Best time of year to come
The one variable nobody mentions
Every other city answers this question with weather. Copenhagen has to answer it with light, because at 55 degrees north the difference between the longest and the shortest day is enormous and it decides what an evening walk actually is. On 21 June the sun rises at 4:25 am and sets at 9:57 pm, which is 17 hrs 32 min of daylight, and nautical twilight does not finish until roughly 10:58 pm. On 21 December there are 7 hrs 6 min of daylight in the whole day.
So a ghost walk booked for a June evening is a walking tour of the old city in broad daylight with dark subject matter in it. It is still a good walk. It is not the walk in the photograph. The full table, month by month, is on when it gets dark.
Autumn, which is the answer
From late September the evenings start arriving early enough to matter, and through October they collapse: 6:47 pm on the first, 6:12 pm on the fifteenth, then the clocks go back and it is 4:48 pm on the twenty-fifth and 4:35 pm on the thirty-first. An evening walk in the second half of October is fully dark, and you can still stand outside for ninety minutes without losing the feeling in your hands.
October is also when the city itself leans into the season. Tivoli’s Halloween season runs 2 October to 1 November, and it puts two haunted houses inside the gardens for it. The ghost walk sells its thin October dates first, which is the practical argument for booking before you arrive: Halloween in Copenhagen.
Winter, honestly
November to February gives you darkness in abundance and very little else. January averages 1.4 °C, cold waves can reach fifteen or sixteen below, and there are roughly 1.5 hours of sunshine a day in January against 8.5 in July. Midwinter offers 7 hrs 6 min of daylight, so a four o’clock walk is a night walk. Tivoli’s Christmas season, 13 November to 3 January, is the thing most people come for in those months, and it is not a ghost season.
If you are here in winter anyway, dress properly and go. The cold is the obstacle rather than the dark, and the walk runs in it. What to wear is not decoration on this site.
Spring and summer
April and May bring the city back outdoors, Tivoli’s summer season opens on 7 April and runs to 20 September, and the light lengthens fast. By late May the evening does not really end. June and July are the warmest and the busiest months and the worst for a ghost walk, for the one reason this whole site keeps repeating. August is the wettest month of the year at about 80 mm out of an annual 660 mm, and by late August the dark is beginning to come back.
If your trip is fixed for summer, the sensible move is to stop trying to make the evening dark and take a self-guided hunt in the long light instead, or spend the day out of the city after Thomas Dambo’s six wooden giants, which is a daytime walk and gains nothing from dusk.
What works
- October: dark by six, and still mild enough to stand in
- Late September: the evenings have started arriving early
- November to February: as dark as anyone could want
- April to June: the pleasantest city, and the busiest
Worth knowing
- June and July: no usable darkness at all in the evening
- January and February: cold waves reach fifteen below
- August is the wettest month of the year
- October dates on the guided walk go first
If you can move your trip by a fortnight, move it into the second half of October. The clocks go back on the twenty-fifth and sunset drops by more than an hour overnight in practical terms. That fortnight is the only stretch of the year when Copenhagen gives you real dark, mild air and a walk that is actually running.
Booking by season
In October, book before you travel. In summer, book anything you like, because the guided walk runs on set evenings all the same and the hunts are available whenever you are. In deep winter, check the calendar rather than assuming. Month by month is on the best month page, the weather in detail is on the weather page, and how long you need in the city is on how many days.
Lantern and black cloakCopenhagen: Guided Ghost Walk through Haunted City
A killing in 1899Copenhagen: Murder Mystery Hunt by The Round Tower
Six trolls in the woodsCopenhagen: The Six Forgotten Giants Hunt and Nature Walk
And check the month before you check anything else. On 21 June the sun sets at 9:57 pm in Copenhagen and nautical twilight runs to about 10:58 pm, so a summer ghost walk happens in daylight. On 31 October it is dark by half past four. The sunset table is the most useful page here.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time of year for a ghost walk in Copenhagen?
October. Sunset falls from 6:47 pm on the first of the month to 4:35 pm on the thirty-first, so the evening is genuinely dark, and the hard cold has not arrived: the sunset table.
Is summer a bad time to visit Copenhagen?
Not for the city, which is at its best. Only for a ghost walk, because on 21 June the sun sets at 9:57 pm and twilight runs to about 10:58 pm. Alternatives on which walk to choose.
How cold does Copenhagen get in winter?
January averages 1.4 °C, and cold waves can reach fifteen or sixteen below. There are about 1.5 hours of sunshine a day in January. Dress accordingly: what to wear.
When does Tivoli run its Halloween season?
From 2 October to 1 November, with two haunted houses inside the gardens: Tivoli’s haunted houses.
Which month is wettest?
August, at about 80 mm of the annual 660 mm. October is darker and drier and better for standing outdoors after sunset: the weather page.