Pancake-flat and pockmarked with canals, rivers and lakes, Copenhagen dramatically blends land with water. These opposing elements merge together in the ancient port; it feels as if nature is still in charge despite centuries of intriguing planning and architecture creating one of the world’s most modern, forward-thinking cities. Moody skies loom overhead while po-faced Danes brood at hip cafés and bars, seemingly unaware that they live in what many people consider the world’s best city – a place renowned for its liveability and eco-credentials.
Politicians and architects beat a path to the Danish capital’s door to get ideas for how to improve their own cities, and today’s short-break travellers flock here for relaxation in an urbane setting. After a weekend in small but stylish Copenhagen – with its pedestrianised streets and one-off boutiques, galleries, bars and scenery – you might feel like moving to live here too.
But what sets Copenhagen apart in 2016 is something that’s harder to put your finger on. Somehow, a place that was considered rather prosaic just 20 years ago is now the epitome of Scandinavian cool. Television shows like The Bridge, Danish pop music and design, and a thriving hotel and fine dining scene have propelled Copenhagen into pole position in the
style stakes.
In such a green, healthy city, the way to really get your bearings is on two wheels. Since 2014, Copenhagen has had a brand-new city bike scheme (bycyklen.dk) where you can rent a fresh, shiny bike from dozens of docking stations (more are opening every month) around the city. “Pay as you go” rental is Kr25 (US$4) per hour and you simply swipe your credit card at the docking station. The bikes are packed with all sorts of technological gizmos, like GPS to make sure you’re going in the right direction, and even an electric motor in case you feel lazy. But you certainly won’t need it to get up any hills – Copenhagen doesn’t have any. What it does have is miles of cycle paths, and many of them have recently taken dramatic new turns.
No bridge too far
A two-wheeled tour of the city should head to the harbour and include the slew of new bridges that are providing fresh ways to cross the water and enjoy the briny from a safe distance. There’s the famous new Cykelslangen or Bicycle Snake, an innovative “elevated highway” for bikes that threads its way over the Bryggebroen Bridge. There’s also the even newer Circle Bridge by designer Olafur Eliasson in Christianshavn, which is formed from circular bridge pieces flying over one of Copenhagen’s many canals – in fact, if you squint, sometimes it can seem more like you’re in Amsterdam, such are the number of canals here. Finally, there’s the just-completed Inner Harbour Bridge by Studio Bednarski, which leaps an impressive 180 metres right across Copenhagen harbour. Because it crosses a channel used by so many boats, the bridge opens up in the middle to let ships pass – just like London’s Tower Bridge. It’s an impressive piece of engineering that’s taken four years to build.
The Inner Harbour Bridge has vastly improved access between the northwestern side of the harbour, where classic attractions like the Rosenborg Castle and the world-famous Little Mermaid statue sit, and the southeastern side of the city, where you can find more modern delights like the Copenhagen Opera House (kglteater.dk/en). This huge slab of concrete and glass, designed by Henning Larsen, is part of the plan to transform the old docks into an upmarket area, which is now seeing the rise of new apartment blocks too.
For a complete change of scene you should head a few blocks south of the Opera House to Christiania, a place where it will forever be the mid-1970s. This commune is a stark example of what Scandinavia used to represent before it rebranded as a cool, cultural and dining destination. It was all a bit hippy, and Christiania remains so to this day. Interesting bricolage houses bodged together with the help of a community building scheme dot the area, and the ubiquitous Christiania tricycle is everywhere, its front box containing kids or shopping. This trike is Christiania’s most famous export, but its most famous import can be seen on the eyebrow-raising Pusher Street, where weed is openly sold and photos must definitely not be taken on your iPhone.
Foraging vs hedonism
For many, however, the socialist version of Copenhagen is just a memory. Today’s city is about conspicuous consumption and indulgence at top-end restaurants. Noma (noma.dk) put the city’s food scene on the international map with its foraged, local ingredients. Noma has closed temporarily – its team have relocated to Sydney for the first quarter of 2016 – but they will be returning to open a new Noma in Copenhagen later in the year.
For now, young pretenders like Radio are taking up the mantle. Radio is the brainchild of Jesper Kirketerp, a former Noma sous-chef who has won many plaudits for his new venture. A five-course tasting menu costs Kr400 (US$57), and what’s on it depends on the whims of the chefs and what they find at the market, or while out foraging. They experiment freely, so while a menu item labelled “scallops/cabbage/mead” might sound underwhelming, the end result is anything but (Julius Thomsens Gade 12; tel +45 2510 2733; restaurantradio.dk; open Tue-Sat 5pm-midnight, lunch Fri and Sat noon-3pm).
As well as restaurants, hotels in Copenhagen have upped their game, using high-end interior design and eye-popping architecture to achieve this. Three of the latest new-breed Copenhagen hotels all subscribe to this idea in different ways. Arp-Hansen Hotel Group’s latest venture, the Tivoli Hotel, is an impressive Jenga stack of a building on Arni Magnussons Gade 2 that flung its doors open in July 2015. It’s a modern business and leisure hotel with luxurious décor (tivolihotel.com; doubles in mid-February from Kr1,200/US$170 per night). Across town at Sankt Peders Straede is SP34, one of Copenhagen’s swankiest new boutique hotels. Located in the bohemian Latin Quarter, SP34 is a series of townhouses knocked together to form a wildly exuberant little bolthole with cute rooms. It attracts all kinds of hipsters – locals and visitors alike – to its tapas and wine bar restaurant, Work in Progress. What’s more, the hotel offers all residents a free glass of wine during “Wine Hour” every day from 5pm to 6pm (brochner-hotels.dk; standard doubles in mid-February from Kr1,355/US$193 per night).
For sheer architectural bravado, AC Hotels’ Bella Sky Comwell is hard to beat. The building is the brainchild of internationally renowned architects 3XN and sits out towards the airport in one of Copenhagen’s newer districts. Its gravity-defying and perspective-bending shape is formed from two interlocking, wonky towers that rise at improbable angles. It’s truly a sight to behold, and inside is a calm, restful, almost decadent environment. Rooms boast Jensen beds, and communal areas offer Danish furniture in minimalist shapes. A golf course is next door for downtime, and from the upper floors you can spy the famous Oresund Bridge crossing over to Malmo in Sweden – the inspiration for the breakout TV show The Bridge (acbellaskycopenhagen.dk; rooms start from Kr1095/US$155). Although located a bit farther out of the city, it’s easy to get there on Copenhagen’s new Metro line to the airport. An even bigger Metro construction project is currently under way, with two new downtown lines scheduled to open in 2019.
Ice cool in the meatpacking district
A Saturday night out in Copenhagen should take you to Vesterbro, in the south of the city – the Shoreditch, Kreuzberg or Williamsburg of Copenhagen. The number one place to head is Kodbyen, the city’s old Meatpacking District, which is home to a slew of trendy bars and restaurants. The old brick slaughterhouses and white-walled butchers’ shops make stark and austere venues for today’s Copenhagen fun-seekers to eat steaks and drink cocktails (Kodbyforeningen Flaesketorvet 68; kødbyen.dk).
Night owls will definitely want to check out nearby Vega. It’s a wonderful, classy old music hall with stunning 1950s modernist interiors that are beautifully preserved. As well as hosting great DJs, Vega is a key live music venue that welcomes international artists such as Britain’s James Bay, who plays on March 23, 2016 (Enghavevej 40; vega.dk; open nightly from 6pm until midnight, Fri and Sat until 2am).
Art lovers won’t go hungry in Copenhagen either. In a city obsessed by crisp design and beautiful things, it’s no surprise that the Arken Museum of Modern Art is such a draw. Inside you can see works by Wolfgang Tillmans and Damien Hirst (Skovvej 100, 2635 Ishoj; tel +45 4354 0222; uk.arken.dk; open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm, Wed 10am-9pm, closed Mon). It’s a fitting place to end your weekend break, as Arken sums up the spirit of Copenhagen – man-made beauty sitting harmoniously within nature. That’s Copenhagen’s real secret, and why this little city has proved so wildly popular in recent years.
