In the Viking times, the place was called Havn or harbour.
'''Spring''', while a bit risky, as no one knows quite when it sets in, can be the best time to visit the city. On the first warm day, usually in early May, the Copenhageners come out of their hibernation, and flock to the city streets, parks, outdoor cafes — in a veritable explosion of life, relieved that the country's dreary and dark winters are finally over. For many locals this is the height of the year.
'''Summers''' in Copenhagen are usually warm with an average temperature of some twenty degrees, and the days are long — reaching the peak on 21 June, when the day is almost eighteen hours long. If the weather becomes too hot, you can jump in one of the free pools in the cool harbor waters downtown — Copenhagen's harbor is often considered the world's cleanest urban waterfront. Most of Copenhagen's annual events are held during June and July, and when the sun is out there is always life in the streets.
'''Autumn''' and '''winter''' have a profound effect on the city. The vibrant summer life withers and the streets go quiet, as most Copenhageners go directly home from work. This is where the Danish concept of ''hygge'' sets in, roughly translating into coziness. It's the locals' way of dealing with the short dark days. Friends and families visit each other for home cooking and conversations by candlelight with quiet music on the stereo. In week 42 the Danes have an autumn holiday, with many events taking place, such as the night of culture. The height of winter is December, where Christmas brings some relief to the short days, with lights and decorations everywhere, in the streets, shops and in peoples' windows. Tivoli opens its doors for the Christmas markets, and most Danes go on a drinking rampage, with the very Danish and traditional Christmas lunches, with work and family.
A number of low-cost carriers also fly to the airport. '''EasyJet''' [http://www.easyjet.com/] serves Copenhagen from London Stansted, Milan, and Berlin Schonefeld; '''Air Berlin''' [http://www.airberlin.com/] flies direct to Dusseldorf, Berlin and Palma de Mallorca; '''Norwegian''' [http://www.norwegian.no/] offers budget flights to Oslo, Stockholm, Budapest, Amsterdam and Warszawa; '''Cimber Sterling''' [http://www.cimber.com] operates many routes out of the airport e.g.: Newcastle, Edinburgh, Athens and Bergen. Recently Dutch low-cost carrier ''Transavia'' [http://www.transavia.com] has begun offering flights to a number of European destinations like Barcelona, Nice and Rome.
It takes twelve minutes by train to get from Kastrup to the central station (Hovedbanegarden) in downtown Copenhagen. You need a ticket for 3 zones. Purchased from one of the automated vending machines or the ticket counter located inside the atrium, this costs 30 DKK for a single journey. The Copenhagen Metro [http://www.m.dk/] also connects Kastrup with central Copenhagen, with trains leaving every four minutes during the day and every fifteen minutes at night, taking fourteen minutes to the city center (for the same ticket and price of 30 DKK).
Consider '''Sturup Airport''' ('''MMX''') in Malmo, Sweden as well — it's only 40 minutes by bus from central Malmo, and from there 30 minutes by train to Copenhagen Central Station. ''Wizzair'' [http://www.wizzair.com/] from Budapest, Gdansk, Katowice, Prague and Warszawa and a few domestic airlines often offer cheap flights to other Swedish cities.
Buses between Zealand and Jutland are only marginally cheaper than the train, although there are considerable discounts offered Monday – Thursday. The international buses on the other hand offer considerably lower prices than the train. Travel by train, however, has been prioritized politically, therefore Copenhagen still lacks an intercity bus terminal. Most international buses stop somewhere around the Central Station (usually next to DGI-byen), but be sure to check the exact location when you buy your ticket. Domestic long-distance buses mostly leave from Toftegards Plads, near Valby station.
The two big hubs are the Central Station (da: Hovedbanegarden/Kobenhavn H) with S-trains, Intercity-trains, and buses and Norreport Station with S-trains, metro, regional trains, and buses. Travels by trains, buses and metro can be scheduled electronically through rejseplanen.dk [http://www.rejseplanen.dk/bin/query.exe/en?]
All public transport in Copenhagen, as well as the rest of the country, operates on a zone system. The smallest ticket is the two-zone ticket which cost DKK 21 for adults (DKK 10.50 for children under the age of 16), and can be purchased from ticket offices, vending machines and bus drivers. Two children under the age of 11 can travel for free with one paying adult. It will allow you to travel around Copenhagen in two zones (the zone where you stamped or purchased the ticket plus one adjacent zone) for an hour. You can switch freely between all trains, metro and busses within this hour, as long as you last trip starts before the time is up (your ticket will be timestamped in 15-minutes intervals).
The range of a single zone can roughly be translated to around 7 minutes in the metro or 15 minutes in a bus, but always check the zone maps in the stations, some stations are closer to zone borders than others. Ask local people if help is needed, as the zone system can be complex for visitors. At night (from 1 am. to 5 am.) the ticket price double, and you need to stamp for example 4 zones if you travel in 2 zones. This rule applies to all N-busses (night busses). Night charges do not apply to holders of monthly cards.
A ten-trip ''klippekort'' will give you a discount of around 40%, and can be bought in kiosks and ticket offices. You can also purchase a day pass starting at DKK 90. Alternatively, buy a '''Copenhagen Card''' [http://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/], which gives free transport throughout the region and free admission to 60 museums and sights. The card costs DKK 199 for 24 hours, DKK 429 for 72 hours.
In regional trains, S-tog and Metro a ticket must be bought and timestamped before boarding the trains. In buses tickets can be bought from the driver but not ''klippekort'' which must be bought beforehand. The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is DKK 600 and ticket conductors are common both in S-trains and metros. More information about price and tickets on movia.dk [http://www.movia.dk/Service/Tourist/touristguideUK/Pages/TouristGuideUK.aspx]
Loudspeaker announcement regarding S-trains are given in Danish only, so remember to ask your fellow travelers, but for the most part they are just cursory announcements.
More information on the Copenhagen Metro website [http://intl.m.dk/].
Going on a canal tour in the inner harbour and canals, is an excellent and easy way to see many of the city's attractions, and fortunately there are many options depending on your taste and preferences. DFDS Canal Tours operates both a unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the water bus, arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals. They also have 3 guided tours, either by a prerecorded tape available in many languages, or live English & Danish commentary by a guide, be forewarned though, after 75 minutes this can get a bit loud if you are not normally attracted to this sort of tourism. Netto-badene offers a single fixed tour, but at a much lower price. Please note that services are scaled back considerably between October and mid-March, if you are visiting during winter, you might want to opt for DFDS' ''red'' guided tour, as it offers a heated, glass roofed boat, during the winter. Both companies offers starting points in either Nyhavn or Gammel strand (opposite the parliament). A different option is the public harbour bus, which while it doesn't enter the canals, is much faster and is an integrated part of the public transportation system, and uses the same tickets as buses and trains.
An option you may want to consider is a ''Freedom ticket'' which gives unlimited transportation for 2 days on both all the DFDS Canal Tour boats, as well as the double decker sightseeing buses of Copenhagen City Sightseeing for 220 DKK.
The fastest and most flexible way of seeing Copenhagen is on bike - as 40 percent of the Copenhageners use their bike everyday the city has been designed to cater for cyclists with separate bicycle lanes along most larger roads. Cyclists are often allowed to ride both ways in one way streets.
Be careful if you are not used to biking in a busy city. In Copenhagen it is a common mean of daily transportation and the locals drive fast and without room for much leeway. Don't expect to get a warning when someone wants to overtake you. Always keep to the right and look behind you before you overtake someone - otherwise you could cause some nasty bicycle accidents.
In the center of the city, you can also get around by the '''free public city-bikes'''. These are specially painted by various sponsors, and are very simple bikes that you can find on special stands near some important places like the main train station, the Tivoli park, the port and some others. After you insert a 20DKK coin, you can take the bike and go where you want as long as you stay in the inner part of the city marked on a plan that you will get with the bike. When you return the bike to some stand again (not necessarily the same one), you will get your 20DKK coin back. During winter periods, though, you will not be able to find (m)any bikes, as they are being repaired in the local prisons as part of a 'community service'.
The bikes usually come with a map on which the main attractions are marked. The map also marks the borders of the city within which you are allowed to ride the bike. If you are caught outside these borders, you could be faced with a fine (around 1000 DKK).
Please don't take away city-bikes that you see somewhere not on a stand, because there are high chances that somebody will soon return for it and by taking it away, you would not only deprive him of his means of transport, but also of his 20DKK coin.
The city bikes are not the most comfortable bikes in the world (they have massive tyres), and you cannot always rely on finding one in the stands - they might be in use.
The city bikes have, however, become sort of a Copenhagen landmark. Thus president Bill Clinton [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_clinton] was presented with ''City Bike One'' as the city's official gift during his official visit in 1997. It was specially designed with the presidential seal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_the_President_of_the_United_States] on its wheels.
As an alternative to the city bikes you can rent a far more comfortable bike than the city bikes. You can find a little bike rental shop called CPH bike rental [http://www.cph-bike-rental.dk]on a side-street to Nansensgade on Turesensgade 10, 5 minutes from Norreport station. They rent out bikes on a daily basis and by that they finance the shipment of used bikes to Africa. They also arrange city tours and sell picnic baskets. Their prices start at 60 kroner for 6 hours bike rent. Another bicycle shop are at the Central Railroad Station, where prices start at 75 Danish kroner a day/ 340 kroner a week. At Hojbro Plads (next to McDonalds at Stroget) you can find rickshaws for hire with a driver, who will often be trained in providing tourist information as you stroll along. A variety of bike tours are offered by Bike Copenhagen with Mike including a daily City tour at 10 AM departing from Copenhagen Bikes at the Main Train Station.
Prices range between 11 and 16 DKK per kilometre depending on the time of day, and the meter begins at DKK 25.
'''Copenhagen Taxi companies'''
Entrance to most museums are free once a week, mainly on Wednesdays. While you can always count on the main attractions to be well versed in the English and German languages, and geared towards tourists, a good tip to see if the many, smaller museums, listed throughout this guide caters to non Danish speakers, is to see if the website has an English section - if it does, this '''usually''' means the museum has at least some English information throughout it's exhibitions - of course if you have some interest in a particular subject, such museums can be interresting even if you don't understand the sign postings - and as Danes are usually fairly fluent in English - you can always try to ask staff if they could give you a brief tour.
If you are into the arts Copenhagen has a lot to offer, the natural starting point of which, is a visit to the '''Danish National Gallery''' (Statens Museum for Kunst), where you can feast the eye on blockbusters like Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse. There are a number of paintings by Danish artists from the 'Golden Age'. Continuing in the classical arts a visit to '''Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek''', the spectacular building houses paintings from masters like Picasso, Leger and Matisse and a large collection of classical statues and sculptures, and the winter garden is a beautiful place to rest your legs on a rainy day. Both of these museums are conveniently located in the Downtown area. If you are hungry for even more classic art exhibitions an excursion north of Copenhagen to the beautiful '''Ordrupgaard''', which offers you a chance to enjoy Monet, Renoir, Degas & Gauguin. There are several other options for classical paintings if you have not yet tired, but if you are ready for a change, head south to the '''Arken Museum of Modern Art''' for a world class exhibition of mainly Scandinavian contemporary modern art, as well as hugely popular temporary exhibitions. If you want to enjoy some local colorite on an art tour, '''The Hirspung collection''' on Osterbro features the top of the pops of Danish artists, with a special focus on the Skagen painters, and for something quintessentially Danish, breeze through the wonderfully quirky sketches of the much loved local personality, Storm P, at the aptly named '''Storm P''' museum on Frederiksberg.
However for real architecture buffs, the city's main claim to fame is the modernist architecture and it's native masters. ''Jorn Utzon'' (of Sydney Opera house fame) and son is behind a trio of buildings on Osterbro's northern harbour, known as the '''Paustian''' complex, there is a fine - but expensive - restaurant in one of the buildings. You can enjoy ''Arne Jacobsen's'' work by either sleeping, or sucking in the atmosphere (and great views) of the top floor lounge bar, in the '''Royal Hotel''', one or the the Inner city's very few tall buildings, or head north to '''Bellavista''', a residential complex and theatre near the beach, where there is even a restaurant featuring both his famous furniture and his name. Lastly ''Henning Larsen'', famous for his iconic buildings in Riyadh, is behind Copenhagen's new '''Opera''' house, overlooking the habour on Christianshavn, from where you can also catch a view of Copenhagen's latest iconic contraption, '''The Royal library''' known to locals as the black diamond, from it's shiny polished black granite walls.
The four identical classicist palaces of '''Amalienborg''', is the main residence of the royal family, the octagonal courtyard in the centre is open to the public, and guarded by the ceremonial Royal Guard. The relief takes place every day at 12 o'clock noon, and is a highlight for any royalist, there is also a small royal museum on the premises. '''Rosenborg Palace''' is a small, but pretty, renaissance palace, surrounding by the lovely '''King's Garden''', which is one of the most lively parks of the city. The palace both serves as a museum of Royal history, and as a home for the crown jewels, which is on display in the catacombs beneath the castle. Unusual for a well founded democracy, the palace that houses the parliament, '''Christiansborg''', is also a royal palace. It's usually possible to visit the Royal reception rooms, stables and the old court theatre here. And for entertainment of royal stature, you can try and arrange tickets to watch a play in the beautiful '''Royal Theatre''' facing the Kings New Square. All of these sights are in the inner city. If you are hungry for more, head north, where the park around '''Sorgenfri palace''' is open to the public, or have a picnic on the huge open plains in front of the '''Eremitage Palace''' in the Dyrehaven park, which used to serve as the kings hunting castle.
Visit '''Fields''' [http://www.fields.dk/default.asp?PageID=181], the biggest shopping centre in Scandinavia. Take the train to the Airport (Kastrup/Airport) or Malmo and get off at Orestad Station or go by the Metro to Vestamager and get off at Orestad station (though it should be noted that most, if not all, of the shops at Fields can be found on Stroget as well).
Good bets for quality one-stop shopping in the inner city: '''department stores Illum''' (on Amagertorv on Stroget, at the end of the shopping street Kobmagergade which runs south from Norreport st.) and '''Magasin du Nord''' (on Kongens Nytorv at the end of Stroget; you can enter direct from the Metro station).
For less mainstream shopping, some good areas to find interesting small boutiques are: around Studiestrade and Vestergade just north of the Radhuspladsen end of Stroget; inner Norrebro around Ravnsborggade and Sankt Hans Torv (walk north from Norreport station and turn right on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th street after crossing the lake) and a place very much worth visiting - Nansensgade 5 minutes from Norreport Station, an old street with trees on either sides that has its own special community of Nansensgade-inhabitants.
Take a walk north from the station towards the lakes and turn left one block before the lakes); Vesterbrogade and Istedgade in Vesterbro (walk west from the main station on one of these roads -- you'll need to go a few blocks before hotels/sex shops/thai restaurants turn into more interesting territory); Osterbro around Classensgade and Willemoesgade (these come off the main road Osterbrogade directly across from the eastern end of the easternmost city lake, Sortedams So).
Best bets for out-of-hours shopping (apart from the ubiquitous 7-11 and small kiosks): the shops at Central station (offering books and CDs, camping gear, photographic equipment, cosmetics, gifts) are open until 8pm, 7 days a week. Large shopping centres and department stores (e.g. Fields, Fisketorvet, Illum, Magasin) open on Sundays around once a month (usually the first Sunday, right after everyone gets paid!) and more often at peak sale periods.
Plus size clothing can found in the following shops H&M (Fields and Stroget), Nannaxl in Fisketorvet, or Venus & Mars XL in Fields. Sostrene Nielsen is a upmarket store a few blocks off the upmarket end of Stroget.
Best shopping streets outside of the city centre are Ravnsborggade for antiques, Elmegade for Fashion, Varnedamsvej for Food and Fashion, Istedgade for home decor and fashion.
Flea markets
The Norrebro Flea Market is Denmark's longest and narrowest. It stretches for 333 metres on one half of the sidewalk by the wall of the Assistens Cemetry on Norrebrogade. Here you may find a Royal Porcelain Christmas Plate, a Chesterfield chair or plain, down right rubbish. 4 April - 31 October 2009 every Saturday at 06:00 - 15:00.
The oldest flea market in Copenhagen is the one on Israels Plads, close to the Norreport S-Train Station. Here private individuals as well as professional dealers put all kinds of old stuff, antique furniture, His Masters Voice grammophones, and objets d'art up for sale. In 2009 the flea market celebrates its 35 year anniversary. 18 April - 10 October 2009 every Saturday at 08:00 - 14:00.
If your budget doesn't really allow for regular dining on expensive Michelin restaurants, don't despair, there is plenty of other options. Nothing cheaper than the many Shawarma and Pizza joints that you can find on almost every street in the city, you can get a Shawarma from as little as 15 DKK (2,5 USD) and Pizza's usually start from 40 DKK (7 USD), and you can often opt for both take away, or the one or two tables usually offered to sit by, the cheapest places can be found around Istedgade on Vesterbro and Norrebrogade on Norrebro
If Shawarmas get a little tiring, there are several mediterranean-style all you can eat buffet restaurants, dotted around the inner city. '''Riz Raz''' is popular, with three locations and a huge vegetarian buffet for 70 DKK (12 USD - Grilled meat can be ordered off the menu). The branch on St. Kannikestrade has an infallible ability to seat and feed groups of all sizes. Near by '''Ankara''' on Krystalgade offers a Turkish-inspired buffet which includes meat as well as salads.
For breakfast and lunch try one of Copenhagen's Bakeries (Danish: Bager - Look for a Pretzel like contraption out in the front), they are numerous and the quality is excellent. Many offer ready-made sandwiches (around 35 kr), Denmark's famous open faced rye bread sandwiches called Smorrebrod, These sandwiches are small enough to take away and eat either with your hands or a fork and knife, and a wide range of ingredients are available, including some elaborate combinations for the more adventurous. Most bakeries also offers coffee, bread rolls, and cakes (expect to pay 8-10 kr for Danish pastry, here known as 'Wienerbrod'), and several bakeries have at least some form of counter seating.
Natur bageriet - Natural bakery. All types of breads and pasteries and they are all organic. Also many choices for vegetarians, wheat and gluten free options and vegans. Two locations Frederiksborggade 29 (close to norreport station)and Istedgade 98 ( close to hovebanegard station) http://www.naturbageriet.dk/
For something quintessentially Danish, no visit to Copenhagen is complete without trying out a Polsevogn (see image on the right), literally meaning Sausage Wagon, where you can get your hands on some of the different forms of tasty hot dogs, with free selection of various toppings, for next to nothing by local standards. It's also one of the few places where you are expected to socialize with the other guest. To blend in remember to order a bottle of ''Cocio'' cocoa drink to wash down your hot dog. At night when the wagons are put into storage, 7-11 stores (which is open 24/7) take over the business of satisfying your hot dog crave, and various other eat and walk items like pizza slices or spring rolls.
And finally, remember to look out for the term ''''dagens ret'''' on signs and menus -- this means 'meal of the day' and often translates to a filling plate of hot food for a reasonable price.
For a range of interesting bars and cafes head to Norrebro (north and across the lakes from Norreport station.) From the main street Norrebrogade either turn left on Blagards Plads (try Props for a cosy glass of wine on rickety chairs, or '''Cafe Apotek'' for interesting imported beers, quirky decor and cheap live music) or right onto Falledvej to '''Sankt Hans Torv'' (as well as the obvious places on the square, there are plenty of places on small streets around, from traditional Danish pubs to trendy cocktail bars and microbreweries).
Vesterbro, Christianshavn (including Christiania), and Copenhagen/Frederiksberg are other good, relatively lively areas to explore. Osterbro is quieter but there are some 'nice' places: the French cafe on the north side of the lake is a great place to enjoy a quiet beer while looking at swans; '''Panzon''' on Rosenvangets Alle (near Trianglen) is a good place to splurge on a glass of wine. In the central shopping area head south of Stroget to parallel-running Stradet where there are a number of cosy cafes. If you stay near Norreport Station it is worthwhile to pay a visit to the bar/cafe '''Bankerat''' in Ahlefeldtsgade, the "interior decoration" supplied by a local artist who places stuffed animalheads on dressed up mannequin dolls - eyecatching. Very popular place with the locals.
Note that Danish 'cafes' are equally ready to serve coffees or beer and wine. At most places the beer on tap is either Carlsberg or Tuborg. In either case there will be a choice of the normal pilsner, and then a slightly redder Special or Classic. Some might also offer wheat or dark beer. A large beer costs 40-50 DKK or so most places in central Copenhagen, but some places on charge DKK 20-30, especially on weekdays or early hours. Unless you come from elsewhere in Scandinavia don't frighten yourself by trying to work out what this costs in your home currency. If you are on a budget you could follow the example of local teenagers and get primed with bottled beer from a supermarket or kiosk (3-7 DKK for a 330 mL bottle). It is legal and very popular to drink beer in public (not on public transport, although it will be accepted if you are not showing drunk behaviour), so buy a beer, sit on a park bench or Nyhavn and enjoy the Danish life.
If you want to watch some rugby or Manchester United there are some expat Irish/British pubs in the inner city. The Globe on Norregade has a cosy library and does good food; The Dubliner near Amagertorv on Stroget (main walking street) is cavernous and raucous. Or try McGinty's, an authentic Scottish pub, on Vester Voldgade just 100m from the Town Hall Square, expecially pay it a visit when Manchester United plays as it is the Danish hangout for the Danish fans.
For a coastal city Copenhagen has surprisingly few places where you can enjoy a water view with your beer or coffee. Nyhavn is rather crowded and touristy (imitate the locals on a sunny day by buying beer from a kiosk and dangling your legs over the water). There are a couple of swanky places on Langelinie (near the little Mermaid) and the cafe at the base of the Black Diamond has a lovely outlook over the canal. In spring and summer a few cafes on the north side of the city lakes put out tables, chairs and blankets(!) by the water for beer-drinking and swan-watching.
For the beer hunters out there, Copenhagen has a few excellent specialty beer bars:
Copenhagen has a very active nightlife where the party goes on all night. Start an evening by drinking beers or cocktails in one of the trendy spots around Istedgade on Vesterbro, or Studiestrade or Gothersgade in the city center. For late night clubbing, most places will be half empty before 1-2 am. and stay open until 5-6 am. Some areas where a number of night clubs can be found is Boltens Gard in Gothersgade and Radhuspladsen (main city square). Night clubs usually charge DKK 40-80 for entrance and additional DKK 10-20 for cloakrooms. A pint of beer will normally cost you around DKK 40-55. Most nightclubs have age retrictions of minimum 18-20 years on Wednesday-Friday and 20-23 years on Saturday. It is also possible to get more infomation and a full list of clubs on the mobilephone on the address wap.mobileclubbing.net.
The clubscene is vibrant in Copenhagen, but most clubs are only open Thursday to Saturday. Note that most locals have a party at home with friends, or frequent their favorite bars, before they head out for the clubs, so they rarely get going until after midnight. Below is a breakdown of the main clubs in different genres. Most clubs have cover charge, and the ones that don't are rubbish more often than not. Most clubs maintain a minimum age of 20 or 21, although they are not required to do this by law. Expect a draft beer, or basic drinks, to set you back 40-50 DKK - a bit more expensive than bar prices.
The Major music venues in Copenhagen are '''Parken stadium''' on Osterbro for the biggest stars. In Downtown, '''Copenhagen Jazzhouse''' obviously hosts Jazz concerts and '''The Rock''' is the spiritual home of the local rock and heavy metal scene. '''Vega''' on Vesterbro is one of the major venues, with concerts of almost every genre, by major national and international acts. Norrebro has three venues; '''Stengade 30''' is a hangout for the alternative and indie scene, '''Rust's''' stage is mainly host for mainstream rhythmic music, and '''Global''' is it's name would imply, provides a stage for world music. Southwards on Christianshavn, it's no surprise that the '''Operahouse''' plays Opera, and not to be missed, the different venues of '''Christiania''' is a powerhouse of Denmark's alternative and underground culture.
Copenhagen offers all kinds of accommodation but like the rest of Denmark, prices are high. Most hotels are located in Indre By (e.g. the Radisson-SAS which was designed by Arne Jacobsen). Special rates are sometimes available on the internet or from travel agencies, so look around.
There are a few '''Hostels''' available, the cheapest are two summer only (July-August) hostels on Vesterbro ''YMCA Interpoint'' and ''Sleep in fact'' where you can overnight in basic dormitory bunk beds from as little as 100 DKK, on Norrebro the two Sleep in hostels are slightly more expensive, but still a bargain compared to the general price range. The national hostel system - Danhostel[http://www.danhostel.dk] which is part of Hostelling International run 4 hostels within reasonable distance of the the centre, but they are not exactly party locations if that is what you are looking for.
For '''Hotels''' consider the '''Cab Inn''' [http://www.cab-inn.dk/] chain, they have 3 hotels in Copenhagen. One is just a short walk away from Tivoli and Kobenhavn H and the other two are at Frederiksberg. Rooms go from 71 Euro (single) to 103 Euro (triples). The rooms are quite small but a TV and private shower and toilet are included.
A complete list of hotspots is kept up-to-date by pocketfreak.dk [http://hotspot.pocketfreak.dk/1000-2599.html]. 'Gratis' is Danish for 'free'.
'''The Tourist Information''' [http://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/] is located near Copenhagen Main Station (2m walk) and is worth a visit. The staff are really friendly and they speak almost all languages. It is possible to book hotels using PC terminals directly from within the Tourist Information. They provide information for all possible activities in Copenhagen - museums, concerts, festivals etc.
For Low Budget Travellers it is recommended to have a look at '''the Copenhagen on Low Budget Guide''' [http://www.useit.dk] that is available for free at the Tourist Information. This page has been removed and all information can only be had from Visitcopenhagen website. However, the first page of the now defunct site says it has collected materials into a brochure that is available in youth hostels.
Copenhagen used to be one of the safest cities in the world, and while the situation has deteriorated in recent years, it's still generally a safe city compared to other cities the same size. Like any metropolitan area, Copenhagen does experience its share of crimes, and recent times has seen an increase in very violent gang related crimes on Norrebro. While crime against strangers is mostly of the non-violent type, such as pickpocketing and petty theft, one should take the necessary precautions, in particular in the neighbourhood of Norrebro and in the western suburbs, i.e. those municipalities located to the west of Copenhagen proper.
While racism is nowhere as rampant as certain reports will have you believe, it can occasionally be a problem for people of African or Middle eastern descent. However, the only place you are likely to encounter this as a tourist, is in the city's night life. If you are unfortunate enough to experience racism, it's important not to get yourself involved in a heated argument, as people who have not seen the incident will usually be quick to support the offender, due a surge of problems with violence related to immigrant community gangs, who feel alienated by a closely knit Danish society. Instead walk away, and if you feel a need to react, report the incident to authorities, who are required to investigate such cases. Other ethnic groups on the other hand, are not likely to encounter any problems.