🗓️Weekends vs weekdays: when hotels and hostels in the capital are cheaper

It's Friday evening, you've just stepped out of the metro at Town Hall Square, and the city is already buzzing with bars, lights and suitcases at hotel doors. The same room you looked at on Wednesday is suddenly a third more expensive — and it seems as if someone has simply pressed the ‘weekend’ button. In Copenhagen, this is not an illusion: the days of the week and events on the calendar greatly affect the price of both hostels and hotels.

Below is a breakdown of ‘weekdays vs. weekends’ by season and tips on how to choose dates so that you can live comfortably in the capital without overpaying for the calendar.

🧭 General logic: how the day of the week affects the price

🧩 In European cities like Copenhagen, hotels and hostels operate according to a simple pattern:

• Weekdays (mainly Mon-Thu) — more business trips, business travel, conferences, especially in the spring and autumn. Business hotels and those located near office districts may be more expensive on weekdays and offer special deals on weekends.
• Weekends (Fri–Sun) — peak tourist demand: 2–3-day city breaks, romantic trips, events, festivals. This is especially noticeable in summer and December, which are already high season.

Added to this is seasonality based on the weather:

winter and early spring (January–March) — minimum prices, summer (May–August) — maximum, and April, September–October — the ‘golden shoulder’ when the weather is already/still good, and prices are apparently lower than the peak.

❄️ Winter and early spring (January–March): cheap weekdays and mild weekends

🔎 What happens to prices

• Sources on seasonality agree: January–March is the cheapest period for hotels in Denmark, including the capital.
• There is a difference between weekdays and weekends, but it is often not dramatic: somewhere between +5–15% on popular Fridays and Saturdays.
• Exceptions are events: business meetings/conferences (weekdays) and festivals such as Winter Pride (17–23 February 2025).

🎯 When is it cheaper to travel

• If your schedule allows, choose departures on Sunday–Monday and nights Monday–Thursday:
• during this period, it is easier to find good rates at both hotels and hostels.
• A good life hack is to tie your trip to the Copenhagen Light Festival (February): hotels still have winter prices, and the city centre is beautifully lit up.

🌱 Spring and the shoulder season (April–May): weekdays for business tourism vs weekend events

📈 Prices and occupancy

• According to reviews, April–May often offer 30–40% lower rates than July, especially outside of major events.
• But with conventions and conferences coming up, business hotels and hotels near large venues may see a jump in weekday rates before tourism reaches its summer peak.

🏃 ‍♂️ Copenhagen Marathon (11 May)

• In 2025, the marathon took place on Sunday, 11 May and attracted thousands of runners and fans.
• On marathon weekend, hotels around the centre and along the route (Islands Brygge, Frederiksberg, Indre By) traditionally see increased demand and prices.

🎯 Strategy

• If you want to attend the marathon, book at least 2-3 months in advance and consider Østerbro, Nordhavn, Frederiksberg as quieter areas.
• If you are not interested in the marathon, avoid this weekend and choose weekdays before/after when prices are lower.

☀️ Summer (June–August): expensive weekends, but not always cheap weekdays

🕶 Summer context

• According to Lonely Planet and other guidebooks, May–August is the high season: long days, festivals, and crowded restaurants and bars.
• During this time, average hotel rates are the highest of the year, and the difference between weekdays and weekends is greater.

🏳️‍🌈 Copenhagen Pride Week (9–17 August 2025)

• In 2025, Pride Week will take place from 9 to 17 August, with the parade on Saturday, 16 August.
• The city centre (Town Hall Square, Indre By, Vesterbro) is literally flooded with people during these days — it's a great experience, but:
  • Pride weekend is one of the most expensive times of the year in the city centre;
  • proximity to the parade route = even more demand.

🎵 Other events

• Distortion (first week of June) rocks Nørrebro and the harbour — hostels and hotels in these areas become more expensive and quickly fill up during the festival weekend.

📌 Weekdays vs weekends in summer

• During ‘normal’ weeks in summer, the picture is usually as follows:
  • Mon–Thu — slightly fewer tourists, but lots of city breaks and business people;
  • Fri–Sun — maximum tourist traffic, higher demand for everything from hostels to suites.
• Some business hotels (especially outside the city centre) may offer summer weekend rates lower than weekday rates, but on average across the city, summer weekends are the most expensive.

🎯 Strategy

• If price is important:
  • choose departures on Sunday–Monday;
  • stay Sun–Thu, avoiding Friday and Saturday;
  • Pride/Distortion and other festivals — either book well in advance or change your dates.
• If atmosphere is important:
  • Pride/Distortion is a great experience, but add +20–40% to the ‘normal’ rates and book as early as possible.

🎄 Late autumn and December: weekdays vs. Christmas weekends

🎪 Christmas season

• Christmas in Tivoli in 2025 runs from 14 November to 4 January, and it is this event that almost always sets the price configuration in the centre.
• November weekdays before and between the holiday weekends still have fairly reasonable prices, but Friday–Sunday around the fairs and Tivoli are not much cheaper than July in some places.

📌 Weekdays vs weekends

• Mon–Thu: a good chance to get the centre (Indre By/train station/Vesterbro) at reasonable winter rates.
• Fri–Sun:
  • central hotels/boutiques near Tivoli and Nyhavn are getting more expensive;
  • popular hostels in the centre also fill up — these are the weeks of the ‘next peak wave’ after summer.

🎯 Strategy

• If you want the atmosphere of markets and lights, but not peak prices, come:
  • on weekdays,
  • in the ‘windows’ between long weekends,
  • and stay in an area 1-2 metro stops away from Tivoli (Østerbro, Nordhavn, Frederiksberg).

🧮 How the difference between ‘weekdays vs weekends’ looks in numbers (very roughly)

This is not a price list, but guidelines for ‘budget planning’.

• In the winter-spring period (January-April) and in late autumn, the standard surcharge for Friday-Saturday in the centre often stays in the range of +10-25% compared to weekday nights.
• In summer and during the Christmas weeks (especially during Pride week and around major festivals), the spread between ‘modest weekdays’ and ‘peak weekends’ can easily reach +30-50% and above for popular hotels and boutique properties in Indre By/Nyhavn.

🎯 How to plan your dates if you have a tight schedule

• If you have a fixed weekend → try adding at least Sunday–Monday: you can get a couple of nights at weekday prices or in a more reasonable area.
• You have fixed weekdays → great: choose Mon–Thu and see if there are any major conferences or marathons on those days; if not, the chances of a good rate are higher.
• If you live nearby and can choose almost any dates, the following combination will help you save money:
• departure on Sunday/Monday → nights from Sunday to Thursday → no major events on the calendar.