What to do with your kids this summer in Copenhagen

The school holidays are upon us, and for families who have chosen to hang around Copenhagen this summer, you might be growing tired of hearing your kids saying "I'm bored". Here's a list of fun activities across the city to keep them entertained.

Head to Amager Strandpark where Sommer på Stranden (summer on the beach) has planned kids activities every day until July 26th. From creative activities, concerts, and circus events, the whole month is filled with free entertainment organised by Copenhagen municipality.

All over Copenhagen, holiday camps ( feriecamp in Danish) have been set up, with all sorts of entertainment for kids. From Amager, to Nordvest, to Valby, to Østerbro, there are locations all over the city, with activities for all ages. Look forward to capoeira, basketball, creative workshops, and more. Find your closest holiday camp on the Copenhagen municipality website.

Copenhagen has many staffed playgrounds (bemandede legepladser in Danish) all across the city. These playgrounds host many of the holiday camps mentioned above, but are in themselves a wonderful place to let kids run off some steam when they get bored. Other than your usual playground equipment, they also bring out bikes and gocarts, balls and sandpit toys. A few of them even fill up big paddling pools on hot summer days (more on that below).

When the days get particularly warm, many people get desperate for somewhere to cool down. Obvious choices are the city’s beaches (such as Amager Strand, Stranden i Valbyparken, or Svanemøllen) or the city’s harbour baths (Islands Brygge, Havnebadet Fisketorvet and Sluseholmen Havnebad being the most kid-friendly).

However, during the summer, many public spaces and playgrounds fill up paddling pools for kids to splash around in. Skydebanen, Hulgårds Plads, Remiseparken and Valbyparken have fixed days with open paddling pools, which you can find on the Copenhagen municipality website. The staff at Bredegrund Byggelegeplads also fill up their paddling pool on days with good weather.

Remiseparken, one of Amager’s staffed playgrounds, which is not only home to an animal petting area but also one of the city’s paddling pools, also hosts wacky street theatre. Head to Amager on July 28th and 29th for Hamlet in a Hotdog Stand - a satirical puppet show with no words, and therefore no Danish skills needed.

If you’ve read our article on what’s happening in July , you may be up-to-date on the open-air cinema events happening at Banegaarden , a stone's throw from Vesterbro. Banegaarden is also hosting kid-friendly films, such as Krølle Bølle and Molly og Pelle på Eventyr (a Canadian film known as Pets to the Rescue in English). Note that seats are available on a first come, first served basis, and that films are shown in their original language with Danish subtitles.

Have a kid with oodles of energy and a love for music? Head to Fælledparken in Østerbro for Sommerdans : free dance classes for kids. The event takes place every Thursday from 12pm to 2pm and is suitable for children aged 3 and up.

Every day until July 22nd, Reffen, Copenhagen's street food mecca located on Refshaleøen, hosts Sommercamp : summer activities for children. Try everything from painting birdhouses, building insect hotels, planting seedlings, dance parties, children’s petanque, and more. Activities take place from 10am to 4pm, and will be moved inside if the weather is bad.

If your children clap their hands at the sight of a fire truck or an ambulance, Brandmuseet ( the Fire Museum ) might be for you. Located where Vesterbro and Sydhavn meet, this museum has free entry and is open on Thursdays and Saturdays. Kids get to immerse themselves into the world of firefighters and paramedics while learning about Copenhagen’s emergency services. Note that fire trucks and ambulances aren’t by default a part of the museum’s exhibition.

A real Copenhagen summer experience is Amagerbanens Venner . Old tram tracks which were installed in the early 1900’s and used for one of the city’s tram lines until 1995, are today used during the summer for trolley cycling. Amagerbanen is run by volunteers, so there are only a small handful of days where you can try it for yourself. The next one is on July 19th from 12-15pm, but the event is also available on a small handful of dates throughout August.

In an attempt to keep kids reading over the summer holidays, to try to maintain their reading level, Copenhagen’s libraries have come together to create an event called Sommerbogen (or the summer book in English). Suitable for children aged 6 to 15, and age-adapted, this reading challenge comes with fun activities. Once completed, all participants win a prize. Note however that this is a Danish activity, and is therefore best suited for children who go to a Danish school.

Copenhagen has fabulous libraries scattered all over the city, which in themselves are a great place to spend a few hours with kids. However during the summer, they ramp up the number of children’s activities they host. Get your face painted or join a chess club at Vesterbro library; experience theatre at Hovedbiblioteket; experience fun, colourful installations at Ørestad bibliotek; join writing- and cartoon clubs ; and much more .

Københavns Museum, located a stone's throw from the town hall and Tivoli Gardens, hosts fun kids activities during the summer. Most require some Danish skills, but all are fun and educational. Let your kid discover their inner archeologist, with a two day archeology course . Or help them learn about architecture with children’s architecture bingo . See more details about children’s events on Københavns Museum’s website .

If you haven’t heard of Naturcenter Amager Strand before, and you have a kid who loves to learn about nature and wildlife, you’re in for a real treat. Copenhagen has a few nature centres dotted around the city, but the one on Amager Strand lets you see the seaside up close, allowing you to touch sea stars, catch crabs and fish, and learn about different types of jellyfish and seaweed. During the summer they plan events, such as family wading trips and Science Camp .

During the summer, Nikolaj Kunsthal, the art museum housed in Saint Nikolaj Church, close to Kongens Nytorv, hosts workshops for children and their parents. The workshops walk children through their current exhibition by Alison Knowles, using fun activities to teach them about the art. Children are free while adult participation is 110 kroner. Join the next workshop on 25th July. You can choose between three workshops, each one lasting an hour.