Free walking tours in Copenhagen: the honest guide
Copenhagen is a city built for walking. The neighbourhoods are distinct, the distances are manageable, and a lot of what makes the city interesting is the kind of thing you only notice at street level. Here is what we recommend to guests who want to explore on foot without spending much.
The Copenhagen App
The easiest starting point. The Copenhagen App is the official visitor guide developed by the City of Copenhagen, and it covers the whole city: attractions, neighbourhoods, events, restaurants, transport information and self-guided walking routes that you can follow at your own pace, in your own time, with no schedule and no group.
The app is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Polish, which makes it genuinely useful for most guests staying with us. The neighbourhood walks are well put together, cover parts of the city beyond the main tourist circuit, and work offline once downloaded.
It’s free. Download it before you leave the hotel.
Available on: App Store and Google Play — search “The Copenhagen App”
A note on “free” guided tours
There are several companies in Copenhagen offering what they advertise as free walking tours. They are worth knowing about, but worth understanding correctly: they operate on a pay-what-you-wish model, meaning you join at no upfront cost and tip the guide at the end based on your experience. The expected tip is typically 100 to 200 DKK per person (around 13 to 27 CHF).
That is not nothing, but for a two to three hour guided tour of the city centre with a knowledgeable local guide, it is genuinely good value. If you want the experience of exploring with a guide rather than a screen, the main operators meet daily at Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square). No booking required.
Just go in knowing that “free” means free to join, not free to leave.
- Not sure where to start? Ask at the desk and we'll point you at the walk that fits the day you have in mind.
Copenhagen Local Walks — the truly free alternative
If you want audio-guided walks that are completely free with no tip expected, Copenhagen Local Walks is the best option. It’s a project run by the City of Copenhagen in collaboration with StoryHunt, covering multiple neighbourhoods including Vesterbro (which is right outside the hotel), Nørrebro, the city centre, Amager and more. The walks are available as audio and text, in multiple languages, and over 100,000 people use them each year.
Download the StoryHunt app and search for Copenhagen Local Walks to find all available routes.
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