In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Copenhagen: Tivoli’s Christmas, gløgg and the castles of North Zealand
In December Copenhagen lights up: Tivoli becomes a Christmas garden, the squares fill with trees and the city smells of gløgg. Dates below are from the organisers’ own websites; we add the markets’ 2026 dates as they publish them.
Updated October 2026
Christmas in Tivoli
From 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, Tivoli Gardens becomes a Christmas fairytale, in its own words: Christmas trees glowing in colour, twinkling lights, Christmas stalls with gifts and treats, Santa for the children and festive rides. Book entry and the Tivoli Pass on tivoli.dk.
Trees, gløgg and Christmas beer
The city’s great Christmas tree stands on City Hall Square, with more on Frederiksberg’s City Hall Square and the Red Square of Superkilen in Nørrebro (VisitCopenhagen). From the first Friday of November the Christmas beers arrive in the bars; more than 220 Danish breweries make around 350 of them. And at every market and café you will meet gløgg, warm with clove, orange, cinnamon and anise.
Christmas at the castles
North of the city, Kronborg at Helsingør opens its Christmas season on 30 November (kronborg.dk), and Frederiksborg Castle at Hillerød shows “Icy Christmas” from 31 October 2026 to 3 January 2027 (frederiksborg.dk).
Kronborg and Helsingør Frederiksborg and Hillerød
The Danish Christmas table
For many Danes, Christmas dinner means roast duck, caramelised potatoes and risalamande, as VisitCopenhagen describes it. Lunch rooms such as Restaurant Palægade, Selma and Restaurant Møntergade serve Christmas lunches in December; book early.
Questions and answers
When is Christmas in Tivoli 2026?
From 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, according to tivoli.dk.
What is gløgg?
A hot spiced wine with clove, orange, cinnamon and anise, served at Copenhagen’s Christmas markets and cafés.
Sources: tivoli.dk, visitcopenhagen.com, kronborg.dk and frederiksborg.dk (checked 28 October 2026). Dates change: check with the organisers before you travel.