Just a short metro ride from the centre of Copenhagen, Amager Strandpark is a popular beach park that gives the Danish capital its own stretch of sand and sea. Created in its present form in 2005, the park added a two-kilometre artificial island just offshore, separated from the original shore by a shallow lagoon, greatly expanding the city seaside playground. The design cleverly created two very different bathing experiences. The calm, shallow lagoon between the island and the mainland is ideal for families and young children, while the seaward side of the new island offers open water and longer stretches of beach for stronger swimmers and those who simply want the feel of the open Baltic. Beyond swimming, the park has become a hub for outdoor life in the warmer months, with kayaking, windsurfing, kitesurfing and beach volleyball all popular, and broad lawns and dunes for sunbathing and picnics. A handful of cafes and kiosks serve the crowds in summer. The setting is striking, with views out across the sound toward Sweden and the great bridge that links the two countries, and the wind turbines that stand offshore. Cyclists and walkers follow paths along the shore, and the park draws a steady flow of city dwellers escaping the urban bustle. Because it lies so close to the city and is easily reached by public transport, the beach is busy on warm days yet rarely feels remote, blending the convenience of an urban park with the pleasures of the seaside. For visitors to Copenhagen, Amager Strandpark offers an easy and unexpected taste of the coast within the city limits, a place where locals swim, sail and relax through the long days of the northern summer, all within sight of the capital. The transformation of what had been a narrow, unloved stretch of coast into a fully featured beach park was a celebrated piece of urban planning, widely cited as a model for how cities can reclaim and remake their shorelines for public use. Annual events such as outdoor concerts, fitness gatherings and triathlons draw further crowds at times, and in winter the park empties to a quieter, windswept walk along the dunes. Public transport links, including a metro station within easy walking distance of the beach, make access remarkably simple, so that a swim in the Baltic can be folded into a day spent sightseeing in central Copenhagen with little fuss.

Type: Beach

Address: Copenhagen, Denmark

Opening Date: 01/01/2005