Ghost walks in Copenhagen with children

Children under seven are not admitted to the guided ghost walk, and children under twelve are not admitted to the four-hour walk after the six giants. Those are the operators’ rules rather than suggestions. The two self-guided murder mystery hunts state no age limit and are the obvious family option: analogue, paper and a pen, no phone needed, and you set the pace and stop when somebody is hungry.

Guided ghost walkNo under-sevens

Six forgotten giantsNo under-twelves

Murder mystery huntsNo stated age limit

Hunts want a party ofAt least two

Ghost walk length1 hr 30 on foot

Tivoli haunted housesNot for young children

The age limits, and why they exist

The guided ghost walk is an hour and a half outdoors with no seat and no break, told in English, about executions, fires, an epidemic and a poltergeist panic. The operator does not admit children under seven. That is a reasonable rule and it is not negotiable at the meeting point, so do not turn up hoping. Seven and over is a judgement call that belongs to you: the material is historical rather than gruesome in the telling, there are no effects and nobody jumps out, but ninety minutes of standing and listening is a long time for a tired child.

The walk after Thomas Dambo’s six wooden giants has a higher limit — no under-twelves — which surprises people, because on paper it is the family-friendly one. It is four hours, out of the city, with private transport, a coffee break and a meal, and hunting six large wooden trolls called Sleeping Louis, Hilltop Trine, Oscar Under the Bridge, Thomas on the Mountain, Little Tilde and Teddy Friendly. Michelle from Australia wrote that her group of five “all had a great time laughing and finding the Giants”. For twelve and over it is the best-rated thing on this site, at 5.0 from 138 reviews: the giants page.

What works for younger children

The two self-guided hunts. They state no age limit, they want a party of at least two and suit two to four, and they are fully analogue: a case, a route, a pen. The Round Tower hunt is set in 1899 with detective constables, a missing person and a bloody briefcase, and runs from Rundetårn through Gråbrødretorv and Købmagergade to Gammeltorv. The Amalienborg one follows a woman’s murder from the pier past Skt Annæ Plads to Nyhavn. Mats from Sweden noted that it was “actually a bit difficult to solve”, which for a family with older children is a feature rather than a complaint.

Because you choose the hour, you can also do one in daylight, which matters more here than it does at home: in October it is dark by half past four, and in June it is not dark at all. See when it gets dark.

What works

The hunts have no stated age limit and no fixed start time
You stop for food, a toilet or a rest whenever you need to
No phone required, which removes one argument entirely
Older children over twelve get the giants walk, the best-rated walk here

Worth knowing

Under sevens are not admitted to the guided ghost walk at all
Under twelves are not admitted to the giants walk
Ninety minutes of standing is a lot for a young child even if they are admitted
Tivoli warns its two haunted houses are not for young children

From the archive

If your children are small and you still want the history, take them to Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro on an afternoon. It opened in 1760, it is 25 hectares of park, Hans Christian Andersen is buried in it, and in the 1800s families came here with picnic baskets and tea. No age limit, no ticket, no queue.

Timing an evening with children

The one advantage of a Danish autumn is that dark comes early enough to be compatible with bedtime. On 25 October sunset is 4:48 pm and on the thirty-first 4:35 pm, so a walk that starts in the early evening is fully dark and still finishes at a sensible hour. In June the reverse is true: sunset at 9:57 pm means the only dark walk is one no child should be on.

The other thing to check before you book anything is the calendar. The guided walk runs on set evenings and there can be very few of them in a month, which is harder to work around with children than without. The English-language picture sets out what exists.

What to bring

Warm layers and shoes with grip, because the route is cobbled and it runs in rain and in cold rather than being cancelled. For a hunt, a pen and something to lean on. For either, food before rather than during: nothing on these walks includes it. What to wear has the detail, and the access page covers standing, cobbles and pushchairs.

A killing in 1899

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Frequently asked questions

Is there an age limit on the Copenhagen ghost walk?

Yes. Children under seven are not admitted. The four-hour walk after the six giants does not admit under twelves: the giants page.

What can we do with younger children?

The two self-guided murder mystery hunts state no age limit, need a party of at least two and let you set the pace and the hour: the Round Tower hunt.

Is the ghost walk frightening for children?

There are no special effects and nobody jumps out; it is storytelling about executions, fires and an epidemic. The length is the bigger issue: ninety minutes on foot with no seat.

Can children go into the Tivoli haunted houses?

Tivoli warns that they are not for young children: Tivoli’s haunted houses.

What time of year suits a family evening walk?

Late October, when sunset is before five and a dark walk still finishes early: the sunset table.