Having thoroughly enjoyed the book 'A year of living Danishly' and looked into the Danish concept of Hygge in relation to maintaining a positive wellbeing and mental health - it was only a matter of time until I finally visited Copenhagen.
And what a pleasure it was; a city break with history, a bit of culture, cold water, exercise and time with friends and family.
We stayed north the city center in Ordrup (on the orange line) - which proved to be a perfect base and only 20 odd minutes away from the town center. Like the rest of the city there was plenty of good food places, coffee shops to experience. Ordrup was also great place to explore by foot; including the grounds at Bernstorff Slot and the park land at Rode Port - both places to get enjoy getting lost in.
7 Things to do in Copenhagen
1. Bike hire to explore the Copenhagen
It's such a great city to cycle round with plenty of cycle routes to follow. Various pay as you go electric bikes and scooter are available. We spent a good few hours getting lost in the city and in the surrounding neighbourhoods. Maybe do the canal tour first so you get a good idea of what is where. Just a note of warning - our bikes were halted randomly so we had not choice but to walk back on foot. No great deal and I guess these things happen
2. Canal Tour
Touristy, but gives you a good idea of where things are and what you may want to visit for longer later on you stay. Having previously been sceptical of hop on hop off buses, the canal tour was a great way to learn a bit more about the city, get our bearings for the days ahead. Certainly worth doing! You can get a river view of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid - though it has to be said seeing the queues of people waiting to 'get their shot' did rather diminish the experience. We did also see some people exploring the waterways by SUP and Kayak - something that maybe fun in our next visit.
3. Nyhavn Waterfront
The water front with the iconic multi coloured buildings - lots of bars, restaurants, hotels and ice cream shops. This is place to get comfortable and people watch. Over the pedestrian bridge is a more chilled area of outdoor street food (also a good place to pick up a bike to rent). A place you really need to go when in Copenhagen - even if it is a bit touristy -but we tourists aren't we...
4. Museums & Places of Interest
We visited the Museum of Copenhagen to understand how the city has evolved. I'm more interested in more recent history so the insights into how homes have changed and how liberal communities have forged their own areas within the city. With Max, we have agreed on a limit of museum visits to ensure we are able to maintain his levels of interest. The National Museum of Denmark opposite also looked interesting but we weren't able to negotiate with our teenager to break our self imposed limit...
5. Tivoli Gardens
An amusement park in the middle of the city. Once you've paid a nominal fee to get in there are plenty of bars and restaurants and open spaces to hang out in. Roller coaster and fair ground rides were also available for people of all ages. A touristy thing to do but fun none the less. Keep an eye out for any concerts that are on in the central park area.
6. Kronborg Castle
The castle in Helsinger, an hour north of the city and reachable by train, is where Shakespear based Hamlet. Great to visit to see a bit of coastline as well and see Sweden from the rampart views from the UNESCO World Heritage site. I gather the area was previously important as a narrow point out of the Baltic Seas to the North Sea and Atlantic. By charging a toll to pass through generated significant wealth (and power) for the Danes.
7. Cold Water, Sauna's and hot tubs
We couldn't come to Denmark and not get our fix of cold water.
Urban 'drop in spots' - there were multiple free spots you could drop in around the harbour that were fenced in for safety. We did see several people swimming in some of the small less busy canals...they were probably locals.
Beaches to the North- Klampenborg Beach - at the end of the orange line to the north (about 20 minutes from the town center stop of Norreport) - open beach with ladders into the sectioned off sea
Beaches to the South - Greve Beach - on the purple and blue lines to the south - lovely open, long beaches...there is a metro stop there but you'd have to check access locally. This was more rugged beach area.
Search sauna's Copehagen and there are plenty of options to try out...something for next time I think.
If we had more time...
Opera House, Church of Our Saviour, National Museum of Denmark, Kastellet Fort and Park will all be visited but there is only so much you can do without rushing around too much...and there's always the chance there will be more cold water and sauna's to really get into the city vibe. Perhaps a winter visit should be next...
