About us

Elena leaves Treviso (Italy) in February, 2013 so to reach Copenhagen. There she carries out her internship and writes her master’s degree theses so to finish her studies in Contemporary Art History. She travels back to Italy, she graduates and she leaves again for Denmark. Some time later she starts her blog where she writes about Danish art, Danish design, Danish culture and she gives advice about what to do and what to visit in Copenhagen and surroundings. She gets interested in the profession of tourist guide and she decides to enroll in the course at Roskilde University. There she obtains her certification as a tour guide, a guarantee of quality and reliability. Subsequently she becomes a member of the Danish Association of Certified Tourist Guides. Her studies in Linguistics and Art History at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice (Italy) and those at Roskilde University (Denmark) as well as her expertise working as a tourist guide for several years culminated in a strong desire for professional grow. She evolves her work into a tour agency in order to take special care of the many travellers who set foot in Denmark.

A Spasso con Elena deals with organising and leading guided tours and customised itineraries as well as taking care of the planning and booking of many more services in Copenhagen and in the island of Sjælland in Denmark other than in Helsingborg, Lund and Malmø in Sweden. The team consists of certified and qualified who work with competence and integrity under the strict supervision of the founder Elena Merli. They operate mostly in Italian, Spanish and English, but if necessary, upon request, also in other languages. Reliability, quality, competence, preparation, enthusiasm, passion, are the main characteristics of A Spasso con Elena which guarantees an unforgettable holiday by offering the visitor the opportunity to live an authentic experience.

The profession of tourist guide is not regulated at the legislative level in Denmark. This means that there are no official authorisations or permissions to be taken in order to work as a tourist guide. However, in order to monitor the quality and consequently facilitate foreign agencies and individual travellers, the university course “Diplomuddannelsen til Turistfører” has been founded at Roskilde University. It aims at guarantee competence, professionalism and reliability. This course has a variable duration based on the frequency of attendance. Only those who finish it by passing all the exams including the final test can become members of the Danish Association of Certified Tourist Guides. Among other tasks, the Association takes care of organising guided tours and workshops for a constant update of the members, who usually wear their badge to be easily recognised by the people. The tour guides who obtain the certification at Roskilde University and become members of the Danish Association of Certified Tourist Guides are a certainty for the quality of the services rendered. Their professionalism and expertise in understanding their clients’ needs and their flexibility are the key to live an unforgettable experience in Copenhagen and Denmark. It is essential to be informed, therefore to choose carefully the local provider that is going to help you to plan your stay and all the tours to be done on site. When you choose local, certified and qualified tour guides, you will contribute to protect our professional category and you will discourage improvised tour guides from offering incompetent services.

You cannot auto define yourself a tour guide, but you become so after study, investment in both time and money, and passion. Besides being a member of the Danish Association of Certified Tour Guides, Elena is also a member at the Danish Association of Art Historians. These affiliations encourage the exploration of the territory as well as a deeper understanding of art, culture, and history through courses, tours, workshops. These are tailored and given by professionals such as professors, researchers, curators, specialised tour guides. Furthermore, Elena is committed to participate regularly to the best possibilities that Copenhagen has to offer so that she can give helpful information as well as renew her tour proposals and make them be always relevant.

A Spasso con Elena has adopted a code of ethics which is based on compliance with some rules established in order to provide the client with a high quality service. In accordance with the principles of the European Federation of Tourist Guide Associations, A Spasso con Elena aims:

• To provide a professional service to visitors, professional in care and commitment, and professional in providing an objective understanding of the place visited, free from prejudice or propaganda;
• To ensure that as far as possible what is presented as fact is accurate, and that a clear distinction is made between fact and stories, legends, traditions, or opinions;
• To provide a high quality experience which has to be equally available for every participant. We consider the dialogue is important, therefore, we respect a policy on the maximum number of participants;
• To act fairly and reasonably in all dealings with all those who engage the services of guides and with colleagues and members of the Danish Association of Certified Tour Guides working in all aspects of tourism. In this respect we do not put our professionalism and reliability at risk and we alway respect the Association’s conditions meaning that our rates are never lower than them;
• To protect the reputation of tourism in our country by making every endeavour to ensure that guided groups treat with respect the environment, wildlife, sights and monuments, and also local customs and sensitivities;
• As representatives of the host country to welcome visitors and act in such a way as to bring credit to the country visited and promote it as a tourist destination;
• To promote a different approach to traveling that emphasises the importance of slow living in today’s fast-paced world.

In our work we act considering two key concepts: responsibility and sustainability. By responsibility we refer to a tourism where travellers are responsible, namely aware of the action of traveling and its consequences, informed about the local tourism legislation, and respectful while visiting the sites and having to do with its populations. Sustainability is not only related to the environment, but also to the profession of tour guiding itself. We want our clients to make sustainable choices, so we encourage them to think responsibly, which not only means to respect the environment, but also to respect tourism itself and the profession of tour guiding. As a matter of fact a tour experience is sustainable when it is responsible, namely it gives value to the profession of tour guiding itself and it does not damage the local community. For us a sustainable tourism does not exploit its stakeholders. It does not generate dishonest competition. It aims for the best quality of the services and it enhances its clients. These are the reasons why our guided tours are carried out in small groups and customised according to your interests and needs besides being the result of the cooperation with local suppliers. In terms of the environment, we are committed to build guided tours that enhance the nature and that do not hurt the environment.

Furthermore, A Spasso con Elena supports respect among people and does not accept any form of discrimination depending on ethnic background, religion, gender, civil status, maternity status, age, political ideas, nationality, sexual orientation. A Spasso con Elena ensures a fair treatment for everybody.

Last but not least, respect and reliability are required in return since the beginning to the end of the relationship, be it individual traveller-agency or business-to-business. If you support the values mentioned above and share the company’s ethical position, choose A Spasso con Elena to visit Copenhagen and Denmark.

The guided tour is an occasion to know more about art, culture and history of a specific place as well as a unique experience - when given ny a certified and qualified tour guide - during which we are confronted with a different lifestyle, we listen to a new language, we look at the reality through different eyes, we feel included. To make you feel integrated in Copenhagen is one of our objectives. The beauty of traveling is in finding out that we differ from each other, but at the same time basically alike. Even if we disagree in tastes and opinions, we are enabled to love each other despite all and to be part of one big family thanks to the open-mindedness which is stimulated by traveling and cultural experiences. In addition to offering unique and special guided experiences, our mission is indeed to educate for traveling and for differences in order to prevent all forms of prejudice, bigotry and racism. We want to promote a different approach to traveling so that you can explore more genuinely the place and its culture as well as find new alternatives to today’s hectic models and lifestyles. In our opinion low traveling is the key for a better observation and consequently for a better understanding of the reality. We believe that our encounter with the world should happen slowly, respecting time by inhabiting it with a few valuable things, by appreciating the stops. Through slow tourism we are leaded to a dimension in which we can deeply observe the reality. This encourages us to reflect and it generates emotions that last in time. In addition, we love to explore in a broad sense and we believe that every trip/journey is also a great chance to learn something new For this reason, our guided tours also offer you the opportunity to challenge yourself, learn new skills and give yourself some quality time.

In a world where access to information of any kind is open to everybody and where the possibilities for spending your time are endless, the role of tour guides is essential in order to identify which information and proposals are good within the territory in which they operate. We imagine a future where the human relations still prevail. According to our point of view, the human being will continue to need to relate with each other, therefore, there will still be a wish for encounter and exchange with a tour guide. Guide books, tour applications on the phone and other digital innovations will not be enough to satisfy the human social nature.

We are and will remain here to offer you unique and unforgettable experiences. We will take you by the hand during the discovery of Copenhagen and Denmark.