VacationSelector
Nyhavn, Copenhagen
CopenhagenNyhavn
Hawthorne Bridge and downtown, Portland
PortlandHawthorne Bridge and downtown

Photos: Copenhagen by Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Portland by Cacophony, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Copenhagen or Portland?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Copenhagen for

  • culture and sights
  • families
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Copenhagen’s own page.

Choose Portland for

  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Portland’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Copenhagen 40, Portland 20: Copenhagen leads by 20 points.
Food & drink. Copenhagen 76, Portland 68: Copenhagen leads by 8 points.
Culture & sights. Copenhagen 72, Portland 38: Copenhagen leads by 34 points.
Nightlife. Copenhagen 60, Portland 52: Copenhagen leads by 8 points.
Nature & outdoors. Copenhagen 45, Portland 84: Portland leads by 39 points.
Day trips. Copenhagen 72, Portland 58: Copenhagen leads by 14 points.
Good for families. Copenhagen 85, Portland 55: Copenhagen leads by 30 points.
Getting around. Copenhagen 85, Portland 62: Copenhagen leads by 23 points.
Shopping & style. Copenhagen 70, Portland 52: Copenhagen leads by 18 points.
Affordability. Copenhagen 18, Portland 38: Portland leads by 20 points.
Live music & performing arts. Copenhagen 68, Portland 55: Copenhagen leads by 13 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Copenhagen 55, Portland 42: Copenhagen leads by 13 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Copenhagen and Portland.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Copenhagen
Best match
62match

Wins on culture and sights and families with your weighting.

Portland
52match

Wins on nature and the outdoors and prices with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Copenhagen in July

23 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
59 mmrain in the month
17 °Csea
17 hdaylight a day

Portland in July

27 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
13 mmrain in the month
No seasea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
CopenhagenPortland

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Copenhagen: 1991-2020 normals, Koebenhavn / Landbohoejskolen (2.4 km from centre). Portland: 1991-2020 normals, Portland International Airport (9.8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureCopenhagenPortland
Official languageDanish-
CurrencyDanish Krone (DKK)US Dollar (USD)
SocketsCEFK230 V, 50 HzAB120 V, 60 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC-8, UTC-7 in summer
Emergency number112911
Elevation14 m152 m
Main airportCopenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH)8 km from centre196 non-stop destinationsPortland International Airport (PDX)10 km from centre88 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year14 days12 days

By the numbers

MeasureCopenhagenPortland
City population667,099652,503
People per km²7,3391,736
Museums within 10 km7217
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50
Swim season, months above 21 °CNone-

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Copenhagen or Portland somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.