Recently I bought a return ticket to Copenhagen for £50 on Ryanair so I hightailed it north to enjoy Denmark for the first time! With its bright colors and whimsical bike culture, I was SO EXCITED to finally see Copenhagen for myself. Copenhagen is famous for cycling, incredible interior design, and being home to the happiness people in the world! Literally everything is flawlessly designed to be efficient, clean and captivating. It’s no wonder why the quality of life is rated to so high in Copenhagen. Downside?… it can get HELLA cold in the winter. But what’s a little wind chill when you have ‘Hygge‘ culture ( loosely translates as “coziness”) at your disposal.
Light the log fire and fry me up a plate of Frikadeller!
Where to Stay:
I was fortunate enough to stay with a friend in Copenhagen, but I would recommend staying in where all the action is so you can walk to all the major hot spots or stumble home easily. You do you.
I would recommend:
However, if I’m being TOTALLY honest… the best value for money is 100% Airbnb! Here’s £25 off you’re next Airbnb stay.
Things To Do:
I’m a simple girl, with simple needs. Most of my trips are centered around food and Instagram photos so that’s exactly what we focused on during my time in Copenhagen. In my Google Maps tour, I marked some of the best tourist locations and food sites so you can get the most iconic photos possible when you visit.
If you enjoy a bit more hand-holding during your vacation, here are a few highly-rated tours on Viator.
If I had only 24 hours in Copenhagen, my top 3 destinations would definitely:
Here’s why:
Nyhavn
Nyhavn started out originally as a busy commercial port, where ships from every corner of the world would come, dock, and trade. Known back then for its bars and local ladies of pleasure, little has changed in Nyhavn today. Both sides of the Nyhavn canal are lined with bars, restaurants, and gentlemen’s clubs (after hours) that rage until the wee hours of the morning. This is where we took my iconic Copenhagen photos opposite the colorful houses. For ideal blog photos without any randoms lurking around, I would recommend coming to Nyhavn between 8:00am – 9:00am. This is early enough to avoid hoards of tourists, but also late enough to miss the stumbling strip club patrons as they witness the judgement of the glaring morning sun.
Freetown Christiania
Freetown Christiania was the unexpected JEWEL of Copenhagen (for me). Christiania is deemed as an ‘alternative’ neighborhood in Copenhagen by the official Visit Copenhagen website BUT in reality, it’s a little rebel town that governs itself independently.
Residents of Christiania pay no property tax, no income tax (unless they’re part of the commercialized bit), and marijuana is “legal” within the neighborhood limits. Photos are strictly prohibited unless otherwise posted.
The sidewalks of Christiania’s town center is lined with marijuana and hashish vendors with make-shift booths set-up for cash-only business. There’s no real ‘legal age’ to consider as the whole operation is in a gray area. Christiania also hosts loads of quirky events and concerts, interesting homemade houses, and loads of art galleries/workshops. It’s truly one of the most interesting places I’ve ever seen and their disdain towards authority is something that many of us can resonate with. FIGHT ON CHRISTIANIA!
** Note: I took the colorful photo (above) inside of Christiania in an ‘approved’ photo zone (art gallery) so CHILL. **
Perhaps one of the last great ‘tourist-free’ locals spot is the incredible outdoor food market – Refshaleøen or ‘REFFEN’ on Google Maps. Sorry to blow up your spot Danish people, but this place is too good NOT to share. We literally lost ourselves in a maze of deliciousness and eventually settled on Ghanian food maybe by a half-American, half-Danish guy. Stall after stall, we saw Mexican tacos, Danish open-faced sandwiches (Smørrebrød), and Chinese dumplings all co-existing in the same place with local beers on-tap as far as the eye can see. It was an incredible culinary experience because we just sampled our way through the never-ending forest of food and there were loads of quirky things (and people) to watch and enjoy. It was also rustic and ‘hipstery’ (my fav!) as all of the food stalls were made from shipping containers, trailers, and little hallowed out sheds. 10, 10, 10 across the board! (Please enjoy my Ru Paul reference)
I would also 100% cycle to this location. It’s a long walk otherwise.
Google Maps Tour
Just download onto your Maps app by clicking box in the right hand corner and go!