Grand Tour of Copenhagen

Our walking tour in Copenhagen started off well. The meeting point was perfect, and we even had the opportunity to walk through City Hall and grab a hot dog before the tour. The staff at check-in was very nice and told us that the tour would start on time and that we did not need to arrive more than six minutes early. However, the tour itself was quite different from what we expected. When we booked, the tour stated that we would be in a group of around six people. Instead, there were approximately 30 people in our group. This made the experience feel much less personal than we had anticipated. Our guide, Martin, was very approachable and encouraged everyone to introduce themselves, which was a nice way to start. However, the presentation style was extremely basic and felt more like a preschool teacher explaining things than a historical walking tour. Martin also mentioned at the beginning that he did the tour to subsidize his other career, which made it seem like guiding was not necessarily his primary interest. I also felt that the historical information was much more basic than expected. Before coming to Copenhagen, I would not have considered myself particularly knowledgeable about the city. However, I had watched Rick Steves’ videos, read his book, and looked through some basic tourist websites. Most of those resources focus on individual attractions and things to do, rather than going deeply into history. Despite that, during the first hour of the tour, nearly everything discussed was information I had already encountered. There were also several occasions when Martin was corrected by another woman on the tour who was from Poland. I agreed with her corrections, which made me question the historical accuracy of some of the information being presented. Another issue was the weather. We happened to have an absolutely beautiful, warm, sunny day, which was wonderful for exploring Copenhagen, but the guide did not make much of an effort to provide breaks in the shade. With a group of 30 people walking around in the sun, I think more consideration should have been given to stopping in shaded areas. We had actually planned the walking tour as a way to wake ourselves up after arriving in Copenhagen that morning, and for that purpose, the idea was great! Unfortunately, we ultimately left the tour after about an hour and 45 minutes because we were not enjoying the experience. Overall, I think the tour has potential, especially because the meeting location is convenient and the idea of seeing Copenhagen on foot is fantastic. However, I would recommend checking the expected group size and making sure the tour matches what you are looking for in terms of historical depth. And one important tip: definitely start your Copenhagen walking tour with a hot dog!

Very informative fun tour. Learnt lots due to the very knowledge Vall. Vall was considerate, fun and very helpful. Really enjoyed and learnt lots.

Wayne was very knowledgeable & gave us an excellent introduction to culture, history, way of life & tourist tips. It went at a good pace: not fast or slow & we saw many sites. I really enjoyed it.

Johanna was so thorough, knowledgeable, and kind. I was very grateful that she offered me her scarf upon seeing I was cold. She gave a wonderful tour of the city!

We did a 2.5 hour tour with Rikke at 10:30 on Sunday 16 November 2025. While they do not charge upfront for the tour, I hope everyone was generous with their tip for the Tour Guide, at the end, it was certainly worth it. The tour gave a really good insight into the story of Copenhagen and covered its founders, buildings, industry, language and, importantly for me, the social history. We covered a surprising amount of topics and places and Rikke was always on hand to answer the many questions we wanted to ask. We also had lots of tips on places to visit as well as places to go for a meal or a drink. Our tour finished at the Royal Palace (more like 4 stately homes) and we had the pleasure of seeing King Frederik X arriving home after the Guard Change. If you want to know all about Copenhagen in an interesting, interactive and friendly way, just do it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED