Is a Copenhagen ghost walk worth it?
What you are actually buying
You are buying the difference between a story and a record, told on the ground where both happened. The walk starts on Nytorv, which was laid out in 1610 and carried a permanent execution scaffold from 1627 — rebuilt in 1728 as an octagonal masonry podium — until it was taken down in 1761. The last people beheaded there were Frederik Hammond and Anders Sundblad in 1758, for forging securities. The pillory stayed longer: public branding and whipping went on until 1780. None of that is atmosphere. It is what the square was for.
You stand in front of the court house C.F. Hansen built between 1803 and 1815, delayed by material shortages and by the bombardment of 1807, and look at the arch overhead that carried prisoners from the jail across the street. Then Laksegade, where in September 1826 the residents of number 210 fled as windows shattered and objects were reported flying through the air, and the police issued a statement on 15 September confirming the windows had been broken from the outside, dismissing the wilder accounts as fabrication. Nobody was ever charged. Danish still carries the phrase that came out of it: Fanden er løs i Laksegade, the Devil is loose in Salmon Street. The full account is on the Laksegade page.
What the reviewers say
David, from the United Kingdom, in August 2026: “The stories were interesting and entertaining, especially the Salmon Street episode.” Helen, from Australia: “Our guide (Elin) was a gifted story-teller who was able to bring to life for us the ghosts and mysteries of old Copenhagen.” A traveller from Spain put the case for the whole thing in one line: “It focuses on interesting stories that nobody else is going to tell you!” Deniz, from Sweden, called it a fantastic ghost walk with a knowledgeable guide. All of those are verified bookings, and the full set is on our review of the walk.
What works
- The documented history is genuinely good and genuinely local
- Ninety minutes is the right length for standing outdoors in October
- It starts and ends in the middle of the city, so the evening is not over
- Small operation, small groups, a guide who answers questions
- Free cancellation up to a day before, and it runs in rain
Worth knowing
- Storytelling only: no effects, no props, nobody jumps out
- In June it happens in full daylight, which changes the evening
- Children under seven are not admitted
- The dates are thin, and in some months very thin indeed
- Ninety minutes of standing and walking on cobbles, with no seat
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants to be scared. This is the most common mismatch and the easiest to avoid. There are no jump scares, no actors in doorways, no effects. If the thing you want is a fright, the two haunted houses Tivoli runs during its Halloween season are built for exactly that and warn that they are not for the faint of heart. See Tivoli’s haunted houses.
Anyone coming in June who expects darkness. On 21 June the sun sets at 9:57 pm and nautical twilight runs to about 10:58 pm. An evening walk in midsummer is a daylight walk with dark material in it. That is not the guide’s fault and no operator can fix it. The sunset table is worth two minutes before you book.
Anyone travelling with a child under seven. They are not admitted, and the rule is the operator’s rather than a guideline. Options for families are on the children page.
Anyone who needs a particular date. The walk runs on set evenings and there can be strikingly few of them in a month. If your trip has one free evening and it has to be Thursday, check first and have a second plan.
What to do instead, if that is you
The two self-guided hunts cover much of the same ground on your own schedule, in English or Danish, and you start them whenever you like. The four-hour walk after Thomas Dambo’s six wooden giants is the highest-rated thing on this site at 5.0 from 138 reviews, and it is a daytime walk out of the city with transport and a meal, which is a different day entirely. And Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro, opened in 1760 as a burial ground for the poor and now 25 hectares holding Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr, asks nothing of you but an afternoon: the cemetery page.
The test I would apply is simple. If you would enjoy a well-informed person telling you what happened on a square, and you would enjoy being told which half of it the record supports, this walk is worth the evening. If you want the hairs on your arms to go up, book the month rather than the walk — late October, when it is dark by half past four, does more for the atmosphere than any prop could.
Compare it against the alternatives
| Copenhagen: Murder Mystery Hunt by The Round Tower | Our pickCopenhagen: Guided Ghost Walk through Haunted City | Copenhagen: The Six Forgotten Giants Hunt and Nature Walk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format | Self-guided case | Guided, on foot | Guided, with transport |
| Language | English or Danish | English | English |
| Length | You set the pace | 1 hr 30 | 4 hrs |
| Rating | 4.5 from 2 reviews | 5.0 from 14 reviews | 5.0 from 138 reviews |
| Starts | Rundetårn | Nytorv | Valdemarsgade, Vesterbro |
| Dates | Whenever you like | Set evenings, few of them | Daytime |
| Minimum age | None stated | Seven | Twelve |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
The decision laid out by situation — couple, family, group, one free evening — is on which walk to choose.
The widget will tell you one thing faster than any page can: the guided walk runs on set evenings and the calendar is thin. A reviewer from the United Kingdom who enjoyed the walk in August 2026 still put the same complaint in writing — “the lack of choice for dates.. only one available for the whole month”. Look at the dates before you build an evening around it. The English-language picture is narrower than most capitals.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Copenhagen ghost walk scary?
No, and it does not try to be. The operator uses storytelling with no special effects and no elaborate props; the guide has a cloak and a lantern and nothing else. For a fright, Tivoli runs two haunted houses in its Halloween season: Tivoli’s haunted houses.
Is it worth doing in summer?
It is worth doing, but know what you are getting: on 21 June the sun sets at 9:57 pm and twilight runs to about 10:58 pm, so the walk happens in daylight. See when it gets dark.
How good are the reviews really?
The guided walk holds 5.0 from 14 reviews, which is a small but consistent set, and the recurring criticism is the shortage of dates rather than the walk itself: our full review.
Is there a better ghost tour in Copenhagen?
In English there is one guided ghost walk, so the comparison is really against the self-guided hunts and the Danish-language walks: the best ghost tour page.
What if the evening is wet?
The walk runs in rain and in cold rather than being cancelled, and you can cancel free up to a day before if you would rather not. Dress for it: what to wear.