Animals win over almost every kid, whatever the weather. This list gathers the zoos, aquariums and farms worth the trip: big animal parks for a full day out, aquariums for a rainy afternoon, and small city farms and pony centers where kids can feed, groom or ride. Some sit a short bus ride from the center, others make a day trip.
Fortunens Ponycenter has kept horses at the entrance to Dyrehaven since 1880 and now has 35 horses and ponies. Parents rent a lead pony and walk their child through the forest themselves, after a short briefing from staff, with no riding experience needed.
Older kids and adults can join guided forest rides of one or two hours, including beginner groups that trot.
A horse farm on the edge of Kongelunden forest and Amager Fælled, with Icelandic horses, larger horses and ponies. Guided trail rides head through the forest, across the commons and onto Sydvestpynten beach, for complete beginners as well as experienced riders.
Smaller kids sit on a pony that their parent leads on foot through the woods. A five-day summer camp with overnight stays teaches kids more about horses and riding.
Børnenes Dyremark is a children's animal yard in Sydhavnen, built by local kids and parents decades ago and still run entirely by volunteers. Horses, ponies, rabbits, goats, sheep, hens and alpacas live here.
Member children help care for them, from feeding and mucking out to grooming, and the rabbits roam a shared rabbit village with burrows and a sandpit. It suits animal-mad kids who like chores.
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.
Den Blå Planet holds around 50 aquariums in three sections, from a rainforest with giant arapaima to the Ocean aquarium, the largest tank, where hammerhead sharks and stingrays glide past. Kids can watch four sea otters crack shellfish on their bellies and spot a giant Pacific octopus.
Outside, a water playground has an Archimedes screw, pumps and sluices, next to a playground with climbing frames and a slide.
Copenhagen Zoo, Zoologisk Have to locals, keeps elephants, lions, tigers, hippos and chimpanzees, plus polar bears you watch underwater in the Arctic Ring. In the Kids' Zoo, kids stroke goats and meet pigs, llamas and cows, right by the zoo's largest playground.
The Tropical House, Elephant House, Hippo House and Zoolab (with a leafcutter ant colony) are all indoors, so it works on a rainy day too.
Animals win over almost every kid, whatever the weather. This list gathers the zoos, aquariums and farms worth the trip: big animal parks for a full day out, aquariums for a rainy afternoon, and small city farms and pony centers where kids can feed, groom or ride. Some sit a short bus ride from the center, others make a day trip.
Fortunens Ponycenter has kept horses at the entrance to Dyrehaven since 1880 and now has 35 horses and ponies. Parents rent a lead pony and walk their child through the forest themselves, after a short briefing from staff, with no riding experience needed.
Older kids and adults can join guided forest rides of one or two hours, including beginner groups that trot.
A horse farm on the edge of Kongelunden forest and Amager Fælled, with Icelandic horses, larger horses and ponies. Guided trail rides head through the forest, across the commons and onto Sydvestpynten beach, for complete beginners as well as experienced riders.
Smaller kids sit on a pony that their parent leads on foot through the woods. A five-day summer camp with overnight stays teaches kids more about horses and riding.
Børnenes Dyremark is a children's animal yard in Sydhavnen, built by local kids and parents decades ago and still run entirely by volunteers. Horses, ponies, rabbits, goats, sheep, hens and alpacas live here.
Member children help care for them, from feeding and mucking out to grooming, and the rabbits roam a shared rabbit village with burrows and a sandpit. It suits animal-mad kids who like chores.
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.
Den Blå Planet holds around 50 aquariums in three sections, from a rainforest with giant arapaima to the Ocean aquarium, the largest tank, where hammerhead sharks and stingrays glide past. Kids can watch four sea otters crack shellfish on their bellies and spot a giant Pacific octopus.
Outside, a water playground has an Archimedes screw, pumps and sluices, next to a playground with climbing frames and a slide.
Copenhagen Zoo, Zoologisk Have to locals, keeps elephants, lions, tigers, hippos and chimpanzees, plus polar bears you watch underwater in the Arctic Ring. In the Kids' Zoo, kids stroke goats and meet pigs, llamas and cows, right by the zoo's largest playground.
The Tropical House, Elephant House, Hippo House and Zoolab (with a leafcutter ant colony) are all indoors, so it works on a rainy day too.
