You may have noticed in my last Instagram post that a few of weeks ago I flew to Denmark to witness two very good friends of mine get married. After the celebrations, which were held in the country town of Ørsted, a group of us travelled to Copenhagen for a few days of fun, food and sightseeing. It was a super quick trip and we only stayed 4 nights in Copenhagen, but boy did we fit a lot in!
Here are some of my top tips on what to do in Copenhagen!
Nyhavn
When you think of Copenhagen, one of the first images that comes to mind is the colourful 17th century townhouses lining the canal in Nyhavn . We were lucky to stroll through this part of town at sunset, and it was an unbelievably beautiful sight. It is quite a touristy area, but definitely worth ticking off the list if you are ever in Copenhagen. Surrounded by the sparkling water, townhouses all colours of the rainbow and some spectacular house boats there is plenty of people watching and beauty to take in.
Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens is one of the worlds oldest theme parks and supposedly it is what inspired Walt Disney to build his very own Disneyland after he visited Copenhagen in 1951. As well as all of the fun rides you can usually find at amusement parks, Tivoli is filled with beautiful nooks and crannies; gardens and recreational areas, a stage for live entertainment, restaurants and bars, and of course lots of little shops selling everything from toys to chocolate and fairy floss. We visited during the day, and I must say I was devastated when my phone ran out of juice to capture the beauty of this place. We run amok some rides which we were definitely to old for, stuffed ourselves with fairy floss and finished it all off with some drinks at one of the bars. In hindsight, I wish we had visited closer to the evening as the entire gardens light up, transforming Tivoli into an even more magical place.
Strøget
Straight up! I stupidly forgot to take photos whilst visiting Strøget, so please enjoy this image of some cool Copenhagen street art instead (if you want to see what the street looks like you can check out some google images here)….
Strøget is one of Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping strips. If you want to do a spot of shopping this is definitely the place to go. There are a lot of top international shops like Zara, H&M, Cos, & Topshop but also a lot of other great little stores that you can get lost in. My personal favourite was Tiger. 4 floors of incredible items ranging from stationary to home wares, toys and food. I could’ve purchased everything in that store! Perfect for take home gifts.
Relae
Travelling with a few foodies meant that we just had to carve out a night to treat ourselves to the culinary wonder that was Relae. Ranked #40 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016, it certainly didn’t disappoint. 90-100% of their chosen produce is certified organic and it definitely shows. Like the atmosphere, the dishes were unfussy and the fresh and high quality produce was really allowed to shine on its own accord. We opted for the 4 course meal with wine pairing, which I highly recommend. Dishes included a trout ceviche with seaweed oil, coriander and cucumber, a slightly charred and super creamy eggplant with reduced cream glaze and fresh black truffle shavings (absolute highlight), Lamb served with crispy swiss chard for our main and hands down the most incredible dessert I’ve ever eaten, lemon curd with yoghurt sorbet and marigold. Make sure you eat there and make sure you book in advance.
Norrebro District
The Norrebro district is known to be the multicultural hub of Copenhagen. We spent a morning walking around the area, visited the red square part of Superkilen Park, poked into little vintage stores along the way and ate a yummy turkish meal at Kosk Kebab. We ran out of time unfortunately but the Assistens Kirkegård cemetery is also located in the Norrebro area. It is said to be quite beautiful and is the resting place of Hans Christian Andersen.
Christiania
Christiania was a real trip (pardon the pun). It is a place like I’ve never seen before. But if you’re up for something a little different it is definitely worth the visit, if only just out of curiosity. The “free town” Christiania was established in 1971 by a group of hippies who occupied abandoned military barracks on the site and developed their own set of society rules. It is a pretty interesting set up of houses, shops, galleries, music venues, restaurants and bars. But it is mostly known for its “pusher street” where a large number of stalls sell hash pretty out in the open. Although hash is illegal in Denmark, Christiania didn’t feel unsafe, and there were lots of people casually walking about, including families and even a school group of teenagers on a guided tour. There are just three rules, No taking photos inside the freetown, no running and have fun!
Papirøen
Never have I wanted to eat everything in sight more than at Papirøen (Paper Island). Situated right on the harbour and next door to the Opera House, it is a street food extravaganza of truck after truck offering any cuisine you could possibly think of. Ofcourse as I was immersing myself in all things Danish, I opted for Smørrebrød. The crème brûlée donuts with ice-cream also meant serious business!
Rosenborg Castle & the Kings Garden
You’ll see a heap of tourists here, but it’s worth the visit. We didn’t enter the castle but instead had a leisurely stroll around the Kings garden. Had we had more time, it would’ve been lovely to set up a picnic and soak up some rays amongst the scenery.
The National Gallery of Denmark
Not far from the Rosenborg Castle & the Kings Garden you can find the Statens Museum for Kunst (The National Gallery of Denmark). I visited on my own, once my friends moved onto the next stage of their European adventure, as I always like to visit the national gallery of any country I visit if I get the chance. Unfortunately I didn’t have all day and so I only got to see a small part of the gallery but it was so nicely set up and had a great selection of old and modern art.
I hope you enjoyed this post and that it is helpful if you’re thinking of visiting Copenhagen. It is truly such a beautiful city, a wonderful mix of old and new and definitely worth experiencing. I would go back in a heartbeat!
Have you visited Copenhagen? If so what would you recommend the most?
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