Denmark

Foreign currency

Either one

The national currency is the Danish krone DKK, plural "kroner". In the more "touristy" shops in Copenhagen, and at the traditional beach resorts along the Jutland West Coast and Bornholm Island it will often be possible to pay in Euro. The Danish krone is pegged to the Euro to an accuracy of 2.25%. In the 12 months from Aug 2005 to Aug 2006 the average exchange rate was 1 EUR = 7.46 DKK. The Kroner comes in 50 øre ½ kroner copper coins, 1, 2 and 5 kroner silver nickel coins with a hole in the centre, and finally solid 10 and 20 kroner bronze coins. Notes comes in nominations of 50 Purple, 100 Orange, 200 Green 500 Blue and 1000 Red kroner. Note that the 1997 series of banknotes are being replaced with a new series, starting with the 50 kroner note in 2009 and ending with the 1000 kroner note in 2011, hence you can expect to see two types of bank notes circulating in the coming years, both are legal tender.

Faroese króna and the coming series of Greenlandic bank notes, while of exactly the same face value, are not legal tender in Denmark and vice-versa, but can by law be exchanged in any bank free of charge at a 1:1 ratio.

Automatic teller machines are widely available even in small towns, but some ATM's are closed during night time out of security reasons. The Danish word is Dankort/hæve-automat, and might be useful to remember as the term ATM is not universally known.

Nearly all machines regardless of operator will accept the Danish Dankort, MasterCard, Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron, American Express, JCB og China UnionPay CUP. While the majority of retailers accept International credit- and debit cards, many still only accept the local Dankort. Virtually everywhere you are required to use a PIN-code with your card, so if this is not common practice in your country, remember to request one from your bank before leaving home. Also beware that most retailers will add a 3%-4% transaction charge often without warning if you pay with a foreign credit card.

Note that a few machines will not accept PIN-codes longer than 4 characters, which can create problems for north-american or other european users. Ask the clerk operating the machine if it accepts 5-digit PIN-codes before attempting to operate the machine. Your card may be rejected even without entering the PIN if it is incompatible.

what to buy

Naturally what to buy remains highly subjective, and in an expensive country like Denmark, also largely depends on the size of your pocket, but here are some suggestions:

Designer eyewear by Lindberg (http://www.lindberg.dk/)

Skagen designer watches (http://www.skagen.com)

Royal Copenhagen porcelain (http://www.royalcopenhagen.dk/)

Bang & Olufsen electronics (http://www.bang-olufsen.com/)

Georg Jensen silverware and jewelry (http://www.georgjensen.com/)

Kay Bojesen silverware (http://www.kaybojesensilv...)

LEGO building brick toys (http://lego.com)

ECCO shoes (http://www.ecco.com)

Aalborg Akvavit spirits (http://www.aalborgakvavit.dk)

Danish Fashion (http://www.danishfashioni...)

Danish Design (http://www.ddc.dk/ddc)

Danish Cheese (http://www.arla.com/produ...)

tipping

In Denmark service charges are automatically included in the bill at restaurants and hotels, and tips for taxi drivers and the like are included in the fare. So tipping is not expected, nor required, but is a matter of choice. Needless to say, tipping for outstanding service is obviously greatly appreciated.