Opinions wanted: Copenhagen, Berlin and Dublin

[jmc325]

Anyone care to share their experiences traveling here? My fiance and I are thinking of going during our trip to Europe next July. As of now, plans are to be there for about 4 days.

Thanks!

ETA: We're also considering Berlin or Dublin so if anyone has been to any of these places I would love some insight!

[sunshinedaydreams]

We were just in Copenhagen for 3 days last month. Honestly, I wasn't blown away. It's VERY expensive, and there weren't many things to do that weren't super touristy, IMO.

I think with 4 days in only Copenhagen I would have been bored out of my mind. If you wanted to do day trips to Malmo or Odense, maybe 4 days would be okay. (We didn't do either of these, but did spend three days in Jutland before Copenhagen.)

I much prefer Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, London, Stockholm, etc., etc. Even Aalborg, Denmark over Copenhagen. Friends of ours really like Copenhagen, though, so maybe I'm in the minority here...

Where else in Europe are you planning? And where else have you been?

[sunshinedaydreams]

Ah, you edited while I was typing. :-)

Are you considering Dublin in addition to Copenhagen, or instead of? If it's an either/or, I'd pick Dublin. It's an incredibly walkable city with great food, fun pubs, good beer, friendly people. You can do a hop on/hop off tour and hit most of the major sites - Trinity College, Guinness Brewery, the old jail, the old Jameson distillery, etc.

Will you be spending 4 days in Dublin as well?

[jmc325]

Thanks for your response! I've been googling things to do in Copenhagen and I felt like there wasn't much. I didn't even think of Stockholm (great suggestion!) so I'll have to do some research!

Back story- my fiance and I are getting married in Rome July 2013, so this will be our honeymoon. We're looking into going to Geneva, Capri or Santorini and one other city (we're considering Copenhagen, Berlin, Dublin or Madrid). I've been to Paris, London and Barcelona before so those aren't an option... I want to go somewhere I haven't been before.

Time wise we haven't figured out how long we'll be in each city, but I'm thinking probably 4 days or so each.

[sunshinedaydreams]

A wedding in Rome?! Nice! :-)

We did Rome, Capri and Dublin as parts of our HM, so maybe I'm biased toward those three. I think I'd pick Dublin out of your choices, but I've never been to Berlin to compare.

We were really hard pressed to find things to keep us busy in Copenhagen. We did a lot of wandering and drinking and not a whole lot else. I dunno, it just wasn't what I expected.

[katieh]

I LOVE Berlin. But that said, for four days in summer when I'm already in Rome....and it's my honeymoon....I'd probably do Cinque Terre, hop over to a Greek island, or head to Croatia or Albania for the beach/small town vibe rather than a big city like Dublin or Berlin.

[mdgirl]

If Ireland is in the running I'd recommend Galway over Dublin since you're coming from such a big city. But I like katieh's suggestion of Cinque Terre more -- so gorgeous and relaxing.

[Wanderista]

I've been to all of these cities and it is definitely an individual preference thing. Copenhagen was actually one of my favorite cities to visit. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I found it to be really stylish and Tivoli is fantastic. We walked most of the central city and to some outlying neighborhoods. I got a Danish green amber jewelry set that I still wear.

Malmo is nothing to write home about, we hopped a train and went to Lund which was nice but not Honeymoon stuff. I do agree that Stockholm could be a great alternative.

Also, if you decide to stay in the Mediterranean area, I agree that either exploring more of Italy, Greece or Croatia is a good idea. Dubrovnik in Croatia, for example, is very romantic. You could do Italy, Dubrovnik and then fly to Greece.

[Deleted]

I love Copenhagen, but definitely get out into the country side see the castles, do a bike tour, etc.

[jmc325]

I'm so torn.... Croatia also sounds amazing! Sounds like I definitely have a lot more research to do! Thank you everyone for the advice!

[anna7602]

I would stick to the Mediterranean if you'll already be in Rome. I was just in Copenhagen for 4 days (just returned Wed. night) and while it was nice and pretty, like others said, I wasn't blown away. And it was very, very expensive in comparison to traveling in Portugal or Spain or Italy.

There is so much to see in Italy itself that I would be inclined to stay there, doing wine tours and checking out little towns like Siena and Assisi and going horse-back riding in Tuscany (I did that at a great place called Il Burchio, not too far from Florence). I really like the city of Naples, but even if you don't care for the chaos of it, it's a great starting point to see Capri or Pompeii or Ischia. And then, of course, you can make a quick drive to Bari to take an overnight ferry to Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is also lovely to see for a day or two. I think you might also be able to take ferries elsewhere from there, maybe Greece?

I also hear that Sardinia and Corsica are amazing. Either one of these seems like it would make an ideal honeymoon spot.

If you really, really want to check out other cities, one of my absolute favorites in all of Europe is Lisbon. (The folks from the IL board are probably sick of hearing me go on about it.) You could also consider doing a tour of several cities in Andalucia, Spain- Seville, Granada, etc. The area around Granada is really beautiful and has fantastic hiking. Or you could tour southern France- Provence, etc.

I don't have anything against Northern Europe, but it seems like if you're starting in Rome, it makes more sense to stay south.

[mbcdefg]

I liked Dublin, but after three full days there I was ready to go. I enjoyed the countryside and the smaller towns much more than Dublin.