Press Information
March 2008

Facts about Copenhagen, Denmark

Geography
Denmark is situated in northern Europe and is one of the three Scandinavian countries. It consists of a mainland peninsula, Jutland, and 406 islands. The Danes number 5.3 million, seven per cent of whom are of foreign origins. Their mother tongue is Danish, of course, but English and German are spoken widely and to a high standard.

Capital
Copenhagen, Denmark's capital and Scandinavia's liveliest city, lies within the Øresund Region, which encompasses Scania, on the Swedish side, and Zealand and the island of Bornholm on the Danish side. Copenhagen has a population of 1.7 million; the Øresund Region has a total population of 3.6 million.
www.kk.dk

Climate
Considering its latitude, Copenhagen's climate is fairly mild, but its inhabitants know how to make the most of the sunshine. From early April to late September, over 260 of the city's cafés and restaurants move their tables outdoors, while the sunbathers hit the parks as soon as the temperature rises above 10ºC. Copenhageners cycle year-round, whatever the weather. February is the coldest month, while July and August are the warmest.
www.dmi.dk

History
Copenhagen was founded in 1167 and has been Denmark's capital since 1417. Denmark is the world's oldest kingdom. The reigning monarch, Queen Margrethe II, who lives in Copenhagen, can trace her ancestry back - over 1,000 years - to the Viking age. Copenhagen is also the seat of Denmark's government.
www.kk.dk

Politics
Denmark has a well-established tradition of democracy and stability. Since November 2001, Denmark has had a coalition government led by Venstre - Denmark's Liberal political party. Denmark is a member state of the European Union and is also part of the United Nations, NATO and the OECD.

Standard of Living
Denmark is renowned for the high standard of living they offer their inhabitants. In their latest survey into the standard of living in the world's cities, the renowned consultancy firm William M. Mercer positioned Copenhagen as number five in its 'Best Cities' list. Monocle Magazine recently (July 2007) placed Copenhagen number 2 on its top twenty list of most liveable cities, citing its excellent transport, quality housing, superb shopping, and abundant culture among the reasons they'd like to live here. They could also have mentioned that the inflation rate in Denmark has been one of the lowest in Europe for many years and that the economy remains strong.

Tourism is an important source of foreign currency and employment. In 2007, the tourist sector in the Copenhagen Region alone employed around 52.300 people and had a turnover of DKK 32.100 billion.
www.um.dk

No Smoking
Along with most other western European countries, Denmark has now imposed a blanket ban on smoking in public places. Smoking is forbidden in public buildings and private business - including restaurants, pubs, shops, public transport, entertainment venues and workplaces - throughout the country. The only exception from the ban is for establishments with an area less than 40 sq.mtrs., which don't serve fresh food - so you can still enjoy a cigarette in some smaller pubs if you're lucky - some places have installed special smoking rooms but most refer smokers to the streets.

How to Get There
Copenhagen Airport is consistently voted one of the best in the world by consumer travel groups and magazines, and it has recently been extended with a spectacular new terminal. In 2005 19,9 million passengers used the airport, which serves approximately 130 cities worldwide. SAS and related partners of Star Alliance plus 60 other international airlines use Copenhagen. In 2005, the total number of take-offs/landings numbered over 268,000, which makes it the most important international air traffic hub in northern Europe.

Flight times to Copenhagen:

Stockholm: 1 hour 10 min.	Vienna: 1 hour 45 min
Munich: 1 hour 10 min.	Zurich: 1 hour 45 min.
Warsaw: 1 hour 20 min.	Paris: 1 hour 50 min.
Amsterdam: 1 hour 25 min.	Geneva: 2 hours
Brussels: 1 hour 30 min.	Rome: 2 hours 40 min.
Frankfurt: 1 hour 35 min.	Madrid: 3 hours 25 min.
London: 1 hour 45 min.	Athens: 3 hours 20 min.
Chicago: 9 hours 10 min.	New York: 8 hours 30 min.

Infrastructure
Public transport in Copenhagen is safe, reliable, clean and cheap. Both trains and buses are frequent and efficient. Copenhagen has the fastest and cheapest airport-to-city-centre rail link of any European capital - just 13 minutes - and it costs only DKK 27.00.

By car, the journey from the airport to the city centre takes around 25 minutes. You can also travel direct by train from the airport across the Øresund Sea, via the new Øresund Bridge, to Malmo in southern Sweden in only 21 minutes. Copenhagen is also a cyclist's paradise with cycle paths alongside virtually every street, as well as free city bikes available to borrow from stands throughout the city from the spring to the autumn. Taxis are tightly regulated and operate with fixed prices. Traffic jams are rare in Copenhagen, but more than 50,000 still prefer to bike to work.

www.cph.dk
www.oeresundsbron.com
www.dsb.dk
www.hur.dk
www.bycyklen.dk

Pricing

The reputation of Copenhagen as a costly destination is not born out by the prices here and, actually, for most things it is on a par with other northern European capitals like London or Amsterdam. For example, in Copenhagen you can:

< Have a beer for around DKK 30-35 (USD 5.50/EUR 4.75)

< Have a coffee for around DKK 25 (USD 4.97/EUR 3.36)

< Grab a sandwich for around DKK 40 (USD 8.00/EUR 5.40)

< Take a bus across the city for for DKK 20 (USD 4/EUR 2.70)

< Transfer by train from the airport to the city centre DKK 30 (USD 6/EUR 4.03)

< Visit a nightclub for DKK 75 (USD 11.00/EUR 10.00)

< Stay in a three/four star hotel for an average price of DKK 1,100-1,700 (USD 160-270/EUR 130-230) for a double room, including VAT, taxes and breakfast

CPHCard– a 24 or 72 hour card covering the whole Copenhagen region and giving free entrance to 60 museums and attractions; a discount on a further 17 cultural attractions and tourist services; plus free transport by bus, train and Metro. The card costs EUR 26.50/57.50 for adults and 50% off for children. An adult card also admits two children under 9 years for free.
www.cphcard.com

Exploring Copenhagen
The beauty of Copenhagen is that the town centre is largely traffic free, which, coupled with the fact that most of the streets and buildings are laid out according to the medieval street plan, makes its sights and attractions very accessible on foot. A multitude of world-class museums and galleries; streets full of specialist shops; dozens of restaurants; and a tempting array of nightlife, all lie within a few minutes' walk of most of the main hotels.
www.aok.dk

Shopping
Copenhagen is one of Europe's finest shopping destinations. The city's main shopping area is centred on the longest pedestrian street in Europe, Strøget, and the charming 17th century streets surrounding it. Apart from Magasin du Nord, the biggest department store in Scandinavia, Copenhagen boasts hundreds of wonderful independent shops, boutiques, restaurants, and cafés. Danish design items such as Bang and Olufsen stereos, Royal Copenhagen porcelain and Georg Jensen silverware, are world famous. All have showcase stores on or near Strøget.

Souvenirs
The souvenir potential is limitless: you can choose from exclusive Birger Christensen fur coats, the famous Arne Jacobsen-designed chairs and Flora Danica porcelain, or the rather more affordable Georg Jensen silver key rings, Bodum coffee pots, or the characteristic blue and white-painted cups and saucers from Royal Copenhagen. For a taste of Denmark, you could also take home a few bottles of Carlsberg beer, some "snaps", or a bottle of Gammel Dansk (traditional Danish bitter), to accompany a jar of pickled herring, Danish cheese or liquorice.
www.aok.dk

Hotel Capacity
The Copenhagen Region and its near neighbour, Malmo in Sweden, together offer more than 167 hotels with 18.3326 rooms and more in the pipeline! Copenhagen alone offers 136 hotels, youth hostels and camping sites with 15.000 rooms. In 2006, the number of overnight stays in hotels in the Copenhagen Region amounted to more than 6,5 million bed nights, of which foreign visitors accounted for 61 per cent.
 
Congress Capacity
Copenhagen is one of the world's most popular congress cities, consistently ranking among the world's top ten. Within 20 minutes of the city centre, and close to the Øresund Bridge to Sweden, lies Scandinavia's largest showcase. The Bella Convention & Exhibition Centre covers 115,000 square metres and has a capacity of 17,000 concurrent congress participants. In terms of smaller scale gatherings, most hotels in Copenhagen and Malmo offer ample facilities to cater to larger meetings, events and conferences. The family owned hotel chain Arp-Hansen has a Copenhagen Downtown Congress Centre set to open in the second half of 2010, but the first of its three on-sight hotels will already be up and running by late 2009.

Cruise Destination
Copenhagen is the largest cruise port in northern Europe. In 2007, more than 420,000 passengers arrived in the city on 289 cruise ships, providing a total turnover of approximately DKK 800 million for the city. The Copenhagen season usually runs from mid-May till late September, but 2005 saw the first Christmas cruise ship in the Copenhagen Harbour.

For further information contact the press department - see contact details in the menu.