Kid's Height
Press Information
July 2008
Kids' Height Copenhagen
No trip to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to Tivoli, right in the middle of town. Tivoli offers both the fun of the fair, the peace and tranquillity of a park and the ambience of the many open-air cafés, restaurants and bars. It's a real wonderland for kids of all ages, with its marooned pirate ship, roller coaster rides, shooting galleries, the Valhalla Castle, home of The Nordic God, Odin, and by the main entrance you will find Denmark's first Build-a-Bear workshop.
Tivoli presented a totally new attraction to the public in November 2005: Europe's longest (30 meter) salt water aquarium with 1600 colourful, tropical fish and exotic baby sharks swim around in 270.00 litres of water. A small-scale reproduction of the Great Barrier Reef has been constructed to give the ideal background. This fascinating eye-catcher is located in the basement of the main entrance to the newly renovated Tivoli's Concert Hall.
Tivoli is open from mid-April to mid September every year for the Summer Season and again from mid-November until the end of the year with a colourful Christmas Market bustling with activities for young and old alike.
In October during the school autumn vacation (in 2008 it will be from 11 to 19 Oct.) Tivoli has introduced a third seasonal event. The garden is transformed to a colourful, spooky and haunting Halloween world. Harvest activities, pumpkin heads and witches abound, the restaurants and fun rides are open and other activities are aimed especially at families with children, but surely everyone else will have a good time as well!
For more rides and amusements, just out of town lies Bakken, (open from late March to late August, admission free). A well established pleasure park situated on the wooded outskirts of Dyrehaven. is the perfect place to wander about and relax after a ride in Bakken's notorious roller coaster.
Art galleries have never been particularly kid friendly, or for that matter particularly interesting for kids themselves. But that has changed with the National Gallery's (Statens Museum for Kunst) new Children's Gallery. The idea behind this addition of the art museum is to teach children the values in art, but on their own terms. Featuring selected original works from the permanent collections, workshops and a cinema, the Children's Gallery gives kids an insight into various creative processes. Artists teach and help children Sat.&Sun. 10:30-16:30. Price DKK 20. Arken Museum of Modern Art has a Children's Room that's a bit smaller that Louisianas. It offers various activities. You can read children's books or create a drawing and hang it on the wall. The first Sunday of every month is children's Sunday at Arken. From 11.00-16.00 there will be a guide telling about the different exhibitions and taking part in the activities at hand.
You only have to be a few minutes in Copenhagen and you'll notice them; Gaily coloured gaggles of giggling kids being chaperoned by their kindergarten teachers, babies in enormous prams being threaded through the pedestrian street Strøget, Kids' heads peeping out of the luggage compartments of specially designed delivery bikes, being peddled through the rush hour by a red faced mum or dad, kids on roller skates, keeping up with the bikes in the bikelanes; kids, everywhere, no problem. In Copenhagen, kids are just part of the scenery. With special free places reserved on buses and trains for prams and pushchairs, children's menus in restaurants, and of course reductions at all museums, galleries and entertainments, kids have been fully incorporated into the everyday life of the city. This also makes Copenhagen a perfect city for visiting children.
As a visitor with kids in Copenhagen it's not difficult to keep both yourself and them entertained. There are now many museums with child appeal, designed to be interesting both for you and the kids. The National Museum for example features a special kid's section, so while you're examining the preserved jewellery, bones and bodies dug up from Danish peat bogs, the younger ones are happily pushing buttons that make things light up in an educational way. For the more scientifically minded there's the Experimentarium, a collection of hands-on installations and exhibitions demonstrating the wonders of natural science. Crazy mirrors, water wheels, computer rooms, logic puzzles, it goes on and on. New for '99 is the Kids' Pavilion for children aged 3-6.
Continuing the scientific theme, there's the Tycho Brahe Planetarium. In it's impressive building at the end of the city's string of lakes, the Planetarium boasts an Omnimax theatre, which projects a hemispherical image within its dome. As you sit in the reclining seats, it's impossible not to physically experience the movie showing; be it an underwater safari or a trip on a roller coaster.
In February 2006 the world's largest digital 3D screen was presented to the public. Fitted with special 3D glasses, spectators get the feeling that they are part of the activities on the 1000 square meter large dome shaped screen. Subjects are the Moon and the 'Blue Planet' - Earth.
Copenhagen is also the proud owner of a major Zoo with all that that entails; Lions, giraffes, seals etc. Probably the most popular though are the Monkey House, Children's Zoo and the Night Zoo where day is turned into night. Just outside the city lies Denmark's Aquarium with it's spectacular tropical and sea-water landscape tanks filled with fish and aquatic mammals from all over the world. During the weekends and school holidays there's a chance for 'Close encounters with animals'.
The Tøjhus Museum or Danish Defence Museum is also an unexpected hit with kids. Perhaps the Dungeons and Dragons iconography of double handed swords and suits of armour has something to do with it. There's also the Changing of the Guard at Amalienborg at noon everyday, or perhaps a trip on one of the canal boats, which takes you through canals across the harbour to Christianshavn. If you take one of the Water Buses, you can hop off at Langelinie for a closer look at the grand cruise liners moored there and say hello to the Little Mermaid. In town itself there are the diversions of The Guinness World of Records Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum, featuring an indian shrunken head and the strangely fascinating Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum. Sharing lobby with Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum a new Hans Christian Andersen Museum is opening on 1 June 2004. Here the visitors will be invited to share the life and fairy tales of the famous writer.
If that seems like too much pure entertainment for one day, you can always take a trip along the North-coast to Lousiana Museum of Modern Art. Situated right on the coast, the gardens, beach and the special children's house make it an ideal destination.
A perfect way to round off the day could be to visit Vandkulturhuset in the so-called 'DGI-Town' Copenhagen's new sports and cultural centre. Vandkulturhuset includes a new swimming bath with lots of fun for children - young and old. Take a swim in the bassin formed as a super-ellipse, play in the kids’ bassin or the water experimentarium with diving and climbing areas, or relax in hot water baths with spa, etc.
In the neighbourhood of the DGI-town, The Copenhagen Children’s Art School is located. Here Copenhagen school classes are offered courses and participation in cultural events. 12 pupils to a class are given the possibility to explore and create visual art. The results of their endeavours are exhibited and visitors welcome.
On a more general level there's still plenty to do in Copenhagen. Among the many parks, Frederiksberg Have is particularly suitable for kids. It's a park for football, rounders, kites and general fun. There's even a boat trip around the park's canal system. In the centre of town lie, Kongens Have (Rosenborg Castle) and the Botanic Gardens. They're a little more sedate but are still a peaceful place to take an ice-cream or a hot dog from one of the street stalls. Close to the international Football Stadium lies Fælledparken, with its outdoor pavilion cafe and wide open spaces.
By Ørestad Station on the Metro, one of Scandinavia's largest shopping malls has opened: Field's. Here at 'Capella Play' kids will find a traffic playground, can go shopping in a mini village or play indoor ball games. Another Capella Play has opened in Hellerup, northern suburb to Copenhagen.
Eating
Finding somewhere to eat in Copenhagen if you have kids with you is not a problem. Many of the city's cafes and restaurants have special children's menus, and nearly all can provide a special high chair for toddlers. Some places though, go out of their way to make children welcome; Café K in the Copenhagen Zoo has an African decor with authentic souvenirs brought home from the dark continent and a special Safari tent has been errected in Søndermarken, where guests can purchase 'do-your-own-grilling packs'.
The lake in the Tivoli Gardens amusement park is home to the impressive frigate Sct. Georg III. From 2008 this mighty vessel will hold a family restaurant, finally allowing children visiting Tivoli to be pretend pirates to the full extent (in the former up-market restaurant the little pirates were only welcome if quiet and on their best behaviour.) The restaurant is named Pirateriet.
Another eating place in the Tivoli Gardens is Valhal where you can order ‘Prehistory Burgers' - made of quality products and spareribs with various spices. Other choices are ‘Gallic Gourmet Burger' and ‘Fungi from the Forrest'. So as not to spend all your Tivoli-time on a meal, you get a coupon for a free burger, if it takes your order more than 25 minutes to be served.
Just over the harbour at the intact rampart of Christianshavn lies Bastionen & Løven, a place where children can either enjoy themselves around the old windmill or just wander around without any problems. At Meyers Deli kids get to have their hot chocolate served in 'Mummi Cups' or you can order meals from the special children's menu. Restaurant SULT in the Danish Film Institute serves tapas and weekend brunch and offers free children’s movies on weekends. Via www.cinematek.dk you can click ‘Børnebiffen’ (i.e. kids cinema) to check dates and times for special children’s movies.
Skildpadden (i.e. The Turtle) is Copenhagen’s first build-your-own-sandwich bar. You have the choice between several types of bread, cold cuts, dressings etc. and the interior reminds you of the jazz clubs of the 50’s.
If you have been at Langelinie to see the Little Mermaid, a nice place to go with children is Café Sommerhuset behind the Liberty Museum overlooking the Gefion Fountain. It is an outdoor café, you can borrow playthings and there's lots of space on the nearby lawn for the kids to play within eyesight. Sommerhuset also has an ice cream bar with old-fashioned home made cones.
Mentioned above:
| Museums that appeal to children: | |
|
Nationalmuseet |
Louisiana -Museum of Modern Art |
|
Guinnesss World of Records Museum |
Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery) |
|
Botanisk Have (Botanical Garden) |
Arken Museum of Modern Art (Ishøj) |
|
Tycho Brahe Planetarium |
Zoologisk Have (National Zoo) |
|
Danmarks Akvarium |
Vikingeskibshallen (Roskilde) |
|
Louis Tussaud´s Wax Museum |
Ripley´s Believe it or not Museum |
|
Tøjhusmuseet |
Vandkulturhuset (swimming bath) |
|
Royal Stables |
|
|
Attractions children will enjoy |
|
|
Carlsberg Visitor's Centre |
Canal Tours (April - October) |
|
The Little Mermaid |
Changing of the Guard (At Noon) |
|
Rundetårn (Round Tower) |
The Tivoli Gardens (April-Sep. & Nov.-Dec.) |
|
Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Factory |
Dyrehavsbakken (March - August) |
|
The Wonderful World of |
Copenhagen Children's School of Art |
|
Build-a-Bear Workshop (in Tivoli) |
Capella World (in Hellerup) |
|
Capella World (at Field's) |
|
|
Restaurants where children are welcome |
|
|
Bastionen & Løven |
Peder Oxe |
|
Sult |
Café Sommerhuset |
|
Meyers Deli |
Café K |
|
DGI Byen, Vestauranten |
Skildpadden |
|
Valhal (in Tivoli) |
Pirateriet (in Tivoli) |
Parks & Gardens in Copenhagen
Kongens Have
Frederiksberg Have
Botanisk Have
Kastellet
