach is an urban sandy beach at the bottom of Svanemølle Bay, opened in 2010. It has 4,000 square meters of sand and shallow water near the shore where younger kids can paddle, plus a 130-meter pier that runs out to deeper water for confident swimmers.
Strandpromenaden, the seafront path toward Tuborg Havn in Hellerup, runs right behind the sand, with Svanemøllen Marina just to the south.
The city's largest beach stretches 4.6 km along an artificial island, with a lagoon between the island and the original shore. Five beach stations have toilets and kiosks, linked by concrete paths.
Kids swim in the summer bathing zone, and families can rent kayaks, canoes or paddleboards at the southern end. Grilling is allowed anywhere in the park, and the Naturcenter Amager Strand opens to all on weekends.
ByOasen is a staffed playground and city farm inside De Gamles By, shared with the older people who live there. Kids get close to goats, hens, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, insects and a snake, and can help the staff look after the animals.
There are raised beds, an outdoor kitchen, a greenhouse built from recycled plastic, a large heated orangery, a zip line and a big outdoor stage.
A train-themed playground in Grøndalsparken, on the north side of Femte Juni Plads and right up against the S-train line.
Younger kids play at the station and platform, climb on the rails and take the driver's seat of the train. Older kids get a tall climbing frame with balance sections, a slide and a view of the passing S-trains. A rubber mound gives parents a place to sit and watch.
A stretch of the harbor promenade on Havnegade, between Nyhavn and Christian IV's Bridge, with a row of trampolines and a ball cage for a kickabout. Kids bounce with the water right beside them, and tables and benches line the promenade for a packed lunch.
It works best as a stop on a walk along the harbor rather than a whole afternoon out.
Konditaget Lüders is a 2,400 m² public rooftop on top of the Lüders parking garage, 24 meters above the Nordhavn harbor front. Kids climb a spiral, bounce on trampolines and ride swings, while parents can use the crossgym rigs, TRX straps, box jumps and a 60-meter sprint track. The stairs up the garage facades double as a running route, and the roof looks over the harbor and the Sound.
A staffed city playground in the middle of Nørrebroparken, known locally as Flyverlegepladsen for its play airplane, ships and big whale. Kids climb, slide, swing (baby swings too), dig in sandpits, ride mooncars and scooters on a bike track, and play ball or table tennis.
Inside the yellow playhouse there are board games, crafts, aquarium fish and stick insects. Staff run activities and lend out the bonfire pit.
A fenced playground in Enghaveparken with a spider climbing net, a zip line, a small ball court, sandpits, a fire pit and bike tracks that wind around the equipment. Staff run it and lend out pedal cars, balls and toys.
The playhouse has a toddler room with a play kitchen and a room for older kids with foosball, table tennis and board games.
Skydebanehaven, also called the Parrot Playground, is a staffed playground filling a tree-lined garden among dense apartment blocks. The star is a giant, brightly colored parrot with a wide slide and tiny "bullet holes", a nod to the shooting range here until 1946.
Around it: a big sandpit with three playhouses, a zip line, a spider climbing net, a carousel, hammocks and an artificial-turf soccer field.
A staffed city playground on the green ramparts of Christianshavns Vold. The toddler area has swings, spring riders, a playhouse, a slide and a sandpit with toys; older kids get a play ship, zip line, climbing frames and ball courts for soccer, basketball and badminton.
Inside the playhouse kids draw and play board games, and a bug-hunting area comes with loaner magnifying glasses.
A fenced, staffed playground inside Ørstedsparken, said to be Copenhagen's second-oldest public playground (from 1890). It is built mostly for younger kids: sandbox, play tower, climbing frame, swings, slide and a mini soccer field, plus table tennis, foosball, hockey and basketball. While staff are on site, kids can borrow balls, chalk, stilts, bikes and moon cars, and join activities around the campfire spot.
A long strip of lawn along the harbor on Islands Brygge, with views across the water between Langebro and Bryggebroen. The south end has a fenced playground for small children, with a rope bridge, a balance course and willow-planted mounds for hide-and-seek and tag.
Older kids get a roller and skate rink with street basketball at the north end, plus a sand beach volleyball court and petanque courts.
Amager Fælled is a former military training ground turned protected nature area of meadows, scrub, marsh and lakes. Highland cattle and Exmoor ponies graze here, roe deer raise their fawns, and frogs croak loudly in spring.
Kids can fly kites, build dens from branches, and climb the three hills for a view of the city center. In winter the hills are good for sledding.
Copenhagen's largest nature playground covers 23,500 m² inside Valbyparken. A circular boardwalk links a hilly landscape, a snail mound, a flower garden and five themed towers.
Kids climb trees, explore thickets and dens, dig in sandboxes and borrow tricycles, balls and nature-study kits. There is also a slide, a fire pit, beach volleyball, table tennis and tennis courts, and staff run activities open to everyone.
Copenhagen's largest park mixes wide lawns with 17 theme gardens, including a rose garden of 6,500 plants and the H.C. Andersen Oriental Garden. Kids head for the city's biggest nature playground at the north end, or the smaller one by the café. A 120-meter sandy beach on the water has changing rooms and outdoor showers, and the woods and lake shelter frogs, bats and kingfishers.
Superkilen is a wedge-shaped public space designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, Superflex and Topotek1, split into three zones. The Red Square has sports areas and a café, the Black Market is a square with a fountain and benches, and the Green Park has lawns for picnics and ball games.
Objects from around the world fill it, including a black octopus slide from Japan, swings from Iraq and a Moroccan fountain.
Botanisk Have is a historic garden of about 10,000 plant species, run by the Natural History Museum Denmark. Paths wind past a lake with a deck, a rock garden and Observatory Hill, with a view of the city's spires.
The Victorian cast-iron Palm House holds giant bamboo, mangroves and carnivorous plants, and its Butterfly House has colorful butterflies among passion flowers and pineapple plants.
Kastellet is a five-pointed star fortress from the 1660s, still a working military base and one of the best preserved in Northern Europe. A path runs along the top of the grassy ramparts, looking down on the moat, the long rows of old soldiers' barracks and the Citadel Church.
On the King's Bastion stands Kastelsmøllen, a windmill from 1847 and the city's last working mill.
Søndermarken is a romantic landscape park from the 1700s, with winding paths, a lake, wide lawns and a preserved Norwegian log cabin. Its big draw sits underground: Cisternerne, the city's old water reservoir, now a dim, echoing art space with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Kids walk down through a glass pyramid into three cold, cavernous rooms. Copenhagen Zoo's main entrance is just across Roskildevej.
Frederiksberg Gardens is a 32-hectare romantic landscape garden laid out around Frederiksberg Palace, which sits on the hill above it. Winding paths follow lakes and canals past small islands, a waterfall and a Chinese summerhouse built as a royal teahouse.
Kids can spot herons, swans and geese, picnic on the lawns, and in summer take a rowed boat tour on the canals. Copenhagen Zoo borders the gardens.
The city's only water playground, run by the City of Copenhagen inside Fælledparken. Kids fire water cannons and make a cloud rain down on them, and there is a wading pool alongside.
It suits a hot afternoon with kids who are happy to get soaked. Bring a change of clothes and a towel.
Trafiklegepladsen is a staffed public playground built as a kid-sized town, with little roads, bike lanes, traffic lights, road signs, zebra crossings and a mini gas station. Kids practice cycling and traffic rules on loaner bikes and balance bikes, or on their own. A small fenced track with tricycles suits the youngest.
At the other end are swings, a climbing net and a big sandbox with buckets and toy cars.
Tårnlegepladsen is a staffed playground in Fælledparken built around play-size copies of Copenhagen's landmark towers, linked by walkways and slides. Around them sit a sand and plank building area, an artificial-turf pitch, a fire pit and electronic birds to catch.
The playhouse, run by play staff during opening hours, has drop-in games, crafts and room to tumble indoors. A large scooter track runs alongside.
Fælledparken is the city's second largest park, laid out on old common land. Kids get two standout playgrounds: a traffic playground with road signs, traffic lights and bike paths, and the Tower Playground, built around five of the city's best-known towers.
Older kids head for the skatepark, one of the largest in Northern Europe. A 3.5 km path loops past lawns, mature trees and a lakeside flower garden.
Blegdamsremisen is a staffed indoor playground in a former tram depot on Blegdamsvej, the only free indoor playground the city runs. The big hall holds a play landscape, ball courts, table tennis, a pirate ship, animals and craft workshops, and the staff start activities through the day. Toddlers get their own playgroup mornings, and dogs are not allowed.
KU.BE is a four-story culture and movement house by the architects MVRDV and ADEPT, where the building doubles as play equipment. Kids scale climbing hills, crawl through wall mazes, cross a hanging climbing net with a view and ride the silver slide.
Toddlers get their own tumble area upstairs, and the garden outside adds a basketball court and a playground for small kids.
The Black Diamond is the Royal Danish Library's cultural center on the edge of Copenhagen Harbor, opened in 1999 and joined to the original 1906 library building. Inside are exhibitions, reading rooms, a café and a shop, with the walled Library Garden behind.
The Children's Library on the second floor has a craft workshop, a costume corner with gold-embroidered capes, board games and a shelf of old children's books.
The city's largest public library sits in the old town, facing the Round Tower. For families, the reason to come is LÆS, a 1,000-square-meter children's floor designed around how kids learn language and reading. Its 10 zones include reading caves, the Ordbjerget play area for letters and movement, a drawing station with board games, and a shelf of books in English and five other languages.
Nyhavn is a 450-meter canal dug in the 1670s, lined with brightly painted 17th and 18th-century townhouses and moored historic wooden ships. Canal tour boats leave from the quay, and the Memorial Anchor stands at the harbor end. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three of the houses.
The quay is mostly restaurants and cafés, so it suits a stroll and a boat ride more than a long day out.
A bronze statue of the mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale, shown as she becomes human, sitting on a rock at the water's edge on the Langelinie promenade. Sculptor Edvard Eriksen modeled her on his wife, Eline.
She is small, 1.25 meters tall, and has stood here since 1913. Reading the story first gives kids something to look for when they find her.
Copenhagen gives kids a lot for nothing. Think trampolines set into the harbor promenade, big playgrounds, wild commons to roam and street festivals that fill the squares through the year. We pulled together the free plans we track, from seasonal markets and parades to parks and indoor spots you can walk into on a rainy day. Check each one for hours, and for any free spots you need to book.
A big new library exhibition built around The Comet Is Coming, the Moomin story where the world teeters on the edge of disaster and the Moomins find their way through it together. It is about friendship, joy and coping when things feel uncertain.
It suits families who already know the Moomins, and kids old enough to talk about a story with a bit of worry in it.
Nytorv and Gammeltorv, two neighboring squares in central Copenhagen, turn into what the organizers call Denmark's largest Christmas market, with rows of Christmas stalls and the market's own glühwein.
For kids the draw is the outdoor ice rink, where skates are lent out on the spot, plus a chance to meet Santa. It works best as a stop on a city-center walk rather than a whole day out.
An open house at the nature center on Amager Strand, all about the fish and crabs of the Øresund. Educators guide families through dissecting a fish with scissors and tweezers, looking at it inside and out.
At the water tables, kids learn the gentle way to hold a crab and how to tell a male from a female. It suits curious kids who like to touch things.
A new Christmas market in central Copenhagen, with wooden stalls selling handmade decorations, crafts and food from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
For kids, the draw is an interactive Christmas world: talking trees wake up and tell the Christmas tale of Julius Kleine, with music and entertainment on the square each day. Snack on warm æbleskiver while you browse. It suits a relaxed stroll, not a full day out.
Bakken, the world's oldest amusement park, turns its lanes in the Dyrehaven forest into a lit-up Christmas village. Kids can meet Santa, skate on the new rink, explore the new cake land and catch the Christmas parade, while prankster elves stir up mischief among the market stalls.
A good fit for a festive family outing, with a few rides mixed in.
Denmark's longest Christmas parade has marched down Amagerbrogade for more than 50 years. The procession stretches over a kilometer: Santas, vintage cars, nisse children (Danish Christmas elves), Disney and cartoon characters.
It suits kids who like a spectacle and don't mind standing in a big, cheerful crowd. Families who find crowds hard may prefer a quieter Christmas outing.
Hundreds of kayaks strung with lights paddle through Copenhagen's harbor and canals, stopping to sing Santa Lucia and Christmas carols with a live choir on a canal boat. Kids watch from the quays, then walk along to catch the next singing stop.
Paddling takes sea-kayak experience and cold-water gear, so for most families this is a walk-along. The tradition has run since 2006.
A festival of light art that takes over Copenhagen's squares, buildings, bridges and hidden corners in the darkest weeks of winter. Sculptures, installations and projections by light artists, designers and students line a walking route through the inner city, with a few pieces further out.
Kids hunt for the next glowing work in the dark, and the route lets a family walk as far as tired kids allow.
A stage version of Ole Lund Kirkegaard's classic Danish children's book. Topper finds a magic pencil, and there is a yellow rhinoceros on the second floor of the old house by the harbor. Add an angry police chief who stomps and shouts, and the floor can't take it.
André Andersen's energetic production is played in Danish, so it suits kids who follow Danish well or already know the story.
Copenhagen Sakura Festival brings Japanese traditions, performances, music and food to the cherry trees of Langelinie Park, near the harbor, for one weekend each spring.
It suits families who like to wander: kids can watch a show, try Japanese snacks and browse the craft stalls, then move on. Children curious about Japan or Japanese food will get the most out of it.
Copenhagen Pride is the city's yearly LGBTQ+ festival: a week of events plus a big parade through the center. The hub is Pride Square on Rådhuspladsen, in front of City Hall, where families can drop in, see the rainbow flags and take in the street-party mood.
It suits kids who enjoy color and crowds. Toddlers who find big crowds hard may do better with a calmer weekday visit.
Valby Kulturhus is a City of Copenhagen culture house. Its second floor holds Børnekulturstedet Valby, a children's zone with a workshop and a mirrored dance hall, where kids join classes in dance, drama, art and role-play.
The same floor hosts a parent-run toddler playgroup with a big tumbling mat and play equipment. Bastard Café, also in the building, has 1,000 board games to choose from.
Torvehallerne is two covered market halls on Israels Plads, opened in 2011 where the city's vegetable market stood until 1958. About 50 stalls sell bread, cakes, fish, meat, cheese, fruit and flowers, plus ready-to-eat food.
Kids can watch the bakers at Albatross & Venner shape the day's pastries, then eat porridge at Grød or smørrebrød at Hallernes Smørrebrød.
Kalvebod Fælled is a 20-square-kilometer nature reserve on Amager, home to deer, horses, sheep, cows and many birds. Naturcenter Amager is its base: rangers share ideas for the day, and the visitor house rents bikes, binoculars and campfire gear.
Near the center, the Himmelhøj nature playground has a 50-meter ark with mazes, stages and a fire pit, plus an insect forest of tall black trunks to hunt through.
Naturcenter Amager Strand is a city-run nature center and nature school in Amager Strandpark, run by Copenhagen and Frederiksberg since 2015. Weekdays belong to school and daycare groups.
On weekends and school holidays, family open houses change theme through the year: Øresund crabs and fish in water tables, a guided fish dissection, or stone hunts on the beach with a stone saw back in the workshop.
Dyrehaven is a former royal hunting forest, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, where about 300 red deer and 1,600 fallow deer roam free. Herds of several hundred graze the open Eremitage plain below a hilltop hunting lodge.
Cars are banned, so the wide roads suit strollers and bikes. In the hilly Ulvedalene, kids climb inside a hollow oak worn smooth by generations of play.
Two staffed playgrounds face each other in Remiseparken on Amager. Bonderen is a farm for younger kids, with hens, rabbits, ponies, pigs and a goat pen, and set feeding and care times kids can join. The farmhouse playhouse has toys, board games, fish and stick insects. Opposite, Byggeren is the bigger kids' adventure playground, with a ball court, table tennis, sandboxes and a fire pit.
Kastrup Sea Bath, known locally as Sneglen (the Snail), is a circular wooden bathing deck shaped like a conch shell, about 100 meters out from the beach in the Øresund. The water is deep enough for dives, with jumping platforms at 3 and 5 meters and views across to Saltholm and Sweden.
It suits confident older swimmers. Families with younger kids are advised to swim at the beach instead.
Kalvebod Bølge is a wooden boardwalk that rises and dips in waves along the harbor, designed by JDS Architects and Urban Agency. Its swim zone is a marked stretch of the harbor with direct access to the water.
Inside the zone sits a small dip pool with a fixed bottom, 3 by 3 meters and about 1.2 meters deep, which the city calls suited to kids in summer.
A harbor bath built into the canals of Sluseholmen, with four pools in the harbor water: a 25-meter lap pool, a 5-meter-deep diving pool with platforms at 1.5 and 3 meters, a play pool about 1.1 meters deep, and a shallow children's pool. The angled wooden decks double as sunbathing spots.
A harbor pool built out over the water at Kalvebod Brygge, beside the Fisketorvet shopping center. It has a 50-meter lap pool, a 5-meter-deep diving pool with platforms at 1, 2 and 3 meters, and a shallow pool for small children.
Kids swim in the harbor water itself, and the bath has been open since 2002. Freshwater showers run in summer.
An open-air harbor bath on wooden decks off the Islands Brygge quay, open since 2002. Four pools sit side by side: a toddler pool 0.1 to 0.7 m deep, a play pool 1.2 m deep, a 75 m lap pool, and a 5 m deep diving pool with platforms at 1, 3 and 5 m.
It suits families with swimmers best; non-swimmers stay in the two shallow pools.
Charlottenlund Beach Park is a 13-hectare seaside park on the Øresund, with a white sandy beach and wide lawns wrapped around Charlottenlund Fort. The fort was built in 1886-87 to guard Copenhagen's harbor, and a restaurant now sits on its old ramparts, with a campsite inside the fort grounds.
Kids can dig in the sand, swim off the bathing beach and run the open lawns between dips.
Bellevue is a 700-meter sandy beach at Klampenborg, with lawns behind the sand for spreading out a blanket. The blue-striped lifeguard towers and geometric kiosks were designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1932, the year the beach opened, and are now listed buildings.
With up to 500,000 visitors a year, it is one of the most popular beaches around Copenhagen.
Svanemølle Beach is an urban sandy beach at the bottom of Svanemølle Bay, opened in 2010. It has 4,000 square meters of sand and shallow water near the shore where younger kids can paddle, plus a 130-meter pier that runs out to deeper water for confident swimmers.
Strandpromenaden, the seafront path toward Tuborg Havn in Hellerup, runs right behind the sand, with Svanemøllen Marina just to the south.
The city's largest beach stretches 4.6 km along an artificial island, with a lagoon between the island and the original shore. Five beach stations have toilets and kiosks, linked by concrete paths.
Kids swim in the summer bathing zone, and families can rent kayaks, canoes or paddleboards at the southern end. Grilling is allowed anywhere in the park, and the Naturcenter Amager Strand opens to all on weekends.
ByOasen is a staffed playground and city farm inside De Gamles By, shared with the older people who live there. Kids get close to goats, hens, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, insects and a snake, and can help the staff look after the animals.
There are raised beds, an outdoor kitchen, a greenhouse built from recycled plastic, a large heated orangery, a zip line and a big outdoor stage.
A train-themed playground in Grøndalsparken, on the north side of Femte Juni Plads and right up against the S-train line.
Younger kids play at the station and platform, climb on the rails and take the driver's seat of the train. Older kids get a tall climbing frame with balance sections, a slide and a view of the passing S-trains. A rubber mound gives parents a place to sit and watch.
A stretch of the harbor promenade on Havnegade, between Nyhavn and Christian IV's Bridge, with a row of trampolines and a ball cage for a kickabout. Kids bounce with the water right beside them, and tables and benches line the promenade for a packed lunch.
It works best as a stop on a walk along the harbor rather than a whole afternoon out.
Konditaget Lüders is a 2,400 m² public rooftop on top of the Lüders parking garage, 24 meters above the Nordhavn harbor front. Kids climb a spiral, bounce on trampolines and ride swings, while parents can use the crossgym rigs, TRX straps, box jumps and a 60-meter sprint track. The stairs up the garage facades double as a running route, and the roof looks over the harbor and the Sound.
A staffed city playground in the middle of Nørrebroparken, known locally as Flyverlegepladsen for its play airplane, ships and big whale. Kids climb, slide, swing (baby swings too), dig in sandpits, ride mooncars and scooters on a bike track, and play ball or table tennis.
Inside the yellow playhouse there are board games, crafts, aquarium fish and stick insects. Staff run activities and lend out the bonfire pit.
A fenced playground in Enghaveparken with a spider climbing net, a zip line, a small ball court, sandpits, a fire pit and bike tracks that wind around the equipment. Staff run it and lend out pedal cars, balls and toys.
The playhouse has a toddler room with a play kitchen and a room for older kids with foosball, table tennis and board games.
Skydebanehaven, also called the Parrot Playground, is a staffed playground filling a tree-lined garden among dense apartment blocks. The star is a giant, brightly colored parrot with a wide slide and tiny "bullet holes", a nod to the shooting range here until 1946.
Around it: a big sandpit with three playhouses, a zip line, a spider climbing net, a carousel, hammocks and an artificial-turf soccer field.
A staffed city playground on the green ramparts of Christianshavns Vold. The toddler area has swings, spring riders, a playhouse, a slide and a sandpit with toys; older kids get a play ship, zip line, climbing frames and ball courts for soccer, basketball and badminton.
Inside the playhouse kids draw and play board games, and a bug-hunting area comes with loaner magnifying glasses.
A fenced, staffed playground inside Ørstedsparken, said to be Copenhagen's second-oldest public playground (from 1890). It is built mostly for younger kids: sandbox, play tower, climbing frame, swings, slide and a mini soccer field, plus table tennis, foosball, hockey and basketball. While staff are on site, kids can borrow balls, chalk, stilts, bikes and moon cars, and join activities around the campfire spot.
A long strip of lawn along the harbor on Islands Brygge, with views across the water between Langebro and Bryggebroen. The south end has a fenced playground for small children, with a rope bridge, a balance course and willow-planted mounds for hide-and-seek and tag.
Older kids get a roller and skate rink with street basketball at the north end, plus a sand beach volleyball court and petanque courts.
Amager Fælled is a former military training ground turned protected nature area of meadows, scrub, marsh and lakes. Highland cattle and Exmoor ponies graze here, roe deer raise their fawns, and frogs croak loudly in spring.
Kids can fly kites, build dens from branches, and climb the three hills for a view of the city center. In winter the hills are good for sledding.
Copenhagen's largest nature playground covers 23,500 m² inside Valbyparken. A circular boardwalk links a hilly landscape, a snail mound, a flower garden and five themed towers.
Kids climb trees, explore thickets and dens, dig in sandboxes and borrow tricycles, balls and nature-study kits. There is also a slide, a fire pit, beach volleyball, table tennis and tennis courts, and staff run activities open to everyone.
Copenhagen's largest park mixes wide lawns with 17 theme gardens, including a rose garden of 6,500 plants and the H.C. Andersen Oriental Garden. Kids head for the city's biggest nature playground at the north end, or the smaller one by the café. A 120-meter sandy beach on the water has changing rooms and outdoor showers, and the woods and lake shelter frogs, bats and kingfishers.
Superkilen is a wedge-shaped public space designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, Superflex and Topotek1, split into three zones. The Red Square has sports areas and a café, the Black Market is a square with a fountain and benches, and the Green Park has lawns for picnics and ball games.
Objects from around the world fill it, including a black octopus slide from Japan, swings from Iraq and a Moroccan fountain.
Botanisk Have is a historic garden of about 10,000 plant species, run by the Natural History Museum Denmark. Paths wind past a lake with a deck, a rock garden and Observatory Hill, with a view of the city's spires.
The Victorian cast-iron Palm House holds giant bamboo, mangroves and carnivorous plants, and its Butterfly House has colorful butterflies among passion flowers and pineapple plants.
Kastellet is a five-pointed star fortress from the 1660s, still a working military base and one of the best preserved in Northern Europe. A path runs along the top of the grassy ramparts, looking down on the moat, the long rows of old soldiers' barracks and the Citadel Church.
On the King's Bastion stands Kastelsmøllen, a windmill from 1847 and the city's last working mill.
Søndermarken is a romantic landscape park from the 1700s, with winding paths, a lake, wide lawns and a preserved Norwegian log cabin. Its big draw sits underground: Cisternerne, the city's old water reservoir, now a dim, echoing art space with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Kids walk down through a glass pyramid into three cold, cavernous rooms. Copenhagen Zoo's main entrance is just across Roskildevej.
Frederiksberg Gardens is a 32-hectare romantic landscape garden laid out around Frederiksberg Palace, which sits on the hill above it. Winding paths follow lakes and canals past small islands, a waterfall and a Chinese summerhouse built as a royal teahouse.
Kids can spot herons, swans and geese, picnic on the lawns, and in summer take a rowed boat tour on the canals. Copenhagen Zoo borders the gardens.
The city's only water playground, run by the City of Copenhagen inside Fælledparken. Kids fire water cannons and make a cloud rain down on them, and there is a wading pool alongside.
It suits a hot afternoon with kids who are happy to get soaked. Bring a change of clothes and a towel.
Trafiklegepladsen is a staffed public playground built as a kid-sized town, with little roads, bike lanes, traffic lights, road signs, zebra crossings and a mini gas station. Kids practice cycling and traffic rules on loaner bikes and balance bikes, or on their own. A small fenced track with tricycles suits the youngest.
At the other end are swings, a climbing net and a big sandbox with buckets and toy cars.
Tårnlegepladsen is a staffed playground in Fælledparken built around play-size copies of Copenhagen's landmark towers, linked by walkways and slides. Around them sit a sand and plank building area, an artificial-turf pitch, a fire pit and electronic birds to catch.
The playhouse, run by play staff during opening hours, has drop-in games, crafts and room to tumble indoors. A large scooter track runs alongside.
Fælledparken is the city's second largest park, laid out on old common land. Kids get two standout playgrounds: a traffic playground with road signs, traffic lights and bike paths, and the Tower Playground, built around five of the city's best-known towers.
Older kids head for the skatepark, one of the largest in Northern Europe. A 3.5 km path loops past lawns, mature trees and a lakeside flower garden.
Blegdamsremisen is a staffed indoor playground in a former tram depot on Blegdamsvej, the only free indoor playground the city runs. The big hall holds a play landscape, ball courts, table tennis, a pirate ship, animals and craft workshops, and the staff start activities through the day. Toddlers get their own playgroup mornings, and dogs are not allowed.
KU.BE is a four-story culture and movement house by the architects MVRDV and ADEPT, where the building doubles as play equipment. Kids scale climbing hills, crawl through wall mazes, cross a hanging climbing net with a view and ride the silver slide.
Toddlers get their own tumble area upstairs, and the garden outside adds a basketball court and a playground for small kids.
The Black Diamond is the Royal Danish Library's cultural center on the edge of Copenhagen Harbor, opened in 1999 and joined to the original 1906 library building. Inside are exhibitions, reading rooms, a café and a shop, with the walled Library Garden behind.
The Children's Library on the second floor has a craft workshop, a costume corner with gold-embroidered capes, board games and a shelf of old children's books.
The city's largest public library sits in the old town, facing the Round Tower. For families, the reason to come is LÆS, a 1,000-square-meter children's floor designed around how kids learn language and reading. Its 10 zones include reading caves, the Ordbjerget play area for letters and movement, a drawing station with board games, and a shelf of books in English and five other languages.
Nyhavn is a 450-meter canal dug in the 1670s, lined with brightly painted 17th and 18th-century townhouses and moored historic wooden ships. Canal tour boats leave from the quay, and the Memorial Anchor stands at the harbor end. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three of the houses.
The quay is mostly restaurants and cafés, so it suits a stroll and a boat ride more than a long day out.
A bronze statue of the mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale, shown as she becomes human, sitting on a rock at the water's edge on the Langelinie promenade. Sculptor Edvard Eriksen modeled her on his wife, Eline.
She is small, 1.25 meters tall, and has stood here since 1913. Reading the story first gives kids something to look for when they find her.
