Copenhagen Marriott Hotel Denmark

For our first city trip with two small children, we decided to head to Copenhagen, Denmark, for a weekend during the summer’s family-visit marathon. Until now, our vacations had been strictly rural or resort getaways—because, let’s face it, the idea of a city tour with kids felt more stressful than fun. But we figured, why not try a capital city where the main attraction is an amusement park? Plus, with 75% of Danish people speaking fluent English, we knew we wouldn’t be lost in translation.

We landed in the pleasant, well organized airport and after a short taxi ride, we arrived at the Copenhagen Marriott Hotel. The hotel is just a short walk from the city center and Tivoli Gardens and offers modern, bright, and spacious rooms with huge windows overlooking the harbor, Havneparken, and some charming old brick buildings. Right outside the hotel was a promenade where, to our astonishment, people were swimming in the (very cold) waters at all hours—apparently immune to the frigid temperatures. The hotel staff was wonderfully friendly, and we indulged in the breakfast buffet, loaded with fresh local goodies.

On our way into the city center, we stumbled upon two lovely playgrounds—an absolute lifesaver when traveling with kids. The minimalistic playground next to the Danish Architecture Center was particularly great, allowing the kids to burn off some energy before we dove into sightseeing. Copenhagen is a small city, and just about every interesting sight is within walking distance, which is ideal when you’re pushing strollers and chasing little ones. During our two days in Copenhagen, we could have tried to see all the sights, but we opted for a slower pace—because nothing says vacation like leisurely ice cream breaks and spontaneous playtime. Street cafes and small flea markets popping up on every corner were like the cherry on top of our strolls through the city.

We booked a 2-hour walking tour to learn more about the city, and I chose the politically incorrect walking tour—a mix of city tour and stand-up comedy. The kids weren’t exactly thrilled about stopping at buildings every few minutes, but I’d still call it a success. If you’re visiting Copenhagen, I’d definitely recommend this hilarious tour. www.freetours.com

Our guide gave us some valuable tips about boat tours and places to eat that we weren’t able to check out due to time restrictions. He highly recommended the ‘Hey Captain’ canal boat tours as an alternative to the overpriced tours starting in Nyhavn. Instead of eating at Nyhavn, which he called a tourist trap, the close by ‘Bridge Street Kitchen’ offers a large variety of exciting high quality street food options with a lot more value for money.

Tivoli Gardens, the third oldest amusement park in the world, is rumored to have inspired Walt Disney’s Disneyland. With 180 years under its belt, Tivoli has managed to stay fresh while retaining its original charm. Just 3 minutes from our hotel, we were blown away by the sheer variety of attractions: rides for all ages, roller coasters, traditional carousels, games, playgrounds, candy shops, cafes, and restaurants, all nestled among beautiful parks and gardens. It was like stepping into a storybook. In hindsight, we should have blocked off the entire day for Tivoli—especially since the entrance fees had us reminiscing about Dubai prices.

Our first city tour with kids turned out to be a huge success, and Copenhagen, this small, cozy capital of Denmark, is definitely worth a visit. It’s also a fantastic spot for shopping, especially if you’re into antiques and Scandinavian design jewelry and clothes. I fully intend to explore this side of the city on our next visit—sans kids, if I can manage it!