Skip to content

Copenhagen Gay Travel

wolfyy’s Copenhagen gay guide to hotels & where to stay, things to do, gay bars, saunas, & cruising.

wolfyy logo

The Gay Travel Experience: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is one of the most popular gay travel destinations in Scandinavia. The city is open-minded, gay-friendly, and full of picturesque streetscapes.

Copenhagen gay travel experience

Walking over the city’s many bridges while watching the sunset illuminate colorful harborside buildings is exactly what comes to mind when I think about Copenhagen.

lgbt friendly Copenhagen
Copenhagen gay travel experience

While Copenhagen’s gay scene is relatively small, LGBT life certainly exists. In fact, there are over a dozen gay nightlife venues, from the tiny split-level gay bars in Copenhagen’s gay neighborhood to the larger bars closer to the city hall.

lgbt friendly Copenhagen

I visited Copenhagen while traveling around northern Europe and highly recommend a visit! In the rest of this guide below, I’ll recommend places to stay, experiences, gay nightlife, and more.

Gay Copenhagen: Hotels & Where to Stay

Copenhagen has so many great neighborhoods that it can be hard to choose an area to stay in! Overall though, I’d recommend staying anywhere in the city’s central area of Indre By.

aparthotel in Copenhagen

Aperon Apartment Hotel

I loved staying at Apēron Apartment Hotel, located right in the heart of Copenhagen. The modern Danish interior design, sleek appliances, and huge amount of space made my partner Michael and I feel right at home. We didn’t want to leave!

Aperon Aparthotel Copenhagen
aparthotel in Copenhagen
Aperon Aparthotel Copenhagen

The brand-new building used keyless entry, plus both laundry and luggage storage were free! This made everything incredibly convenient both during our stay and after checking out.

Nimb Hotel

Nimb Hotel is a gorgeous five-star hotel just north of Copenhagen’s main train station popular with gay tourists. One of the nicest hotels in the city, Nimb has everything you could possibly need, including a fitness center, spa, and rooftop pool.

Nimb Hotel
Nimb Hotel
rooftop pool Nimb Hotel

The hotel’s location is great for those who want to be nearby Copenhagen’s gay nightlife venues. Nimb Hotel is just a short walk from the gay district.

rooftop pool Nimb Hotel

I love Nimb Hotel’s opulent, masculine design. Every part of the hotel is beautiful.

Hotel Skt Petri

Hotel Skt Petri is also a five-star hotel, but is much more affordable! It’s the perfect place to stay in Copenhagen to experience a luxurious version of classic Scandinavian interior design.

Hotel Skt Petri
Hotel Skt Petri
Copenhagen gay district hotels

Right in the heart of Copenhagen, Hotel Skt. Petri is close to everything, from the noteworthy Strøget shopping street to the famous Rosenborg Castle. It’s also only a couple of blocks from many of the local gay bars.

Copenhagen gay district hotels

Comfort Hotel Vesterbro

Comfort Hotel Vesterbro is a great affordable budget hotel choice. The hotel has a fun, colorful design with modern bathrooms, offers a hearty breakfast, and is conveniently located close to the main train station. 

Comfort Hotel Vesterbro
budget hotel in Copenhagen
Comfort Hotel Vesterbro
budget hotel in Copenhagen

My favorite part is the self-check-in option. Personally, I wish this was more common with traditional hotels!

Hotel D’Angleterre

Hotel D’Angleterre is an ultra-high-end, gay-friendly and traditional hotel in Central Copenhagen. This one comes with quite a price tag. But if you can afford it, I’d highly recommend staying here

Copenhagen Gay Travel Experiences

Danish Architecture Museum

The Danish Architecture Museum was beautiful and truly interesting. I recommend spending part of an afternoon here if you like industrial design or architecture.

While their exhibits rotate, most of what you’ll experience is Danish design in general!

Copenhagen gay tourist
Copenhagen gay tourist
Copenhagen gay travelers

They also have an enormous multi-story spiral tube slide that you can’t miss. And for more fun, there’s a free professional photo station with a foot pedal where you can take some great portraits! I might have spent a little too much time taking funny pictures here.

Copenhagen gay travelers

Nyhavn

Visiting Copenhagen’s iconic Nyhavn neighborhood is a must for all travelers. When people think of Copenhagen, Nyhavn’s colorful building facades are usually what comes to mind.

Nyhavn

Walking along the canal in Nyhavn is glorious any time of day, but particularly nice during sunset when the soft golden light brightens the building’s colors.

Nyhavn
boat in Christianshavn

Restaurants along the canal are definitely worth a try. Michael and I loved the food inside a cozy seafood bistro called Havfruen.

boat in Christianshavn

At the end of Nyhavn, walk over the newly-constructed bike and pedestrian bridge that leads to the north end of the Christianshavn neighborhood. Both the bridge and charming office area on the other end are relaxing places for a stroll.

Canal tours are a popular way to see Copenhagen by boat. Many of them depart right from Nyhavn.

Amalienborg

A quick stop in Amalienborg is a must while exploring central Copenhagen. This is the city’s main palace where the royal family resides. The cobblestone streets here are beautifully arranged in a circular pattern. It definitely feels royal.

Amalienborg
Amalienborg
Copenhagen royal. palace

Freetown Christiana & Christianshavn

Freetown Christiana is a self-proclaimed autonomous district that’s part of Copenhagen’s Christianshavn neighborhood.

Lined by picturesque buildings, the canals that runs through Christianshavn is also wonderful to explore. They’re not as colorful as the ones in Nyhavn, but I still enjoyed a relaxing stroll past them in this part of town.

Christianshavn
Christianshavn
Copenhagen graffiti

Don’t miss a walk along Freetown Christiana and Christianshavn’s fortifications. You can see some nice views from the elevated pathway down in Christianshavn, and as you go north you’ll encounter the infamous graffiti-covered buildings of Freetown Christiana.

Copenhagen graffiti

Bøssehuset, or the Gay House, is also here in Christiana. This cultural center has been an integral and historical part of the Copenhagen LGBT community. It’s used for musical performances and theatre, exhibitions, and parties.

Kastellet

Kastellet is a 17th-century fortress that contains an actively used army base in Copenhagen. You can also find some of the best views of the city here. 

Walk pathways through lush stretches of green grass along this star-shaped island’s dramatic hills and berms. The surrounding moat makes for some fantastic photos.

Kastellet barracks
Kastellet barracks
gay traveler visiting Kastellet

Within the berms of Kastellet, you’ll find charmingly stoic red army barrack buildings. They’re so extraordinarily Danish!

best views in Copenhagen

I recommend renting a Lime e-bike to get to Kastellet since it’s a bit far north of the city center to walk to. You cannot ride bikes within the grounds of Kastellet, but you can temporarily leave them while you walk around.

gay traveler visiting Kastellet

I bought a day pass for a Lime bike and re-reserved the same bike used to get to Kastellet right after arriving. This conveniently prevents anyone from taking your bike for 30 minutes.

best views in Copenhagen
Nybodr neighborhood
Nybodr neighborhood

Ride past Nyboder on your way to Kastellet. You’ll see some similar barrack houses here as well.

A segue tour is one other alternative way to see Kastellet, along with a bunch more of Copenhagen’s top tourist attractions.

Hans Tavsens Park

Hans Tavsens Park is one of the biggest, prettiest parks in Copenhagen.

things to do in Copenhagen

This park is also the site of Hans Christian Andersen’s grave, the writer of many of the world’s most popular fairy tales including The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Princess and the Pea.

things to do in Copenhagen
Copenhagen gay traveler
Copenhagen gay traveler

If you’re a fan of any of these, stop by and say hello to this wonderful soul. A sign that says H.C. Andersen on the main trail will point you where to go.

The Noma Experience

Noma is a high-end creative food restaurant that changed Copenhagen’s food culture not too long ago. This establishment opened in 2003 and subsequently gained international notoriety a few years later.

Danish food
gay traveler in Copenhagen
Danish food

Local Danish food culture is mostly found at home. As you’ll see, most restaurants in Copenhagen serve French and Italian cuisine. Noma ultimately changed this, bringing Danish food into the city’s restaurant culture.

If you’re looking for the best Danish food experience you can get, give Noma a try! It’s also a proudly LGBT-friendly Copenhagen restaurant.

gay traveler in Copenhagen

BARR is one of Noma’s sister restaurants that serves casual Danish food. This spot might be a good alternative if you can’t get a reservation at Noma.

Rosenborg castle garden
Copenhagen gay district

Rosenborg Castle & Gardens

The Rosenborg Castle grounds are super pretty. I loved walking around The King’s Garden, a large adjacent park with carefully manicured shrubbery and impressive tree-lined pathways.

Rosenborg castle garden

If you find yourself here, check out the gorgeous flowers in the Rosenhaven Garden adjacent to the castle.

Copenhagen Gay Bars & Clubs

Most of Copenhagen’s gay bars are in the Studiestræde gay district, which used to be the old Latin Quarter.

Gay flags fly all along the streets in Studiestræde. Once you reach the gay bars, you’ll know you’ve arrived!

Copenhagen gay district

Even though the local gay scene is on the smaller side, Copenhagen has quite a few gay bars, much more than in other Scandinavian cities. Here are all the best ones to try.

Oscar Bar & Café

Oscar Bar & Café is the most modern gay bar I visited in Copenhagen. It’s popular with LGBT travelers and locals of all ages and a lot of people like this spot because it’s strictly non-smoking. It’s also one of the best gay bars in Copenhagen to go to on a weeknight.

Oscar bar and cafe
Oscar bar and cafe
Carlsberg beer

With high ceilings, a modern design, and lots of seating, Oscar Bar & Café can feel more like a restaurant when it’s not busy. I still enjoyed it though. Grab a local Carlsberg beer and relax! I love the Carlsberg Master Brew.

Carlsberg beer

Jail House

Jail House is a prison-themed gay bar in Copenhagen, located right in the center of the gay district. 

It’s not necessarily a leather or fetish bar though. Jail House welcomes all tribes, from younger jock types to your typical leather daddy. Overall, the vibe here is super casual with a bit of a dive bar feel.

Jail House Copenhagen

Bartenders are always friendly and they wear fun police uniforms! Everyone calls them “Copenhagen’s sweetest police.”

Jail House Copenhagen
Copenhagen gay bar

On weekends, there are typically special events at Jail House, most notably Bear Night. You can also always count on big events during Eurovision, Oktoberfest, and Halloween.

Copenhagen gay bar

Jail House also has a restaurant upstairs on the above-ground level where you can grab some Danish food.

Cosy Bar

Cosy Bar is one of Copenhagen’s most popular gay bars, and it’s easy to see why. Full of disco balls, space to dance, elegant seating, and neon lighting, you can’t pass up a night here. They even have a little kissing and selfie booth.

Cosy bar Copenhagen

It’s also a non-smoking establishment as of a couple of years ago, which isn’t always the case with bars in Denmark.

Cosy bar Copenhagen
Copenhagen gay nightlife
Copenhagen gay nightlife

A women-owned venue, Cosy Bar promotes an environment of tolerance, acceptance, and good vibes, welcoming anyone and everyone. They host special events every night they’re open, which are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

MEN’s Bar

MEN’s Bar is Copenhagen’s gay fetish and leather bar. And yes, it’s men-only!

Their slogan is “a bar for men who like men.” It doesn’t get any simpler than that! The walls here are lined with faux leather and fetish art. So even though the bar is relatively small, it still feels intimate and sexy.

men's bar Copenhagen
men's bar Copenhagen
bars in Copenhagen gay district

As is the case with many of the gay bars in Copenhagen, smoking is allowed inside. Pack some clothing fabric spray to get rid of any lingering odors on your jacket after you get home!

bars in Copenhagen gay district

MEN’s Bar is open every day until 2 AM, but Friday and Saturday nights are best.

Masken Bar

Masken Bar is the local gay sports bar. And yes, they do actually play sports on the tv screens here! Bartenders are super friendly and the overall vibe is true to what a sports bar should feel like.

Copenhagen gay bar
Copenhagen gay bar
Copenhagen gay sports bar

Split into two levels, the upstairs is the main bar area with plenty of places to sit and quaint views out onto the street. Downstairs they have a foosball table and additional high-top tables.

Copenhagen gay sports bar

G*A*Y Nightclub Copenhagen

G*A*Y Nightclub is one of Copenhagen’s more popular gay nightlife venues. Don’t be confused by the name, though—G*A*Y Nightclub’s venue resembles more of a large gay bar than a substantial club.

Copenhagen gay nightclub

Nevertheless, there’s always a fun drag show happening at G*A*Y Copenhagen, especially on weekends. And on Wednesdays, the bar usually hosts karaoke nights. The bar is also strictly non-smoking.

Copenhagen gay nightclub
Copenhagen gay district
Copenhagen gay district

Centralhjørnet

One of the oldest gay bars in Europe, Centralhjørnet is a cozy, quieter spot for inexpensive drinks during the week. Centralhjørnet is technically a gay bar, but you’ll likely find a mixed crowd here.

The bar is especially known for big festive holiday events. Definitely stop by if you’re visiting during the Christmas season when Centralhjørnet takes holiday decorations to another level.

During the months of October through April, the bar hosts drag shows every Thursday and Sunday. And when the weather is warmer, you can enjoy drinks outside.

Copenhagen Gay Saunas & Cruising

Amigo Sauna

Amigo Sauna is Copenhagen’s traditional gay sauna and has been in business for 45 years! Inside you’ll find video rooms, a dry sauna, a bar, showers, slings, a lounge area, and even a small workout room.

Copenhagen gay cruising club

While the facilities at Amigo are a bit dated, the sauna is still quite popular. Lots of guys visit, especially during the summer months.

Copenhagen gay cruising
Copenhagen gay cruising club

SLM

SLM Copenhagen is a hugely popular gay fetish club, Copenhagen’s go-to gay cruising venue for rubber, leather, and uniform enthusiasts. Lots of guys will be wearing their sexiest harnesses

Copenhagen gay cruising

They host intense events every Friday and Saturday, with additional events some weeks on Thursday and Sunday.

While I didn’t go to this SLM location, I enjoyed the one in Stockholm. As their website mentions, it’s true that about half the people that go to SLM are looking strictly for sex, but the other half is open to socializing and meeting new people.

Copenhagen gay sauna area
Copenhagen gay traveler
Copenhagen gay sauna area

Body Bio

A little gay cruising at Body Bio is a good idea any day of the week! Body Bio is one of the most popular Copenhagen gay saunas/cruising clubs, located in the basement of a commercial building in the København V district.

Copenhagen gay traveler

Some of the busiest times are Wednesday evenings for the popular weekly Nude Night, as well as Sunday afternoons with the weekend crowd.

Body Bio has movie rooms, a small sauna, and a jacuzzi among other spaces for cruising. Lockers are also available.

Before you go cruising, make sure you have a pair of sexy underwear or jockstrap to wear!

bike tour river view

Copenhagen Travel Tips

Bikes & Scooters

Bike culture in Copenhagen is huge, similar to other Scandinavian cities. A bike or electric scooter is the perfect way to get around the city since Copenhagen is quite large!

Copenhagen gay travel tips
Copenhagen gay travel tips
bike tour river view

The entire city is bike-friendly, with dedicated bike lanes on almost every main street. You can ride scooters in the bike lanes as well, but these are allowed to be parked in the city center.

Copenhagen city center

Copenhagen Public Transportation

If you’re planning on taking public transport in Copenhagen, you’ll want to get a paper ticket from one of the traditional ticket booths. Purchasing tickets via the city’s DOT mobile app is cumbersome, and for many tourists, not even impossible.

traveler paying taxi
traveler paying taxi
Copenhagen city center

After this app asks for an incredible amount of information, it attempts to verify your phone number, but frustratingly will not send texts to foreign mobile numbers. Train operators are not sympathetic either and will ask tourists to get off the train to buy paper tickets.

Unless you’re sticking to a budget, save yourself the trouble and just use a taxi!

wolfyy logo

Next, check out wolfyy’s gay travel guide to Stockholm.

Need more ideas for gay destinations? Explore wolfyy’s full collection of gay travel guides.

See wolfyy’s travel resources page for booking discounts and recommended partner sites.


Before you go...

Trusted Gay Travel Info, Just for You.

Leave Your Email.

JOIN ME.

Gay Travel Advice You Can't Find Anywhere Else.

wolfyy gay travel logo