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Copenhagen Marathon: How to avoid transport delays on race day

Copenhagen’s annual marathon takes place on Sunday May 14th with a new route and around 12,500 runners expected to take part.

Copenhagen Marathon: How to avoid transport delays on race day
Around 12,500 runners will take on the marathon in Copenhagen on May 14th, meaning some disruptions for cars and cyclists. Photo: Philip Davali/Ritzau Scanpix

Roads will be closed in each of the capital’s central districts of Østerbro, Vesterbro, Nørrebro and Inner City, as well as in Frederiksberg, on the day of the race.

Cars will not be permitted to drive on the marathon route until it is reopened, including at times when there are no runners on those sections. As such, drivers should park outside the city centre and head in via public transport, or choose routes that avoid the centre if crossing Copenhagen.

Streets included on the route will be reopened in sections after runners have passed them, Copenhagen Marathon states in its traffic advice ahead of Sunday’s race.

A full map of the marathon route can be found here, including a list of points where cars can cross the marathon route. Drivers should be aware that these points may not always be open while the race is ongoing.

Residents and visitors to the city are advised to use the Metro, S-train and regional train services wherever possible, as these are unaffected by the event. Bus routes are likely to be diverted or cancelled.

If you are heading across town by bicycle or on foot, you will be able to cross the course when there are no runners. This might require walking alongside it for a while to find a gap and to wait for a break in participants. Race marshals can provide instructions for crossing.

Two bicycle bridges crossing Copenhagen Harbour, the “Cykelslangen” from Fisketorvet to Dybbølsbro; and the “Lille Langebro” between Islands Brygge and the Danish Architecture Centre and Royal Library, will both be closed from 7am to 4pm. The harbour can instead be crossed via the main Langebro bridge.

The 2023 Copenhagen Marathon is the 42nd edition of the event, which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

Its route through the city has been updated for this year, with the start and finish area now at Øster Allé near Fælledparken, instead of by the harbour at Islands Brygge as in past editions. The classic 42.2 kilometre (26 mile) distance will take marathoners past Tivoli, Christiansborg and Kongens Nytorv, with the Round Tower and Nyhavn among landmarks from the old route that have been dropped.

Race organiser Sparta says the new route is flatter and therefore hopes for new course records to be set on Sunday, helping position the Copenhagen Marathon as the fastest and most attractive marathon in the Nordic region.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Here’s what you need to know about travel in Denmark in the summer of 2024

July 1st marks the official start of school holidays in Denmark, so on the preceding weekend the roads will be chock-a-block with summer traffic. Here's what you need to know about travel this summer.

Here's what you need to know about travel in Denmark in the summer of 2024

Roads 

The Danish Road Directorate is predicting a surge in traffic starting the moment “the bell rings in the country’s schools on Friday afternoon”. 

“Many have probably already packed the car with beach blankets and swimwear and ticked off the calendar for the exact day when they have planned to drive to a holiday home, to the beach or south down through Europe,” the directorate says in its summer traffic guide. 

Summer traffic will start from 2pm on Friday June 28th, with the directorate warning of “heavy traffic and a risk of minor traffic jams”, growing to a peak on Saturday June 29th when the directorate is warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”. 

On Sunday, June 30th, the peak will subside to the same levels as on Friday 28th. The pattern will then be repeated on Saturday July 6th (very heavy traffic) and Sunday July 7th (quite heavy), and Saturday July 13th (very heavy) and Sunday July 14th (quite heavy), as people return from weeks off or set off late. 

The peak of return traffic will come on Saturday August 10th and Sunday August 11th, when the directorate is again warning of a “significant risk of traffic jams and longer journey times”. 

You can see worst dates here on the roads directorate’s traffic light chart. 

Source: Danish Roads Directorate

Where will the summer traffic hotspots be? 

Traffic will be particularly bad on the E20 motorway between Køge, south of Copenhagen, and then across the Great Belt Bridge, and also on the E20 through the western half of Funen.

It will also be bad on the E45 motorway around Kolding and at the border with Germany. 

The directorate also expects heavy traffic to and from the ferry ports towards Germany at Rødby and Gedser as well as the E45 between Aarhus Nord and Skærup.

READ ALSO: How to decode Denmark’s old-fashioned motorway names

There will also be traffic on the weekend changeover days on roads to and from Denmark’s most popular coastal holiday areas. 

The roads directorate is warning particular of Route 21 to and from Sjællands Odde, Route 16 north of Hillerød, Route 11 along the west coast of Jutland, Route 55 at Løkken and Blokhus and Route 40 to and from Skagen.

Trains 

Up until Sunday 25 August, Denmark’s rail track operator Banedanmark is upgrading the tracks between Copenhagen, Slagelse and Odense, leading to changed departure times and longer journey times. The track work will also affect EuroCity trains to Hamburg from Copenhagen. 

Denmark’s train operator DSB recommends that travellers check the planned departure and travel times on the Rejseplanen app on the day before their departure. 

Flights 

Denmark’s airports are likely to be busier than usual as tourists stream in and Danes set off to even sunnier and warmer climes for their holidays, but there are no strikes or other disruptions expected. 

Those travelling elsewhere in Europe should be aware of a potential traffic controller’s strike at Paris Orly airport, from the second week of July, a baggage handler’s strike on July 5th at Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Venice’s Marco Polo, and Bologna’s Guglielmo Marconi airports in Italy, and an aircraft technicians’ strike affecting flights from Norway operated by Norwegian and Widerøe.

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