Copenhagen – a truly brilliant city for cycles!
If London is so well known for it’s red buses… then Copenhagen can probably lay claim to being the most bike friendly capital city in Europe… I’m sure others might contest this (and we can think of a few….) yet it’s the detailed planning of the cycle routes that gives Copenhagen the edge for us…
Cycle lanes are split into categories but all appear very safe… with both girls flying along the clearly marked cycle lanes until the ‘cycle traffic light’… yes you heard me right the first time… these ‘cycle traffic light‘ are a brilliant example of just how much thought has been given to each route!!
With each cycle route allowing more than one bike beside each other, it led to a brilliantly relaxing Father’s Day. Cycling along, chatting away with the 3 most precious people in my life…. good old family fun, a bit of physical exercise and a stunningly beautiful city to explore… just a perfect day! (Plus the not small distance of 34km biked, which is a far effort from both girls (especially our 8yr old Libby!)
The cycling paths even have their own ‘green waves‘ a perfectly timed series of green lights that can allow you to fly through the city – if you keep up with the pacing!! Great fun as we tried to hit green lights throughout the journey… Our journey started some 8-10km outside the city centre in the DCU campsite – Absalon (A well laid out site with plenty of things for the girls to do, plus a great shop/reception)
The ride took us past the various sites that make Copenhagen such a special pace -the Royal Palace, the Tivoli Gardens, the impressively large Zoo and onto the famous statue of the Little Mermaid by the harbour… But we also opted to take in the UN centre in the redeveloped dock area, the GeoCenter and much, much more…. before arriving at the achingly beautiful Nyhavn….
It is hard to put into words just how stunning this colourful street is, but it certainly rivals anything we saw in Norway or Sweden in recent weeks
Although we had our bikes in the back of our trusty Adria, you really could arrive in Copenhagen and be on a bike within minutes… the impressive City Bikes (so named after Copenhagen gifted Bill Clinton with one on his 1997 visit) are so easily accessible. Easy to locate as they are blindingly white, and all have built in sat nav with tourist info pre-loaded… a brilliantly effective idea and one that seemed to be heavily used (as too did the electric ‘ride now’ cars… it really is the way forwards!!!)
With much planned over the next 72hrs in Copenhagen, we hope it matches this wonderful first impression. A city that enjoys the outdoor life, appears to know how to create a great family atmosphere and has much to offer a tourist!
Is it family friendly? On first impressions we think it’s probably one of the safest and child friendly we’ve been too… it appears to have a great series of ‘city centre’ based attractions but it appears there is so much more outside of the city in this stunningly pretty Vestegnen region
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Summary Need to escape for a few days? Want to compare weekend breaks to top cities such as Bordeaux, Rome or Copenhagen? Does your family love to explore new cities too? Do you also think that city breaks aren't just for adults and are a great way to learn, relax and bond as a family. If so, grab a seat, make yourself comfortable & discover some of the favourite 'family friendly' cities we've visited in our 700+ day European Roadtrip
