Quick Tips:

Many of the museums are free on certain days - check with the excellent tourist information office ( just off the Radhustrade ) to save yourself money.

Many of the cafes, pizza houses, and restaurants do specials at lunchtime for a greatly reduced rate compared to the evening meal.

Copenhagen is very compact, and most sightseeing can be accomplished by walking - again, the Tourist Information has a large city street map, free of charge.

Of all the cities I have been to, Copenhagen felt by far the safest at night, even the city centre, and the Danes are a very friendly race.

Best Way To Get Around:

The city has an excellent transport infrastructure, with buses running very regularly to all parts of the city. The trains, again, are clean, punctual, and a good way of visiting some out-of-town areas ( the ticket system is slightly confusing, involving zones and "clipping" your ticket in a machine, but again, the ticket clerks are very accommodating and patient and happy to explain what you need to do ).

The reception is ornate and welcoming, as were the staff. However, the room we were in had seen better days, and once past the reception, we got the impression that the hotel was due for a good refurbishment.

The room itself was clean ( though the smell from the drain in the bathroom was very strong ), but basic. The furniture was, again, basic but functional. The TV was old and the remote was not fully operable.

As with all ( it seems ) Scandinavian hotels, there were no tea and coffee facilities in the room, or mini-bar. There were no hair-drying or ironing facilities in the room either.

Being so close to the Radhusplasen, with its wonderful clock tower, you will get a clock chime EVERY quarter hour, so if you are a light sleeper, it will be a very long night. Also, due to the position of the hotel, there is a large amount of street noise, often until the early hours.

The food ( at breakfast ) is bread, salads, meats and cheese, juice, cereals and toast - with tea and coffee, as much as you can eat, and was very good.

As a reasonably priced, centrally located hotel that is used as a place to rest your head, it could be for you.

The food is very well-priced, with most pastas dishes around 70-90 DKK (£7-9), and fajitas dishes at around 130-140 DKK (£13-14).

The food is excellent, tasty and warming with large enough portions not to disappoint anyone except the most bottomless stomach (I can recommend the chicken fajitas)! The staff is friendly and courteous and the whole restaurant is clean and tidy.

This place does not serve local Danish cuisine. If you are looking for pasta, pizza, or basic Mexican, or slightly better quality than the (still very good) other pizza restaurants, then Mama Rosa could be for you.

It costs 55 DKK ( about £5.50 ) to get in. The best entrance is the grand red-brick archway on Vesterobrogade, just down from the Radhusplasen ( town hall sqaure ). Most travel guides say it is not worth visiting it in the winter, but it takes a very hard soul not to be moved by the thousands of fairy lights, numerous Christmas stalls with the stallholders in festive costume, and gallons of glog that are in abundance during the run up to Christmas.

There is also a Christmas play ( in 2003, it was a production of "A Pain in the Neck" - a comedy based around Dracula! ) to see. It is worth pointing out that although there are many restaurants within the Gardens, the prices tend to be about 30% dearer than outside the gardens and should really be avoided.

Also, all the amusement rides are not free, but must be paid for with tokens purchased in the park; these, again, are quite expensive, but this does not detract from the glorious innocence the Gardens still exudes, and it will delight anyone still young at heart.

Getting there is simple, take a train from the main station in Copenhagen (platform 4), ticket prices are about 70-80 DKK (£7-8) for a return. As always, the counter staff members in the ticket bureau in the train station are exceptionally helpful and will make sure you get the right train.

The journey to Helsingor takes about 45 minutes with trains leaving every 20 minutes and there are numerous stops along the way, taking you through the suburbs of Copenhagen before heading out into the Danish countryside.

On arrival at Helsingor station, turn right out of the exit and, to be honest, you can't miss the castle. A huge Gothic fortress that virtually dominates the town, it's about a 15-minute stroll from the station.

You can walk for free around the moat, battlements and defence positions that surround the Castle and it certainly gives you an idea it's size and former grandeur. The Castle’s roofs are a bright green-blue, the result of the copper tiles corroding, but some restoration was going on whilst we were there.

The price to enter the Castle is between 40Dkk to 60 DKK ( £4-£6) depending on much you want to see. The 60 DKK ticket allows you into the underground casements, the Maritime museum and Castle chapel, and for 60DKK it is worth the price.

What do you get for your money? Well, actually a little bit of a disappointment. The anticipation is not met by the reality of the Castle itself. The underground casements are very eerie if you are wandering on your own. This was where the executing, torturing as well as billeting was carried out and it is very easy to get spooked if you have a vivid imagination.

The Chapel is interesting for its ornately carved pews and altar but very little else.

The maritime museum is interesting, giving an idea into Danish naval history, as well as explaining the importance of Kronberg Castle and it's strategic position. There are some stunning nautical models here, both old and new, and we actually enjoyed this as much as the main Castle.

The Castle itself, as said, is disappointing. It houses some huge rooms, with grand tapestries and furniture from the period, but very little of the fixtures and fittings from the time, which gives a very detached and unreal feeling to the Castle. Descriptions of the furniture are sometimes in English and Danish, but as you are aware that the furniture does not really belong there it simply adds to the unreal feeling inside the Castle.

The rest of Heslingor town does not have too much to recommend itself other than a rather small old quarter and local museum. To be fair, after the Castle, unless you are hungry or thirsty, just jump on a train back to Copenhagen.

The museum is home to artwork throughout the ages from Greek, Egyptian, and Roman, to Renaissance. There are works by Gauguin, Rodin, Van Gogh and Monet in wood, marble, stone, and on canvas. Tempted yet?

The beautiful museum is split into three sections with a central glass housed section with seats, palms, fountains, and a gift shop. Housing the biggest collection of Rodin outside France (including versions of "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" ), the French section is inspiring. The classical section of marble sculpture leaves you awestruck.

We spent an entire day in here and were mesmerised. Words cannot do justice to its grandeur -- this is a "must see" if you are in Copenhagen.

This museum is not for those of a puritan nature. There is one room dedicated to the sex lives of the famous (Clark Gable, Hans Christian Anderson, Hitler, etc.). One room has a bank of TVs showing hardcore videos (with seats so you can sit and watch); another room (with a very large warning sign) houses videos of bestiality and very deviant sexual practices; and yet another room explains the story behind the Karma Sutra.

I went here with my girlfriend; neither of us were shocked by anything and enjoyed our visit -- it's nice to see an openness to sex rather than the "nudge nudge, wink wink" of the UK!

BUT this place is not for those easily offended.

One of the national dishes is herring, and any of the cafes along Nyhavn offer herring in numerous forms: curried, baked, boiled, fried, and stewed, amongst others, along with the beautiful setting of the canal and the almost Dutch-style architecture of the houses.

Wherever you eat, keep a good lookout for the lunchtime specials - i.e., as much as you can eat for 49 or 59 DKK ( £5-£6 ). They are a real bargain, and if you are sticking to a budget, often the best way to eat.

Along the main Stroget ( the pedestrianised shopping precinct ), you will find all the usual high-street paraphernalia - McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, and pizza houses. There has been a large increase in Chinese and Middle Eastern restaurants, too, and I would advise anyone to try "Sam's Bar" ( there are two of them along the Stroget ) - Chinese take-outs in a box; mix and match three dishes from the nine available for 25DKK ( about £2.50 ). Incredible value, very tasty and filling.

The streets around Stroget, down along to Nyhavn and beyond are full of restaurants serving Thai ( slightly more expensive than Chinese ), Turkish, Mexican, Italian, and Indian, giving quite a cosmopolitan feel to the city. It wouldn't be fair to single out any one particular one, because all the ones we tried were of an excellent quality.

I have to say that the food was of a much higher standard than their Swedish neighbours in Stockholm - even the basic pizza houses seemed to take pride in their food. Overall, the prices, even at evening time, were of a more affordable nature than Stockholm.

I would recommend trying local dishes or eating out in a local restaurant rather than KFC or burgers to get a real feel for Copenhagen and Denmark.