All About the Copenhagen Card and City Card

BOOK MY TOUR!
Updated: Februar 8, 2024

When my guests arrive in Denmark, I point them to the Copenhagen Card, a tourist attraction pass.

Why? If they are planning to visit multiple attractions or take more than one tour, they could potentially save a good amount of money.

My guests have wanted to hit all of the big tourist attractions: Christiansborg Palace, Rosenborg Castle, the National Museum of Denmark, Tivoli Gardens, and many more. They also want to tour the canals and catch sight of the Little Mermaid statue.

They can do all of those and save 20% - 50% off general admission prices, tours, and even transportation, depending on which card they choose.

Who wouldn't want to save money when visiting one of the happiest, yet most expensive, countries in the world?

This post provides details about tourist attraction passes, the types of cards you can purchase, and what kind of savings you can find.

Disclosure: While our recommendations are always unbiased, we may receive a small share of sales through some of the links below at no cost to you. See the full text.


OVERVIEW

Below we lay out some general information about Tourist Attraction Passes.


What is a Tourist Attraction Pass?

The idea behind a tourist attraction pass is that you’re paying one flat price for access to multiple tours, landmarks, museums, and other things to do in the city.  Some of them even cover transportation

These cards cover the price for dozens of activities and attractions that you can visit.

You chose the number of hours (days) you'd like to use the card, between 1-5 days.

As long as you use the service for several different activities per day, these passes will easily save you money.


How do I save money?

The best and easiest way to save money with a pass is simply to use it for as many things as possible. The more you use the pass, the more money you’ll end up saving.

We recommend these tourist attraction savings passes for anyone who plans to enjoy at least 4 historic locations, museums, or tours each day.


COPENHAGEN CARD

This is the official tourist attraction pass in Copenhagen.

In addition to all the destinations, attractions, and activities included on the two Copenhagen cards they each cover a different form of transportation for free!

  • Copenhagen Card | Discover
    • Free access to 80+ attractions
    • Unlimited public transportation (in zones 1-99)
    • Free transportation to and from the airport
    • Attractions in and around the city
    • Can be purchased for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 full days
    • Purchase Discover Card
  • Copenhagen Card | Hop
    • Free access to 40+ attractions
    • Unlimited access to Stromma's Hop On - Hop Off buses
    • Attractions in the city
    • Can be purchased for 1, 2, or 3 full days
    • Purchase Hop Card

Note that you will potentially save more with the purchase of a card with more days on it.


The Cost of the Copenhagen Card

We break down the cost per day, listed under hours, for each card here.


Examples of Savings

Copenhagen Card

Here are some of the most popular attractions in Copenhagen and the price an adult would have to pay if they purchased a ticket directly:

  • Planetarium | 185 kr
  • Kronborg Castle | 125 kr
  • Experimentarium | 225 kr
  • Copenhagen Zoo | 239 kr
  • Rosenborg Castle | 140 kr
  • Frederiksborg Castle | 90 kr
  • The National Museum | 120 kr
  • Copenhagen Canal Tours | 109 kr
  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not | 169 kr

If you were to get the Discover pass, you would get free access to all of these attractions including:

  • Planetarium
  • Kronborg Castle
  • Copenhagen Zoo
  • Rosenborg Castle
  • Frederiksborg Castle
  • The National Museum
  • Copenhagen Canal Tours
  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Another Way to Look at Savings

Whether you’re looking for something family-friendly or you’re more interested in learning about the history of this city, you’ll be able to use this pass to get great savings on a variety of fun and interesting experiences.

Here’s an example of how you can find those savings by purchasing the Copenhagen Card Discover 72-hour pass for 1 adult.

Day 1

  • Copenhagen Canal Tour | 109 kr
  • The National Museum | 120 kr
  • Rosenborg Castle | 140 kr
  • Kronborg Castle | 125 kr

Day 2

  • Planetarium | 185kr
  • Experimentarium | 225 kr
  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not | 169 kr
  • Guinness World Records Museum | 169 kr

Day 3

  • Copenhagen Zoo | 239 kr
  • Øresund Aquarium | 80 kr
  • Danish Museum of Science & Technology | 130 kr

Total Value: 1767 kr

72 hours Discover Card: 830 kr

Total Savings: 937 kr (53 % savings)

Of course, this example doesn’t even factor in the free public transportation or any of the other activities you can get for cheaper which would easily save you even more money!

If you pick a Discover 24-hour pass, you’ll need to use it for 4 activities before you save money, but with a longer Discover 120-hour pass you'd save seeing only 2-3 attractions per day.

As you can see, this is a pretty affordable attraction pass no matter which length you choose. 


How do I use my Copenhagen Card for transportation?

If you have a Copenhagen card for transportation, purchase the card and activate it upon first use.

After that, just show the card's QR code if you're asked to by a driver or inspector.

Here is what the two cards cover transportation wise

The Discover card grants unlimited travel from buses, trains, and the metro within zone 1-99, which includes

  • Copenhagen
  • Roskilde
  • Helsingør Elsinore
  • Hillerød
  • areas in Northern Zealand

The Hop card grants unlimited travel from Hop On - Hop Off buses in Copenhagen.


Can I buy a Copenhagen card at the airport?

Yes, you can buy a Copenhagen card at the airport. Assistance from the Copenhagen Airport Service Desk is available daily from 06:00 to 22:30.

The desk is located in T3, immediately after you go through customs.

You can receive support with purchasing, redeeming, and activating your card at the Airport Service.


Does the Copenhagen card include transport to the airport?

The Discover version of the card covers transportation to and from the airport.

It encompasses public transportation and grants you entry to the metro, regional trains, buses, and more, enabling travel throughout the entire Capital Region.


CITY PASS

This is another pass you can purchase in Copenhagen with one important thing to note: it only covers travel.

What was in the past called the Copenhagen City Pass, is now just called City Pass.

And instead of offering access to attractions with no travel as the old pass did, the new City Pass offers travel only.

This would be worth looking at for those who want the freedom to travel about the city (or country) and don't necessarily want to pack in a large number of trips to attractions.

The City Pass comes in five variants:

  • City Pass Small
  • City Pass Large
  • City Pass Extra Large
  • City Pass Vest
  • City Pass Syd

As with other passes, you can take 2 children under the age of 12 for free with one adult. Children ages 12-15 can travel at half price.


The Cost of City Pass

Once you decide the area in which you want to travel, and for how long, you can pick which version of the card you want.

Note that zones 1-99 cover Copenhagen and the surrounding area.

The City Pass Small and Large can be purchased at ticket machines in trains and metro stations and on the DOT Tickets app.

The City Pass X-Large, Vest (West), and Syd (South) can only be purchased on the DOT Tickets app.

You'll want to keep these passes on your phone and show the photos during ticket inspection.

Note that you can put multiple City Passes on a single phone if you want to, however if you'd like to travel separately at any time you'll want them on separate phones.

Also, you might take a look the apps new 12-hours tickets that gives you unlimted travel in for 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday.


COPENHAGEN PASS

The Copenhagen Pass, which is not to be confused with the Copenhagen Card, is sadly no longer being offered.

This pass included multiple popular activities for one low price and was an excellent alternative for anyone who was interested in visit only a few attractions.

Copenhagen Pass from Tiqets. Image source: Tiqets.

Copenhagen Pass from Tiqets

We don't know if they plan to bring the card back at some point, but if they do, we will update this post.


COMBO PACKAGES

While Copenhagen tourist attraction passes are a great way to save money on a variety of fun activities and attractions, for some you'll need to use them for around 4 services per day in order to find some solid savings.

If you’re not interested in doing that much each day, combo packages are a great alternative which typically covers the cost of 2-3 tours, museums, or other popular sites with one flat price.

Here are a few of the more interesting combo deals available in Copenhagen:

Hop on Hop off Bus with Optional Canal Tour

  • 24 Hour Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour
  • 1-Hour Copenhagen Canal Cruise
    • Adults: $35.01| Kids: $18.85

National Museum of Denmark + Tivoli Gardens

  • Admission and Access to Permanent Exhibitions at the National Museum of Denmark
  • Admission and access to rides at Tivoli Gardens
    • Adults: $35.01 | Kids: $18.85

National Gallery of Denmark + The TUBE Copenhagen

  • Admission to the National Gallery of Denmark
  • Admission to the TUBE immersive Art Rooms
    • National Gallery | Standard (26+): $15.76 | Reduced (18-25): $8.65 | Kids (17 and under): Free
    • Tube | Adult (18+): $14.52 | Child (3-8): $10.22

National Museum of Denmark + Christiansborg

  • Admission to the National Museum of Denmark
  • Admission to Christiansborg
    • National Gallery | Adult (18+): $17.81 | Kids (17 and under): Free
    • Christiansborg | Adult (18+): $23.98 | Students (with ID): $21.24 | Kids (17 and under): Free

Copenhagen Zoo + Christiansborg

  • Skip-the-line Entrance to Copenhagen Zoo
  • Admission to Christiansborg Royal Reception Rooms, Royal kitchen, The Ruins, and a 50% discount on the Court Theatre
    • Copenhagen Zoo | Adult (12+): $34.11 | Child (3-11): $20.42 | Kids (17 and under): Free
    • Christiansborg | Adult (18+): $23.98 | Students (with ID): $21.24 | Kids (3 and under): Free

Kronborg Castle + Tivoli Gardens

  • Entry to Tivoli Gardens (does not include rides)
  • Entry to the interactive art rooms atTUBE Copenhagen
    • Together | Adult ($8+): $31.74 | Child (3-7) $19.37

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