Travel Guide: Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is what Minneapolis wants to be when it grows up. It's no surprise, of course, that I fell in love with the place. I visited three years ago… wow, sometimes I'm rrreal slow to put these travel guides together. In case you’re worried though, I fact checked as much as I could to make sure these recommendations are still relevant, but please let me know if anything in here is totally off!

The post from this trip is rather long despite the fact that it was a pretty chill vacation. My husband and I took our time and really explored the city without too much of an agenda (besides a robust food agenda, because it's ME). 

I love that type of traveling, where you start to feel like you're just kind of living like a normal person in this place and you just happen to have a lot of leisure time. In Copenhagen, that feeling comes easily. By the end of the week, it felt like it would be a reasonable thing for us to just find some jobs, look for an apartment, eat more smoked fish and stay forever.

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What to know before you go

1. Everybody speaks English. Though most Danish people seem to speak English very, very fluently (at least in the city), knowing a few Danish words will help you mind your manners and win you some brownie points. Make an effort, fellow Americans.

   • Tak (pronounced in a place between "tack" and “tock”) means "thank you."

   • Undskyld (pronounced a little like "unskilled" if you pretended it didn't have vowels) means "pardon."

   • Hej (pronounced exactly like "hi" so you better remember this one) means "hi" and "bye."

2. Pack layers. Obviously, this depends on when you go, but layers are always a good call when traveling. We went at the end of October and it was colder than it was Minnesota. It's a wet, windy type of cold that goes straight into your innards and is like, "I AM HERE NOW TURNING YOUR BONE MARROW INTO ICE, DEAL WITH IT." I was glad I brought my warmest fall jacket. I ended up wearing the same sweater, Smartwool socks and leather boots almost the whole time. Also, if you're planning to bike (see #3 below), you will want to consider that when you're deciding what to pack.

3. Rent bikes. It'll absolutely help you feel like a local, and it's just the nicest way to get around and see the city.

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Where to stay in Copenhagen

Do the Airbnb thing. We love Airbnbs for longer trips especially, so we didn't look at hotels. Our flat was in an amazing location in the Nørrebro neighborhood and was nicely decorated (as you can see from the pics—I loved the kitchen so much), but the bed was not comfy at all. Lesson learned. Always read the reviews, y'all.

I did make a list of other Copenhagen Airbnbs that look awesome though. And you can use my referral link to get $55 off your first Airbnb booking.

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5 Days in Copenhagen: The Highlight Reel

The Bikes (Again)

Minneapolis is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. (usually jostling back and forth with Portland for the #1 spot). That's always been a source of pride for me, but that actually makes me sad now after seeing just how far behind we are. There is no American city even close to the same league as Copenhagen when it comes to bikes. This city's bike lanes and greenways run like legitimate mass transit arteries. Everyone uses them. Everyone. 

Assistens Kirkegård

This park-cemetery hybrid is a beautiful, peaceful place to walk around. It's also where Hans Christian Anderson is buried, in case you want to pay your respects to the dark genius who wrote some real creepy fairytales, if you look beyond the Disney versions.

Superkilen Park

Superkilen is this kooky urban park that's honestly hard to describe but really cool. It's like a combination of a public art showcase and a skate/bike/pedestrian playground. There's a bikeway that runs right through it, but I'd recommend hopping off and checking out some of the design elements and the different areas of the park. The Red Square is meant for sports, cultural gatherings and a marketplace. The Black Square is the living room, so it's meant to be a spot for people to meet and play chess or hang out. The Green Park has a playground for playing and a green space for picnics and such. Watch out for Instagram influencers.

Copenhagen Street Food on papirøen (i.e. Paper Island), RIP

Oh, this was just a casual old paper factory on its own island full of the best food since 2013. And then their lease ran out and it closed at the end of 2017. Yeah, this magical place is closed. That's what I get for waiting so long to write this post, but also we can blame it on gentrification because I guess the whole thing is being torn down and redeveloped. Maybe it already is by now. Harumph.

However, there is hope! Copenhagen Street Food just brought a similar set of food creatives together and opened in a different area nearby called Refshaleøen. Phew.

I hope they brought Duck It with them, because I had the most delicious duck confit sandwich there.

Rundetaarn

The Round Tower is a must... that we completely forgot to see!

I am notorious for going to cities and then not doing a very major thing that everyone is supposed to do in that city. For example, I lived three blocks from La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona for a semester in college and never went inside. I skipped the Louvre in Paris. I walked around the outside but didn't go inside the Taj Mahal in India. It's like my subconscious saves something important for the return trip that I always hope to make someday. I have a bunch more examples of this, but apparently I'm saving the Rundetaarn for the next time I'm in Copenhagen.

You should go though.

Rundetaarn, apparently.

The Meatpacking District

The first night we were in Copenhagen, we wound up at the Denmark outpost of Warpigs, which is an Indiana brewery that also happens to serve Texas BBQ. Based on how busy it was, this place is very popular. We knew the beer would be good because we've had it in the states, but the food was also legit. (In case you are interested in eating American food in Denmark?)

And then from there we wandered into a pop-up gin bar in an old warehouse that may or may not have been a private party. It's still unclear. This is the kind of thing that happens in the city's meatpacking district, maybe? I'm assuming it's been developed much more since we were there, but at the time it was still a legit mix of trendy new stuff and scary alleys.

Nørrebro Neighborhood

Nørrebro felt like out neighborhood since that was where we were staying, and there was a wonderful little corner near our Airbnb with several restaurants and bars we really loved. 

Mirabelle is a fantastic bakery where we stopped a few times for coffee and croissants in the morning. We also picked up some sourdough that we paired with cheese and snacks one night when we felt like staying in for an indoor picnic. 

Bæst is an incredible wood-fired pizza restaurant connected to Mirabelle. They have farm-to-table burrata and seriously delicious pizzas. EAT THERE. It was my favorite meal in Copenhagen.

BRUS is across the street, and in what I think is an old train station. It's a cozy brewery with 33 beers on tap, and also a craft cocktail bar and a bottle shop and specialty food store. And I think there is a full restaurant now. They have a lot going on, but they are getting it all done very well. 

Torvehallerne

Also in the eating category, this indoor-outdoor food hall and market is so much fun to explore. There is even a paleo restaurant there called Palæo (they have a couple of other locations in the city, too). My favorite spot in the market was the fish salad counter called Hav2Go, LOLthename. It’s like the Scandinavian version of poke and you will not regret eating there multiple times in a single day.

Brunch, in general

They do brunch very well in Copenhagen. I was especially into the breakfasty smørrebrød (Danish open-faced sandwich pictured below) options like fried eggs and smoked salmon.

We had an exceptionally good brunch at Møller with some Danish friends as well, and would highly recommend it. Møller is hygge in a restaurant form. So cozy and SO delicious.

Christiania

Christiania operates like a tiny independent community, from what I understand. It’s an interesting little place. Lots of drugs for sale. Lots of tourists.

Black Diamond (i.e. Copenhagen Main Library)

The architecture of this black glass box is absolutely stunning. You can’t miss it.

Jægersborggade Neighborhood

This neighborhood made me wish I had been traveling with one of my girlfriends instead of my husband for a morning because it was prime for window shopping and buying home goods, jewelry and vintage clothing. While he’s a great travel pal, he doesn’t have much patience for meandering in shops without a specific purpose (I have ALL the patience for that when I’m traveling!).

Anyway, I settled for popping into a couple of shops, reading on the sidewalk, eating fancy porridge at GRØD and grabbing a bag of coffee beans and a drink at the famous-ish Coffee Collective. It really didn’t feel like settling at all.

Designmuseum Danmark

We spent one rainy afternoon at the Designmuseum, which houses a ton of modern art, graphic design and furniture. Normally I wouldn’t be as amped up about looking at chairs on vacation, but Danish chairs.

Nyhavn

Of course you’re going to go to Nyhavn. Honestly, I almost forgot to put it on this list because it’s so obvious. It’s the most iconic and most photographed place Denmark, probably.

Nyhavn is right on the waterfront and lined with colorful 17th century buildings. You can do a canal tour there (we did one and it was really fun—you get to see the Little Mermaid statue and we also got to see some dudes who were floating around on a pontoon picnic table). As you can probably imagine, this area is very touristy. But it is also as gorgeous as you think it’s going to be.

Don’t miss Nyhavn, but also don’t eat there because it’s all a trap.

That’s all folks. Just kidding, that’s not even close to all there is to do in Copenhagen. But it’s all I have time to write about right now and I’d like to hit publish before another three years go by. :)

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What's next on your travel bucket list?