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Ten great (and free) playgrounds to take your kids in Copenhagen

With more than 140 different playgrounds in Copenhagen, families are spoilt for choice when it comes to free play areas for their children. Here are ten of our favourite options.

Published: 7 June 2024 15:36 CEST
Copenhagen playground where you can cycle
Trafiklegeplads in Fælledparken, Copenhagen is where children can test out their road cycling skills. Photo: Visit Copenhagen, Copenhagen Media Center.

Nørrebroparken 

One of the unique elements of playgrounds in Copenhagen is that some of them are staffed. This means they have a little indoor area full of activities, led by adults, as is the case at Nørrberoparken. There are tricycles and games for the children to use, areas to grow vegetables and special events held throughout the year.

The playground is easily identified by the big aeroplane in the middle, designed for children to climb on. There’s also a sandpit, slide, swings and large ship to explore.

During the summer, Nørrebroparken is one of the places in the city that have a soppebassin. This is an area filled with water, so that a giant paddling pool is created for children to enjoy. 

Add in the fact the playground is on the trendy Stefansgade with plenty of options to grab good food and coffee, it’s a win-win choice for parents and children.

 
 
 
 
 
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Remiseparken, Sundby

This park includes a farm where children can feed the animals including chickens, rabbits, ponies, pigs and a paddock with lots of goats. Free activities are also run by the staff at the playground such as building insect houses and making birds’ nests. 

The playground opposite includes a large castle with a dragon slide, play houses, bonfire area, ball field, table tennis and much more.

Another highlight is the Thomas Dambo creation of the pacifier troll called Sanka. Similar to the pacifier tree (suttetræ), toddlers can take their pacifiers here when they are ready to stop using them. Thomas Dambo is a Danish artist who creates sculptures from recycled materials, including the Six Forgotten Giants.

 
 
 
 
 
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De Skæve Huse, Østerbro

Hidden away in the district of Østerbro is this creative playground designed by architect group Monstrum.

The Brumleby playground consists of three houses, a baker’s shop, and an ice-cream booth. Described as the ‘dizzy playground’, it is full of quirky fixtures to turn the world upside down and let children’s imaginations run free.

 
 
 
 
 
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Trafiklegepladsen, Østerbro

The Traffic Playground in Fælledparken, Østerbro is where many little Danes learn to ride a bike.

There are traffic lights, road signs, road markers, bike paths and pavements for children to practice their cycling skills. On weekdays you can hire bikes but at the weekend you need to bring your own.

There’s even staff on hand if you want your child to have a cycling lesson, or you need some advice about bikes.

Next to the Traffic Playground is a play area with swings, slide and sandpit. There are toilets, benches and plenty of trees providing shade. Afterwards, you can explore the rest of Fælledparken, Copenhagen’s largest park, where there are a further two playgrounds, flower gardens, lake and plenty of space to run and cycle.

 
 
 
 
 
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Enghaveparken, Vesterbro

Dating back to 1929, this park was designed to be a green space of calm in the middle of a busy Copenhagen. The well known Danish architect Arne Jacobsen was involved in its design, which has undergone a recent renovation in 2019. Part of the renovation includes a closed underground reservoir, where the equivalent of 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water can be retained. 

This playground is staffed at week days so children can freely borrow toys, balls, play cars and bikes. There’s a small ball court, a large spider web to climb, trampolines and a tunnel tube. There is also a fire pit and small bike lanes that wind around the playground.

There are also ongoing theatre shows and musical performances in the playground which can be found through the playground Facebook group.

Naturlegepladsen in Valbyparken

This is Denmark’s largest natural playground at 25,000 m2. The area is used by schools and parents alike and is staffed, with plenty of opportunities to learn and explore through nature.

The circular walkway connects the playground’s hilled landscape, with five towers representing the themes of light, wind, birds, change and green. Around the playground there are green paths, climbing trees and caves to explore. There’s a sandpit, tennis courts, beach volleyball court, hockey and table tennis, and it is possible to borrow tricycles, balls and other equipment from the playground staff, who also hold various activities. 

 
 
 
 
 
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Konditaget Lüders

It’s not where you’d naturally look for a playground but this one is worth climbing to the top of a multi-storey car park for. 

24-metres high lies a recreational space with trampolines, a climbing spiral, swings and an area of adults to exercise. With views across the city and harbour, this is a unique playground to experience.

The area of Nordhavn has undergone a huge transformation over recent years, from an industrial port area to an independent neighbourhood with a Metro line, new Scandinavian architecture, modern apartments and amenities.

 
 
 
 
 
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Christianshavns Vold, Christianshavn

A visit to this playground can be combined with a scenic walk around this historic area, where you can enjoy views of the Church of Our Saviour. The vold is a former rampart which was part of the old fortification that surrounded Copenhagen.

The staffed playground has plenty for all ages: Swings, a playhouse, slide and sand pit for younger children and a zip wire and climbing frame for older children, where there is a nice view of the rampart.

There are fields to play football, badminton, hockey, basketball, table tennis and you can borrow balls, bats, rackets, hockey sticks and bikes when staff are on site. 

The playground also has a focus on nature and biodiversity, so there are on-going staff-led activities around this topic.

Toddling around Christianshavns Vold. Photo: Michael Barrett

Skydebanehaven, Vesterbro

Also called the Parrot playground, this is a little green gem in the middle of urban Vesterbro. It’s been on of Vesterbro’s most popular playgrounds since it opened in 1946.

The playground is staffed so there are often creative and fun activities inside and outside. Every Friday for example they hold football training. There are also bikes and tricycles that can be used. Inside there is table tennis toys, games and books.

There’s also a large sandpit, nature corner, playhouses, climbing net, see-saws, zip wire, swings and an area for ball games. In the summer they have a paddling area (soppebassin).

 
 
 
 
 
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Guldberg School Playground, Nørrebro

This playground on Prinsesse Charlottes Gade in Nørrebro is actually part of Guldberg School. But as is the case in Denmark, it is free for the public to use outside of school hours and is a good example of being able to find playgrounds around almost every corner in Copenhagen.

Here children can enjoy the huge slide and trampolines while parents hang out on benches in the square in front of Simeons Church and also take in the view of Assistens Kirkegård, the cemetery where famous Danes like Hans Christian Andersen, are buried. 

 
 
 
 
 
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FAMILY

Copenhagen forest kindergartens get delay on closure decision

A plan to close or downsize 33 municipal childcare institutions in Copenhagen including a number of famed forest kindergartens has been put on hold after the decision was blocked by a member of the city council.

Published: 19 June 2024 17:05 CEST
Updated: 19 June 2024 19:46 CEST
Copenhagen forest kindergartens get delay on closure decision

A decision to close or downsize 33 kindergartens and creches in Copenhagen was stopped from moving forward during a committee meeting at Copenhagen Municipality on Wednesday.

The Alternative Party, which has an elected councillor on the committee, used its right to push the decision from the closed committee meeting to the full City Council [Danish: borgerrepræsentation], where discussions between the parties on the proposed closures can be followed publicly.

“This matter screams of a lack of transparency. It’s hard to clearly see why the 33 institutions have been selected. We now think there’s a need for more openness and a better process and we are therefore taking the matter to the City Council,” Alternative’s councillor Emil Sloth Andersen said in a statement reported by the Ritzau newswire.

Sloth Andersen said over 1,000 comments had been received from parents during the proposal’s public hearing phase, expressing opposition to the plan and criticising it for failing to take into account the individual quality of the institutions slated for closure.

Although the final decision over the closures can be taken by Social Democratic lord mayor Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Alternative’s wish is for a more “public, democratic and transparent” discussion on the cuts, according to Sloth Andersen.

As previously reported by The Local, some 33 institutions across the capital face either complete closure or a reduction in their capacity in a cost-cutting exercise in response to what the municipality says is a decline in demand for places. This is related to a drop in the number of young children who live in the city.

At risk from the cutbacks are a number of so-called udflytterinstitutioner, literally “excursion institutions” but probably better known as forest kindergartens.

These kindergartens, which revolve around a daily routine in which small children spend the majority or entirety of their time outside, including during winter, have gained the attention of international media in years past and been praised for their potential benefits to children.

Financial considerations “play a role” in determining which institutions will be closed, Copenhagen Municipality has previously said.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen’s famous forest kindergartens under threat from municipal closures

In a separate statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, the Copenhagen Municipality Children and Youth Committee [Børne- og Ungdomsudvalget] confirmed that the plan had been held up.

In the statement, the chairperson of the committee, Jakob Næsager of the Conservative Party, said he was “upset” about the outcome and accused Alternative of failing to take responsibility.

“I actually don’t understand why Alternative has chosen to put children, parents and staff in a position of uncertainty,” he said.

“We have 3,000 fewer children in the city than there were only four years ago, so of course we have to make downwards adjustments,” he said.

Elisabetta Taschini, whose eldest child attends the Jacob Holms Minde daycare in southern district Amager, said she was “among the many who have expressed their concern and sent proposals to the committee in the last weeks”.

Jacob Holms Minde is among the institutions which faces downsizing, including the closure of its forest group.

“Now, we wait and hope that the City Council will decide to keep all the forest kindergartens open, acknowledging the great pedagogical offer that they represent,” Taschini told The Local.

There is currently no firm date for discussion of the proposal in the City Council, the municipality said in the statement.

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