Cycling in Copenhagen

Cycling in Copenhagen is something everyone should experience once in their lives. With almost unrivalled bike infrastructure, certainly outside the Netherlands, and a mind blowing number of cyclists and bicycles, Copenhagen is a prime example on how a city can rid itself of its oil addiction. Dozens of bicycle enthusiasts, traffic professionals, bicycle evangelicals and environmentalists have made a pilgrimage to the city, in fact 11% of tourists arriving in the city, state that they have come to witness what is known as bicycle nirvana, though its not without its problems. If you are already in the city for unrelated reasons, there is no better way to get around the city's attractions, than breezing along the bicycle tracks feeling like a local for brief moment.

Understand



 * See urban cycling for general advice on cycling in cities.

The first bicycles descended on Copenhagen from France in the 1890s and in the space of just 17 years, Copenhagen became the hot spot of bicycling in Europe, and until the 1950s the cyclists of the city never looked over their shoulder, and their numbers continued to balloon until Henry Ford's model T, became cheap enough to be sufficiently attractive to appeal to human laziness and yearning for status. For nearly 3 decades Copenhagen then followed the path of most other cities in the world, and the famous bicycle girl who had adorned the classic tourist posters, withered, and became increasingly unattractive to the city's populace.

It took two oil crises in the 1970s before the citizens of Copenhagen again opened their eyes to her simplistic beauty, and decided to take a different path than their peers around the world. As Denmark did not have any significant oil reserves a way of preserving fuel had to be found, and urban traffic was one of them. Massive demonstrations to demand space on the roads for bicycles ensued, and slowly but steadily the town hall steered Copenhagen down the road that would lead to Copenhagen becoming one of the leading cities of bicycles in the world, along with Amsterdam.

Time flew by, global warming (which had been theorized about as early as the 1890s) started coming to the fore, Copenhageners continued to bike like they had done for decades, in increasing numbers but without making much of a racket about the fact, until in the 2000s a Canadian photographer revived the old bicycle girl, this time in the modern incarnation of Cycle Chic, and the world began to take note, mayors of world cities like New York and London biked the streets of Copenhagen for inspiration, presidents came, CNN came and suddenly Copenhagenization had entered the vernacular of global dialogue.

While Copenhagen is still one of the leaders, many other cities, especially in the Netherlands, but also medium-sized towns in Germany took a similar approach to urban transport in the 1970s and '80s (largely as a response to the oil price shocks of 1973 and the following years), but despite bike culture being important to the residents and local politicians of Münster, Amsterdam or Erlangen their model has attracted much less attention across the borders and especially in the Anglosphere than that of Copenhagen.

Etiquette
While Copenhagen is often hailed as bicycle Nirvana, its not all a dance on roses. There are more bicycles than people in Copenhagen, so biking in the streets of Copenhagen can, and probably will feel, intimidating for even experienced cyclists, as cyclists mostly bike in a brisk pace without much leeway, in a carefully orchestrated ballet of sorts - It takes very little to mess up the harmony. If you have not biked in a city with the modal share of Copenhagen before, you should probably skip the rush hour (7.30-9 and 15-17), even if you consider yourself an experienced cyclist.

And even outside rush hour there is an etiquette - strictly policed, heavily fined laws - to follow. Breaking most of the points below, carries a 700 kroner fine if you are caught by police.


 * Boxed turns on left (Copenhagen left), probably the most important rule. Turning left is a two-stage process. First you cross the street straight ahead, stop, wait for green or for traffic to clear in case the intersection is unsignaled, and then you cross the street to complete your left turn.
 * No right on red, you'll see quite a few locals doing it anyway, but don't.
 * Stay off the pavement, biking there is never allowed. If there are cycle lanes, you should also stay off the road, even if the cycle lane feels intimidating.
 * Keep right to allow other cyclists to overtake you. Cycling is the main mode of transport for citizens here, so people are on their way to work or school, and not biking for leisure.
 * Keep two hands on the bike.
 * Remember to signal, if you care to avoid crashes this is important, a hand straight up in the air to signals you intend to stop, a hand horizontally to your left or right indicates you intend to turn.
 * Pay attention to lights and signs, cycling is highly organized here, and both drivers and fellow cyclists expect you to adhere to these, so if you don't you may cause accidents.
 * Use bike lights at night, when the streetlights are turned on, it is also mandatory to turn on your bike lights. Police strictly enforce this, and fines are heavy

Get in
While most visitors arrive in Copenhagen by plane or cruise ship, and then rent a bike in the city, it's also possible to arrive by your own wheels on long-distance routes. The most popular options are from Berlin and that other bicycle Mecca Amsterdam. There also used to be a ferry from England, offering access from London, but service on it was discontinued in 2014.

From Berlin you can take the Berlin-Kopenhagen Radweg. The journey is around 630 km. Between Denmark and Germany you cross the Baltic sea on the Rostock - Gedser ferry. Once in Denmark follow the signs of national bicycle route 9 to Copenhagen. Fast cyclists need a week to complete this journey, most people take longer.

From Amsterdam you can take a leg on the North Sea Bicycle Route  along the North Sea to Denmark. Once you enter Denmark you can either continue along the coast to Esbjerg and follow the same bicycle route 6 to Copenhagen as from London, or you can follow the Hærvej route further inland and join up with route 6 in Vejen. Via Esbjerg it's a 1860 km trip, so most people will need a few weeks to take this journey.

Once you are in Denmark, the Danish Bicycle Association has an excellent resource in Cyclistic to help you plan your journey

Public transit
If you want to explore destinations further afield, such as Køge and Hillerød it's free to bring bicycles on the city's S-train system. The first, middle and last carriage are equipped with bike racks (46 of them in total). Remember to use the back wheel when you park your bike in them, since this prevents the bike tipping over when the train stops at stations. You are not allowed to enter or exit S-trains with a bike on the Nørreport Station during rush hours.

It's also possible to bring your bike on the Metro, but the there is a rush hour curfew from 07:00-09:00 and 15:30-17:30. Either way you must buy a special bicycle ticket (14 kr in 2023) for your bike in the automatic vending machines.

It is free to bring your bike on the harbour bus' boats, although space is limited. Try to avoid rush hours.

Finally it's also possible to take your bike on the Øresund trains between Elsinore and Malmö in Sweden. There is a carriage with a flexible compartment for bikes marked with a pictogram, usually one of the middle carriages. Within Denmark you use the same bicycle ticket as on the Metro, across to Sweden, you'll need to pay a much higher surcharge, equivalent of children's ticket on the same route.

The bridge route
14 km, or ca one hour at local speed One possible excursion that is relatively easy to follow starts at Dronning Louises Bro, from where you cycle down one of the busiest bicycle streets Nørrebrogade, the cycle tracks are so wide here that a local shop owner quietly wondered if it was needed for planes to land on after they had been installed. 500 m down the road after the first intersection, the long yellow wall of the Assistant cemetery appears on the left, a popular picnic spot during the summer, and the final resting place of cultural giants H.C. Andersen and Kirkegård. Continue ahead until you reach ‘The Red Square’ as locals have dubbed it, if you are interested in urban design, the Superkilen park which stretches 500 m north is a good place to explore. Once done, head south on the Nørrebro cykelrute, after about 1,5 km you will reach the Åbuen bridge and another 1 km later you'll reach a large shopping centre and metro station on Falkoner Allé, turn left here, and after about 5 minutes you'll reach Frederiksberg Park, along the street there are many family (some would call it beer-) gardens, which is good place to break for lunch, a little later there the road up the hill will take you to Frederiksberg Palace, Cisternerne and the Zoological gardens (see Frederiksberg for details). Continue down Pilé Alle, and just when the road make a right turn, turn left down the cobblestoned street (Ny Carlsbergvej), which will take you through the old Carlsberg brewery and the iconic Elephant gate. Continue straight ahead, across the wide boulevard, until you reach the train tracks, and follow them left for another 500 m, until you can cross them on the bridge at Dybbølsbro station. Here it gets a bit tricky but at the end of the bridge you follow the cycle lane outside the Fisktorvet shopping centre 360 degrees until you are facing the bridge again and then you turn sharp right onto the Bicycle Snake (huge ramps for cyclists) which takes you on to the beautiful Bryggebroen bike bridge, across the harbour. Turn left and follow the harbour towards the city, during the summer the Islands Brygge park is full of life and people swimming in the harbour. Continue along the water and check out Lille Langebro on your left, another bridge exclusively for cyclists and pedestrians. After another 250m cross the architecturally extraordinary Cirkelbroen bridge into the neighbourhood of Christianshavn. Right after the bridge turn right and follow the canal along its left side until you reach Børnehusbroen bridge, where you change to the right side of the canal. Follow this road for about 700m and turn left towards Inderhavnsbroen, another beautiful pedestrian and bicyclist bridge. End the tour with a cool drink in one of the many bars and restaurants along Nyhavn waterfront.

The blue route
9 km, or ca 35 minutes at local speed Start at the bicycle counter by City hall while not as impressive as the other counter, around 7000 cyclists pass here daily. Continue straight ahead down H.C. Andersens Boulevard and enjoy the separated bike lanes on the busiest street in the city as you pass the city hall square and the Ørsted park, a remnant of Copenhagens old ramparts. As you reach the lakes, you will pass a white old beautiful building called the Søpavillonen (Lake Pavilion), now a nightclub built in 1896 as the home of the Copenhagen Iceskating Union. At the end of the lake, turn right to follow the cycle track along the lakes, hailing back to the 1910s this bicycle track is among the first build bicycle infrastructure built by the city as you continue along the lakes two tunnels will take you under the crossing streets, the end of the lakes is a good rest stop at the two cafés with lakeside seating. Turn right along the end of the lakes, and then make a left at the signalled intersection down Classensgade. This street is one of few in Copenhagen to have painted bike lanes rather than the standard raised bicycle tracks, but notice how you still have parked cars to protect you from traffic. Follow the street to the train tracks at the end, where you should turn right down the lovely bidirectional cycle track until you reach the bicycle-pedestrian-only bridge across the train tracks. Cross it, and continue along the ramparts of the Kastellet citadel, dating back to 1624 and well preserved it's a lovely place to disembark your bikes and go for a stroll. When you reach the lower end of the hill The Little Mermaid is on your left. When the road ends under the restaurant it turns into a cycle path that will take you to the harbour front promenade. It is not common but perfectly legal to cycle here, so zig-zag between the walking tourists at a slow speed until you reach the big fountain where you can make a short detour to see the Royal Palace. Continue along the harbour and you'll pass the modern Royal Danish Playhouse and reach the famous Nyhavn, if the sun is out, join the locals for a beer at the bulwark. Cross the water on the short road bridge and turn left to cross the harbour on the US$30-million Inner Harbour Bridge, which opened in 2013. Continue straight over another short bicycle bridge and you'll reach Prinsessegade where you should end this tour with a stroll at Christiania free town. Don't let the relatively shady area at the main entrance, known as Pusher Street, put you off.

Bike rental
As a possibly more comfortable alternative to the city bikes you can rent a bike. There are many options around the city for renting a bike. Generally you can expect to pay around kr 70–110 for one day, usually a little higher if you rent through a hotel.

Nearly all larger hotels rents out bikes, a select few even lets you borrow one for free. If you need to arrange your own set of wheels there are ample choices

Rickshaws
Rickshaws and pedicabs are a common sight in the city centre, there are 36 taxi stands at 10 locations spread throughout the medieval city where you can. While it's sometimes possible to haggle a set price for a destination, all the different operators have a fixed 40 kroner flag fall charge and then 4 kr per minute.

Buy
There are 300 bicycle shops just in central Copenhagen, so wherever you are, chances are you will have a bicycle shop just around the corner. However most of these shops sell stylish hand-build bicycles and accessories that you are not likely to get your hands on anywhere else.