I recently visited Copenhagen on a short city break for the very first time so the information below relates to my experience of the Copenhagen airport.
Arrivals:
I had flown with SAS from the United Kingdom and arrived at the airport using Terminal Three. Disembarking from the aeroplane was quick and easy and we soon arrived in the terminal three of the airport which, to be honest, looked like any other modern airport in Europe. The main factors that I noticed were that all signage was in dual language (English and Danish) which immediately put my mind at ease as I don't speak any Danish and that by the time we had cleared passport control (where there was virtually no wait) our suitcases were waiting for us on the carousel.
Although it was quite a long walk from collecting the luggage to actually leaving the airport, it only took us about 20 minutes from leaving the plane to getting
outside.
Transport to the city:
There are several way that you can get from Copenhagen airport into the city taxi, bus or train. Teh bus and train services are very efficient and run every two or three minutes right into the heart of the city for a minimal cost of under £5. As the Centre of Copenhagen is less than 15 minutes drive away from the airport we opted for the simpler and lazy excuse of using a taxi! When we got outside there were literally hundreds of taxis waiting and our driver spoke very good English. The taxi fare to our hotel (Marriott Copenhagen) took approximately 15 minutes and cost about £15 so not bad value for money.
Departure:
After our holiday we again returned to terminal three of the airport by taxi which dropped us right off at the front door. Once inside the terminal many signage helped us to find the SAS check in desks. There were tons of desks with lots of staff so we had checked in for our flight within about 5 minutes. Everything at this airport is very fast and efficient with lots of knowledgeable and well-trained staff.
Once you have checked in there are very limited things to do in the airport unless you go 'air side'; amusements are limited to a few shops (basically a newsagents and a couple of vending type fast food shops).
We cleared passport control very quickly and went through the usual security checks and were air side in the airport. The security checks were well staffed and you didn't have to queue for ages like you do at some airports!
Here is where you will literally be spoilt for choice as what to do! If you are travelling on business or flying business class then there are plenty of executive level lounges that all offer very good biers of the airport.
For the rest of us, one of the main attractions of terminal three has to be the shopping. There are absolutely tons of shops here including the usual duty paid shops which are light and airy and offer a variety of spirits, alcohol, gifts and chocolate. Although it was interesting to look around the shops, I don't think that there are too many great bargains here. As with the rest of Copenhagen everything is pretty expensive! The main shop offered a great variety of wines which were slightly more expensive than at home but nevertheless a great selection for a wine buff A good buy is chocolate as it is cheaper here than in the city shops and they do stock a wide range of Danish brands.
There are several nice gift shops which again sell typically Danish wares. I particularly liked the fact that they stocked lots of good items for children and also offered lots of seasonal reductions meaning that it is possible to get a few bargains if you are willing to look!
There are several glass and porcelain shops which again offer very expensive Danish brands which are great if you do need a last minute gift.
There are several options for clothes shopping which stock the upper end of the clothes market but are well worth a browse as well as an electrical shop that is quite basic but offers some essentials.
Is it worth shopping here? If you haven't had time to do some souvenir shopping in Copenhagen then the airport shops are certainly worth looking round although you will not find too many bargains here and alcohol is DEFINITLEY cheaper in the UK! We arrived at the airport quite early so walking down the shopping mall certainly did help to pass the time as I would say that there are at least 20+ shops in terminal three.
Eating and drinking:
There are a number of service restaurants and bars in terminal three which all offer panoramic views of the air field.
The basic choices include hamburger style restaurants, pizza and more elegant dining. We opted for a self service pizza restaurant (can't remember its name!) which was around £15 for two: not the cheapest place to eat but the food was quite good!
Facilities:
If you are using your laptop at the airport they have quite a lot of wireless internet zones where you can hook up to the internet for free. The airport also offer a number of free internet terminals dotted around.
Look out for the chairs dotted around the airport that look as though they belong in Ikea rather than an airport. They are the only chairs that I have ever used in an airport that are actually comfortable to sit in!!
There are lots of places to freshen up in the airport including showers dotted around at various intervals.
They do offer crèche and play facilities for children (I think there is a small charge for using these facilities).
Access:
The airport is fully accessible to people in wheelchairs and they loan wheelchairs at check in if you need them as you do walk quite a long way here!
The airport offers small wheeled trolleys for moving you hand luggage in and the shops have all been designed accordingly so that you can use these in the shops.
It's very easy to find you way around and there are lots of useful signs in dual language which make the job even easier. There are lots of electronic flight arrivals and departures boards which are continually updated.
When boarding the plane the lounge area was comfortable and offered free newspaper in English and Danish and the plane even took off three minutes early!
All in all, Copenhagen was a light and airy airport which offered plenty of facilities for travellers and where everything seemed to be well staffed and run on time. A pleasant flying experience
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I too have recently been to Copenhagen and I must say I was very impressed by the airport and its ease of access to the trains into the city. There were so many shops I thought I was at Lakeside Thurrock but I think your guess of twenty or so shops is well under-estimate, excellent review none-the-less.
lorna139 04.05.2004 16:39
Well written piece & should come in handy as I'm considering a trip there in the near future
123me 02.05.2004 15:46
I don't think I'd like this airport, half the fun of being in an airport for me is the duty free and especially the bargain booze!!! Good op.
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