At House of Coco we love to get really immersed in a city or country when we visit for the first time. Here, we bring you our good value guide to Copenhagen so that once you visit, you’ll feel just as clued up as a local.
To get your bearings, join a local guide for a free walking tour of central Copenhagen. There is a choice of tours from a three hour guided walk starting on the steps of the City Hall and finishing near the Royal Palace (Amalienborg Palace) to a shorter 90-minute orientation from Christianshavn to the entrance of Christiania.
To see the city from a completely different viewpoint, take it up the air for an overview of the city from the top of the 17th century Round Tower, and step out on to the outdoor viewing platform that encircles observatory for a panoramic view of the old town. The admission fee is only DKK 25. Alternatively, peer down on parliament from the top of the Taarnet, Copenhagen’s tallest tower at the Christiansborg Palace. A visit is free and on a clear day you can see as far as Sweden.
A Copenhagen card is an inexpensive way to explore the city providing free admission to more than 70 museums and attractions, discounts on restaurants and free public transport by bus, train, harbour bus and Metro, as well as the DFDS canal cruise from Gl. Strand for a tour of the canals. Up to two children under 10 are also included free of charge.
The city is relatively compact and it’s easy to navigate on foot to take in the free sites such as The Little Mermaid, Christiania, Nyhavn, Børsen (the beautiful old Stock Exchange building) and The Botanical Garden. There are numerous public parks to enjoy on a warm afternoon with huge and colourful flower beds at Rosenborg Castle in the Kings’ Garden. Or seek out the final resting place of famous Danes, such as fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in the tranquillity of the Assistens Cemetary in Nørrebro.
Fancy a dip in the sea? Copenhagen has four crystal-clear outdoor swimming areas in the heart of the city with its newest ‘The Coral Baths’ at Sluseholmen designed to look like a coral reef. Perfect for a cooling summer swim or an invigorated winter dip; at the Svanemølle (Swan Mill) harbour bath, there’s even a beach which is handy for the nearby Nordhavn S-train station.
Alternatively the Copenhagen lakes are a popular urban hangout for families, couples and joggers and Dronning Louise’s Bridge, which is also known as the hipster bridge, is close to some of the best coffee shops such as Bevar’s, Kaffesalonen, Café Front Page and Den Franske Café as well as some excellent vintage and second hand shops.
For more watery fun, rent a GoBoat on the canals. Perfect for up to eight people, the solar cell powered boats are equipped with a table in the centre for a group picnic on the water.
It’s said there are more bikes than citizens in central Copenhagen and it’s easy to rent a bike from any of the docking stations around the city. Then live like a local and use the extensive network of cycle paths, such as the 190 metre long Bryggebroen bridge (known as the Bike Snake) which links Havneholmen to the Islands Brygge. Also be sure to stop by at the beautiful new pedestrian Cirkelbroen (The Circle Bridge) which opened this summer to connect Christiansbro and Appelbys Plads. Designed by Danish-Islandic artist Olafur Eliasson, this new architectural landmark resembles the rigging and masts of a majestic ship by the quay.
Attractions and Museums There are plenty of museums with free access, such as the National Museum, which charts Danish history from the Stone Age and the Vikings to the modern day, and time a visit to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum on a Tuesday for free access to the museum’s beautiful winter garden and over 10,000 pieces of artwork with Scandinavia’s largest collection of ancient art and French impressionist pieces. Until the end of the year there is a special exhibition of Edgar Degas.
Other places that require a fee but are well worth the entry are the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art which is set by the sea about 45 minutes by train from the city centre and houses a permanent art collection of over 3,500 contemporary pieces as well as hosting six to ten special international exhibitions each year. The museum also has a wonderful sculpture garden. Also worth the entry and enchanting at any time of year is the world famous Tivoli Gardens. Dating back to 1843, it is the second oldest amusement park in the world, providing the inspiration for Walt Disney’s theme parks, and is packed full of fun activities with an aquarium and rides plus exhibitions, theatre performances, a number of concerts and a choice of restaurants to suit all budgets. Free access to these attractions and many of the cities museums is included in the Copenhagen Card.
Restaurants, cafes and markets Despite the city’s reputation for fine dining and as the epicentre for ‘New Nordic Cuisine’, it’s still possible to find a range of reasonably priced restaurants catering to all tastes and budgets. A great example of this is the new Copenhagen Street Food Market concept which opened in 2014 on Paper Island to serve imaginative, sustainable and cheap street food from all over the world at food trucks and stalls. More delicious street food can also be sampled each weekend throughout the summer at Kødbyens Mad & Marked in the city’s Meatpacking District where up to 70 stalls serve diners at communal tables. Or take in the daily sights and sounds of the city’s covered food market at Torvehallerne.
For a fine dining experience on a modest budget the city has 10 restaurants with Michelin’s Bib Gourmand status. Also look out for a Cofoco restaurant. Standing for Copenhagen Food Consulting, there are currently 14 establishments across the city offering high quality and great value food with fixed price menus such as the new Nordic restaurant Höst or the South American restaurant Llama. Similarly, Madklubben offers a further eight high quality and very reasonably priced restaurants across the city with a new one set to open in Værnedamsvej in the lively Vesterbro area by the end of 2015.
For lighter bites the city’s café culture offers a range of healthy and well-priced places to eat such as GRØD which specialises in porridge and has three shops in Nørrebro and central Copenhagen. Or stop for a Rye bread sandwich and coffee at Kompa9 on Strædet in central Copenhagen and pick up a simple plate of Mexican Tacos from a former Noma chef at Hija de Sanchez in Torvehallerne. There are plenty of bars and clubs with well-priced drinks in the Meatpacking District or head to Boutique Lize in Vesterbro where budget friendly cocktails are served from 16:00 to 22:00 and Dupong where bottled beers and cocktails are served at reasonable prices along with a free game of ping pong!
Festivals and Music Copenhagen has numerous festivals and music events taking place across the city throughout the year from the free street festival Distortion in June to the free Friday Rock in Tivoli concerts held every Friday from April to September. The Copenhagen Jazz Festival transforms the Danish capital into the world’s largest jazz club for the first week of July each year whilst the Vanguard Festival fills the city with the sounds of hip hop, soul, R&B, funk and reggae.
Accomodation Budget friendly WakeUp Copenhagen offers two centrally located hotels by the famous Danish architect Kim Utzon which are both characterised by modern, minimalist yet supremely stylish and high quality modern design features. For cool and reasonably priced accommodation, head to the vibrant Vesterbro area and close to the trendy Meatpacking district where Urban House is the new kid on the block (opened March 2015) with a funky bike shop, tattoo shop, bar and restaurant. Or check out Bedwood Hostel which recently opened in a beautiful old warehouse building in Nyhavn using recycled materials in as many places as possible. There’s a bike shop and laundry as well as lockers and a self-service kitchen. Alternatively, the Generator Hostel in Copenhagen, part of the chain of European city centre hostels, offers a lively and playful interior with a refurbed lobby reception area, bar, restaurant and petanque course.
Getting There… There are plenty of flights from the UK to Copenhagen. SAS (flysas.co.uk) operates from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Heathrow, Newcastle and Manchester. Alternatives include British Airways (ba.com) from Heathrow; EasyJet (easyjet.com) from Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton and Manchester; and Norwegian (norwegian.com) from Edinburgh and Gatwick.
From the airport, take either the Metro (to Kongens Nytorv or Nørreport Station) or the train (to Copenhagen Central Station). Both take approximately 15 minutes and cost £3.50 (free with a Copenhagen Card).