Copenhagen Wants to Be the World’s First Carbon Neutral Capital

LEARN MORE AND GET INSPIRED ON A GREEN BIKE TOUR

Copenhagen – Denmark’s charming capital city is working diligently to become the greenest city in the world. Want to see what sustainable city planning and green urban development look like in action? No better way than behind the handlebars of a bicycle – a truly Danish way to do it. Don’t worry, there are plenty of places to stop and take it all in. (You can even take a walking tour.) The guides at Green Bike Tours have tons to tell you about Copenhagen’s goal to be carbon-neutral by 2025. Let’s go for a ride.

Why do we need green city planning?

By the year 2050 it is predicted that two-thirds of the planet’s population will reside inside the limits of a city?¹ With urban populations rising, the buildings required to house, employ and generally serve those numbers will be one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gasses with cities contributing nearly a 70% of the planet’s total CO2 output.²

But while urban centers are becoming denser, new development brings opportunities to create more sustainable cities. Lucky for those of us living here in Copenhagen, we can already feel the effects of the city’s efforts to mitigate carbon emissions through how the city consumes energy, how the city produces energy, green architecture and increased green mobility initiatives. Jump on a bike and come see.

The City of Copenhagen has a dual responsibility to mitigate the effects of climate change and to show that it is feasible to combine growth, development and an enhanced quality of life with lower CO2 emissions.”
– The CPH 2025 Climate Plan

GREEN BIKE TOURS CAN SHOW HOW THE CITY TACKLES CARBON

Green Bike Tours is a start-up founded by Dane Helene Hjortlund in 2012. Helene loves sharing the benefits of sustainable city planning and her first outings took around groups coming to learn about Copenhagen’s clean city goals. A real passion for educating people comes through in her unique and informative tours. Every green guide comes from a background in sustainable studies and it shows. And while you will assuredly learn a lot about city planning and bike riding and social sustainability here in Copenhagen, these tours are truly tons of fun and a fantastisk way to see a different side of the Danish capital.

We can all contribute to a better, greener world by taking responsible decisions and actions when it comes to energy solutions and sustainability. By seeing how cities work on becoming greener, we get inspiration in our own lives and become more conscious.”
– Green Bike Tours Vision

SEVERAL GREEN BIKE TOURS TO CHOOSE FROM

Currently, Green Bike Tours offers several sustainable tours of Copenhagen. And if getting on a bicycle is beyond you, there are several ways to experience green Scandinavia on your own two feet. But try the bike. It’s the best way to cover lots of territory and there is so much to see.

Note: You can rent a bike through many of the hotels around town, through the easy to use and convenient Donkey Republic app or at Cykelbørsen bicycle shop on Gothersgade near the start of the bicycle tours. 

Tour #1 is the most taken tour and a great place to start if you don’t know much about Copenhagen or the city’s sustainable urban planning. On this three-hour tour, you will ride like a local along some of Copenhagen’s special cycle lanes and take bridges built just for bicycles across the clean, clear harbor to see where city dwellers swim. You’ll explore green roofs that suck up the city’s carbon and rain management systems in pretty parks that manage runoff and help keep those same swimmable canals clean. Learn about green architecture and see evidence of Denmark’s green energy in the middle of classic Copenhagen.

Tour #1 | Saturdays 10 am – 1 pm | DKK 300

Tour #2 is a condensed version of the classic Tour #1 and made for those who feel better exploring on two feet rather than two wheels. This two-hour walking tour of the sustainable city happens every Friday at 3 pm. See how classic Copenhagen connects with new Danish development right on the city’s harbor.

Tour #2 | Fridays 3 pm – 5 pm | DKK 250

This tour is a perfect way to experience the must see places of Copenhagen, while discussing important topics of today such as plastic pollution, circular economy and how to get a happy people.”
– Green Bike Tours

Tour #3 takes guests out of the center city and into the hip, happening and green urban neighborhoods of Nørrebro and Østerbro. Off the beaten path and away from tourist crowds, you’ll explore where Copenhageners live and how social sustainability influences their lives from planned recreational spaces to urban community farms, climate friendly neighborhoods and local organic eateries.

Tour #3 | Sundays 10 am – 12.30 pm | DKK 300

RELATED: ORGANIC FARM TO TABLE FARE ON A ROOFTOP GARDEN IN COPENHAGEN

 

Tour #4 is a special walking tour of Danish architecture – a unique collaboration with the Radisson Collection Royal Copenhagen hotel. See inside the world’s first design hotel where every detail was created by Danish icon Arne Jacobsen. Start with coffee and a Danish pastry (included with price) in the hotel lobby before stepping back in time to see an original room still just as Arne designed it back in the day. From the hotel, the tour continues through the modern and historic city center for an hour before returning to the hotel.

Tour #4 | First Saturday of the month 12 pm – 2 pm | DKK 225

BEYOND COPENHAGEN | SEE SUSTAINABLE MALMÖ and berlin

On the other side of the Øresund Bridge, Scandi sibling Sweden is also embracing sustainable city planning and you can see what the Swedes are doing on a green bike or walking tour of Malmö too. And for those of you living or traveling to Berlin, Green Bike Tours is coming soon to the vibrant German city. Stay tuned!

READ MORE: MALMÖ, SWEDEN | A MODERN SCANDINAVIAN CITY

Coming to Copenhagen? Or Malmö? Book your tours here:

Good to know: If you have two or more people who are interested in any of the tours listed, but would like a different time than scheduled, Green Bike Tours is happy to work with you and create something that works! info@greenbiketours.dk

Disclosure: I’ve been on a few of aforementioned tours for free for purposes of reviewing, and the affiliate link above will afford a small kickback to me at no extra cost to you if you click through to book your tour. All opinions are very much my own and I truly love what this company is doing and think everyone should see the green side of this pretty city.

Come to Copenhagen, she said.