Fabulous design and top-class dining make Copenhagen great for a city break, says Christopher Beanland.
Pancake-flat and broken up by lakes and canals, Copenhagen is a dramatic blend of land and water. These opposing elements merge in its ancient port, where it feels as if nature is still in charge, despite the intriguing architecture that has sprung up around it over the centuries.
These days, the Danish capital is lauded for its liveability, its eco-credentials and its innate sense of style. Politicians head here to seek ideas on how to improve their own cities, while tourists come to stroll its cobbled streets and explore its independent boutiques.
While Scandi TV shows such as The Bridge and Borgen have boosted its profile in recent years, Copenhagen’s long-standing reputation for cutting-edge dining and Danish design are what continue to attract. Don’t leave without trying a gourmet smorrebrod (open sandwich), or checking out the stores of Bang and Olufsen, Muuto and Normann Copenhagen.
ON YOUR BIKE
In city as green and healthy as this, the best way to get your bearings is on two wheels. Last September, Copenhagen introduced a bike scheme (bycyklen.dk) and there are already about 100 docking stations around the city, with rental costing Kr25 (£2.50) per hour.
The bikes feature GPS navigation systems to make sure you don’t end up in the water, and even electric motors in case you feel lazy – although, with no hills, there really is no excuse. What the city does have in abundance are miles of cycle paths, and many of them have recently taken unexpected new turns.
A two-wheeled tour of the city should include the harbour and the slew of new bridges that provide alternative ways to cross the water. The Cykelslangen (Bicycle Snake) is an innovative orange-coloured “elevated highway” for bikes that threads its way from Fisketorvet shopping centre over to the Bryggebroen Bridge. Meanwhile, the Olafur Eliasson-designed Cirkelbroen (Circle Bridge) is formed of five striking circular platforms that connect the two sides of the Christianshavn canal. It opened last summer and, at night, is illuminated with coloured lights.
Lastly, there’s the recently completed Inderhavnsbroen (Inner Harbour Bridge) by Studio Bednarski, which bridges the 180-metre gap across Copenhagen harbour. The bridge slides open in the middle to allow boats to pass, and has vastly improved access between the north-western side of the harbour (where attractions such as Rosenborg Castle and the Little Mermaid statue are located) and the south-eastern side of the city (where you can find the Copenhagen Opera House).
This huge slab of concrete and glass, designed by Henning Larsen, is part of a long-term plan to transform the old docks into an upmarket new neighbourhood, which is already seeing the rise of new apartment blocks.
For a complete change of scene, head a few blocks south of the Opera House to the hippy commune of Christiania, a place where it will forever be the mid-1970s. Bricolage houses bodged together with the help of a community building scheme dot the forested site, and the “Christiania tricycle” is everywhere, its front box holding kids or shopping. This trike is the district’s most famous export, but its most infamous commodity is marijuana – on Pusher Street, anonymous sellers hide behind tented stalls draped in camouflage netting (photos are not allowed).
PRIME DINING
Chef René Redzepi opened Noma (noma.dk; tel +45 3296 3297) on Strandgade, in Christianshavn, in 2003. It has since won two Michelin stars, putting the city’s fine-dining scene firmly on the international map. Known for his highly innovative New Nordic cuisine, Redzepi creates food pairings such as mahogany clam and grains, raw squid and kelp, and Danish potato and nettles to exquisite effect, sourcing many of the ingredients locally.
The Noma team are currently running a pop-up restaurant in Sydney and will return to Copenhagen next month. They will remain in Christianshavn until at least the end of the year, after which they will relocate to a new location – complete with urban farm – in Christiania. In the meantime, Redzepi will open a more casual sister restaurant, 108, this spring (tel +45 3296 3292; 108.dk), just a few doors up on Strandgade.
Former Noma sous chef Jesper Kirketerp has won plaudits for Radio (restaurantradio.dk; tel +45 2510 2733), his new venture on Julius Thomsens Gade. The five-course tasting menu costs Kr400 (£40), and what’s on it depends on the whims of the chefs and what they find at the market, or when out foraging. They experiment freely, so while an item labelled “scallops/cabbage/mead” might sound underwhelming, the end result will be anything but.
Other good places to eat in the city include Marchal at the Hotel d’Angleterre, the Nimb Brasserie, Studio, Geranium and AOC.
NIGHTS TO REMEMBER
A Saturday night out should take you to Vesterbro, in the south of the city – Copenhagen’s version of London’s trendy Shoreditch. The number-one place to head is Kodbyen (kodbyen.dk), the old Meatpacking District, which is home to quirky bars and restaurants. The brick slaughterhouses and white-walled butchers’ shops provide a stark backdrop for eating steaks and sipping cocktails. Try Gorilla (Flaesketorvet 63; tel +45 3333 8330; restaurantgorilla.dk) for creative cuisine and a buzzy atmosphere.
Night owls should head to nearby Vega (vega.dk), a wonderful, classy old music hall with stunning 1950s modernist interiors that hosts great DJs and international musicians. Theatre fans should look up what’s on at the Skuespilhuset (Royal Danish Playhouse; kglteater.dk), housed in a striking building across from the Opera House, by Nyhavn canal.
There’s plenty for art lovers, too. In a city obsessed by crisp design and beautiful things, it’s no surprise that the Arken Museum of Modern Art (uk.arken.dk) is such a draw. Located in Ishoj Standpark, 20km south-west of the city, and surrounded by water and greenery, the maritime-inspired building displays more than 400 works, including pieces by Ai Weiwei and Damien Hirst.
STAYING OVER
Hotels have upped their game in recent years, melding high-end interior design with eye-popping architecture. Three of the new breed of Copenhagen hotels all subscribe to this idea in different ways. Arp-Hansen Hotel Group’s latest venture, the Tivoli Hotel (tivolihotel.com), is an impressive Jenga stack of a building on Arni Magnussons Gade that opened in July last year. It’s a modern business and leisure property with luxurious décor.
Across town in the bohemian Latin Quarter is swanky boutique hotel SP34 (brochner-hotels.dk). Opened in 2014, it’s a series of townhouses knocked together to form a wildly exuberant little bolthole with cute rooms. It attracts all kinds of locals and visitors alike to its Nordic bistro (called Work in Progress) and offers residents a free glass of wine between 5pm and 6pm daily.
For sheer architectural bravado, AC Hotels’ Bella Sky (acbellaskycopenhagen.dk) is hard to beat. Located out towards the airport in one of the city’s newer districts, Orestad, its gravity-defying shape is formed from two interlocking towers that rise at improbable angles. Inside is a calm, sleek environment, with public areas decked out in minimalist Danish furniture. A golf course is next door and from the upper floors you can spy Oresund Bridge crossing over to Malmo in Sweden – the inspiration for The Bridge.
