Transport with the Copenhagen Card

Facts checked in November 2026 against the operator's and attractions' own sources.

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What DISCOVER covers

The DISCOVER card works as a ticket on every public transport mode in zones 1 to 99, which is the whole Capital Region of Denmark. In practice that means:

• all four metro lines, including the M2 to the airport and the M3 City Circle;
• city buses, including night buses;
• S-trains, the suburban network;
• regional and local trains within the region, such as the coastal line to Helsingør;
• the yellow harbour buses that cross the inner harbour.

First class is excluded. Malmö and the rest of Sweden are outside the region, so the train over the Øresund bridge needs a separate ticket.

Day trips covered by DISCOVER

All of these destinations are inside zones 1 to 99, so the return fare is part of the card, and each has at least one included attraction.

Coverage from the operator's transport page; prices from attraction sites and the operator's calculator, November 2026.

The airport ride

Copenhagen Airport is inside the zones, so DISCOVER covers both the metro and the train into the city once the card is active. Whether to activate on landing depends on the length of your card and the time you arrive. With a 48-hour or longer card, landing in the morning or at midday and activating at once makes sense, since you start sightseeing straight away. Landing in the evening with a 24-hour card, you would burn several hours of a card that costs DKK 589 to save a single airport fare. In that case buy a normal ticket or a 24-hour City Pass Small (DKK 100, which covers the airport) and activate the card the next morning.

The same applies on the way home. If the card expires while you are on the metro to the airport, you are without a valid ticket. Leave a margin of at least an hour.

Rules on board

• No tapping or scanning on any metro, train or bus.
• Show the card in the app to the driver when you board a bus.
• Show it to ticket inspectors on request.
• The card must be active from the moment you board until you leave; the operator cannot help with a fine if it was not. The fine is at least DKK 750.
• Screenshots are not accepted. Keep the phone charged.

What HOP covers instead

HOP replaces public transport with Stromma's hop-on hop-off sightseeing buses. Only Stromma's buses are valid, and Copenhagen has more than one operator, so check the livery before boarding. There are up to three routes, each with an audio guide in six languages:

• Classic Copenhagen runs every 30 minutes all year past Tivoli, City Hall, the National Museum, Rosenborg, Amalienborg and the canal tour pier. The first departure from the Tivoli stop is 09:00 and the last full loop leaves Tivoli at 17:15.
• Colorful Copenhagen goes through Christianshavn and Reffen, passing Christiansborg, the Church of Our Saviour and Copenhagen Contemporary.
• Home of Carlsberg goes through Frederiksberg, Vesterbro and the Meatpacking District, passing the Zoo and Cisternerne.

The two extra routes run only from Friday to Sunday for much of the year and daily in the busier months; the operator's own pages give slightly different season dates, so check the schedule before relying on them. HOP also serves the cruise terminals at Langelinie and Ocean Kaj, which is its strongest point for cruise passengers on a day in port. It does not go to the airport.

Accessibility

The driverless metro has lifts at its stations and level boarding, which makes it the easiest mode for wheelchairs and pushchairs. A disabled cardholder can bring one attendant free on the card. Full card rules are on the how it works page.

Frequently asked questions