COPENHAGEN
Dernière mise à jour : 11 févr. 2019
Last summer, I had the chance to travel with my friends to one of the places I've always wanted to visit... Copenhagen. We spent five days and four nights and here is what we got to do...
DAY 1
We flew all the way from Paris to Copenhagen with Air France: our flight took off at 07:10 am, landed at 09:00 am and within 10-15 minutes by train, we arrived in the city.
We stayed at the Steel House Hostel, in a 6 beds-room which was great because there were just the six of us. The hostel is pretty modern, the typical Danish clean style and with a wide range of services like bike rental but charged for most, if not all, of them: access to the common kitchen, the swimming pool, the gym room, lockers... have to be paid. Besides this tiny inconvenient, the hostel is very well located, we did everything by walking or riding a bike which is basically the most used way of transport but not the easiest, I’ll come to this part later.
For 4 nights, we paid 145€ (/pers.), breakfast not included. We only had breakfast in the hostel once, most of the time we had breakfast outside, what we did on our second day, we went to the grocery shop nearby the hostel and had cinnamon rolls in a park.
Then we moved on to our first tour in the city.
The Rundetårn (The Round Tower): this is one of the places you should go if you want to enjoy an overview of the city, but it is not the highest one, it is just 35 meters high. The inside goes like a spiral, with white walls and a brick floor. To reach the “rooftop”, you will have to take a tight stairwell.
At different stages of the tower, you may find an exhibition (visit their website to check what exhibition is going on at the moment) and the Church.
Entrance: 25 DKK (3,35€)
For our very first lunch, we went to a food market/hall called Torvehallerne where you can find different stands offering various types of food for affordable prices. Choose one, join the line, collect your food, find a nice spot to sit with your friends and enjoy.
Personally, I chose the traditional smørrebrøds made of a common base, usually rye bread, and toppings varying from one to another.
Then we spent the afternoon walking around and stopped at Ørstedsparken.
For dinner, we went to Vapiano, which you have probably heard about, it is an Italian chain of restaurants. As it was our first day and we had travelled early in the morning, we just wanted something nearby our place, cheap and sure bet.
DAY 2
Morning Copenhagen!
As I said it before, for our breakfast, we headed to the supermarket and had cinnamon rolls in a park, plus, the weather was favourable to enjoy it in the open air. More generally, the weather was nice during our whole stay.
We decided to explore the southern side of the city. We went down the famous Strøget street: the commercial spot of Copenhagen above all else. From touristic souvenirs shops, to the luxury shop windows of Louis Vuitton, you will also walk by a Lego store, Disney store, Søstrene Grene, Flying Tiger, Urban Outfitters, The Body Shop and more.
Later in the morning, we arrived at Slotsholmen, The Castle Island from which rises the Christiansborg Palace and some other buildings like the Royal Danish Library. This is where we had lunch: we had brought sandwiches and found a nice spot in a lovely courtyard.
We did not visit the palace, neither the museums, nor the library, however, we went up the Tårnet, the Palace’s tower. With its 106 meters high, it is the highest tower of the city and offers a large panorama of Copenhagen. The top is accessible with lifts. At different stages of the tower, you can find a room with old plaster statues (the Lumber room) and even a restaurant.
Entrance: free
After a quick stop at the Frederiksholms Canal, we moved upwards to the Rosenborg Castle. The Royal Garden that surrounds it is absolutely delightful: endless paths lined with trees, flowers, fountains and sculptures, we could have had spend hours in there, but unfortunately, it started to rain and get cold, so we rushed to a café: Fox N’ Friends.
We were heading back to our place when we noticed a lovely restaurant where we had dinner. This place is definitely in the Top 3 of my favourite restaurants in Copenhagen: The Stella Café.
It is a cosy environment, with pillows on the bench, affordable delicious burgers and a great playlist. The restaurant was not too crowded, so it almost felt like home.
DAY 3
The sun rises in Copenhagen and today we have decided to rent some bikes at our hostel for the day.
Once we had settled a few formalities, we started rolling down the streets; so far so good, but once we reached the road, it all became a little bit terrifying. Locals know how to ride their bikes and as tourists, I wish we had been taught in advance how to circulate in the city. It was different from the way it works here in the Parisian area: cyclists kind of have a specific set of rules that we don’t have here. We were clearly struggling to cross the road, change directions and everything but surprisingly, we managed to reach the famous neighbourhood of Nyhavn.
It was what I was most looking forward to during our trip, it was so worth it, beyond my expectations; being there made it even more unreal. I stared at all these colourful habitations for a while and felt that feeling of satisfaction as it has always been one of my goal-places in Europe to visit. If you want to, you can get on a boat and have a little cruise-tour of the Nyhavn canal (prices have to be verified).
So we had a walk-around Nyhavn, then get back on our bikes, crossed the Inderhavnsbroen bridge and stopped at a street food market for lunch. Just like the Torvehallerne food market, you can choose between different kinds of food and gather with your friends. As a great tourist, I once again opted for the traditional smørrebrøds (these ones came from the Palægade food-truck). I have been loving smørrebrøds since the very first bite I had on our Day 1.
On the afternoon, we rode to the mythical Christiania Freetown in the heart of Christianshavn. This small town in the south of Copenhagen is definitely a must-see: totally out of time, Christiania is a world apart with its own genuine features reflecting its founding population, hippies and squatters.
There are a lot of things to explore in Christiania: its indoor skate-park with skateboards hanging on the wall free to use for everyone, it was the opportunity for me to give it a try and I had a good time though I fell once or twice; its bars and music shows; its original habitations, green places and street-art artworks. You will also find cannabis sellers in the streets which is apparently legal. Its “Freetown” appellation totally makes sense; I highly recommend Christiania.
Heading back to the city centre, we stopped at a Joe & the Juice bar for some coffee and smoothies (for those who don’t know Joe & the Juice, it is kind of like Starbucks but healthier as it offers mostly fresh juices and smoothies).
We spend the night in an amusement park called Tivoli. It is probably the best time of the day to enjoy this place when they turn all the lights on, it all become magical; you also have music shows and restaurants. You will have a great time at Tivoli, whatever age you are, I guarantee.
Entrance: 230 DKK (unlimited access to rides)
As we left the park pretty late, we went to Mcdonald’s and then headed back to our hostel.
DAY 4
How come it is already our last but one day in Copenhagen? And yet, we still have a lot to do!
A long day was waiting for us, so we had our breakfast in the hostel before going for some new adventures.
We walked for about an hour to the very top of Copenhagen; and there she was, in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the water, seated on her rock, the symbol of Copenhagen, Den Lille Havfrue (The Little Mermaid).
Before coming to Copenhagen, I read that the little mermaid statue had been vandalised, deteriorated and I was afraid she was on a very bad state, but fortunately not, she looked well maintained.
She was also very accessible we could get really close to her for our pictures; there were no barriers around, nor any kind of protection. The tourists were mobbing around it a little bit but everyone could take a picture properly.
Once again, I felt that feeling of satisfaction as it is a mythical symbol of Copenhagen, just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or The Statue of Liberty in New-York.
Then we stopped at the Churchillparken and had lunch (we had bought some salads and sandwiches at the supermarket).
On the afternoon, we walked around the Kastellet (The Citadel), whose origins go way back to the 17th century and still remain a couple of buildings, a windmill and some cannons of that time.
Then we were sauntering in the streets, some were colourful, others vintage, we even found a swing at some point. Our journey led us to the Botanisk have (The Botanical garden). The garden is absolutely charming (I am a green places lover) and the inside of the Palm house is breathtaking, it made me feel like I was deep into the tropical jungle. Climb up the stairs to take a look at all these beautiful species of plants from above. There is a butterfly house but solely accessible from certain hours (when we arrived it was closing).
I totally recommend the Botanisk have. This impressive building made of glass, with its colonial time vibes, will make you longing to get inside.
Entrance to the Palm house: 40 DKK for students
Moving upwards, after half an hour walking, we arrived in the neighbourhood of Nørrebro and stopped at the Superkilenpark: you cannot miss it, it is all pink!
The background was a bit wasted due to the community works going on at that time, but this did not stop us from enjoying the designs of this park, its swings and sport devices.
As it was getting late and we were all tired because we had walked a lot, we looked around the neighbourhood and found a nice seafood restaurant called Hooked where we had dinner, probably the greatest dinner of our whole stay. We couldn’t leave Copenhagen without having a proper seafood dish; so we had fish and chips (100 DKK), fried Calamari (45 DKK) and mac & cheese croquettes (45 DKK, 3 pc).
This address joins the Top 3 of my favourite restaurants in Copenhagen and runs in first place.
DAY 5
As our last day in this incredible city has come, we wanted to make it the icing on the cake.
During our whole stay, we had gone through the Strøget street several times, noticed some hotdogs food-trucks and wanted to try some of them; well, we decided to have them for our breakfast around 11:00 am while going down this street for the last time.
By 11:45am, we caught the royal guards marching on the sound of their instruments towards the royal palace, Amalienborg, for the changing of the guard. We joined the wave of tourists that was following them which was quite funny as when there was a pedestrian crossing, the guards had a priority over the road users but we, the tourists, had to stop at the red light and when it turned green, we hurried up to catch up with the guards. They were imperturbable even with us walking by their sides. Then the changing of the guard took place according to a precise and solemn protocol for half an hour.
Times and places: from the Rosenborg Castle at 11:30am to the Amalienborg Palace at 12:00am for the ceremony.
For lunch, we had made a reservation in a renowned restaurant for its herring dishes called Amalie Restaurant, alongside the royal palace. I had an Amalie’s meal (small herrings served with homemade curry salad and boiled eggs, 92 DKK) and a three Danish cheeses platter (85 DKK); this is another restaurant in my Top 3 favourites.
The last monument we visited was the Marmorkirken (The Marble Church) and its impressive dome. It is worth a stop off to admire its fine architecture.
Entrance: free // Access to the dome: 35DKK
And then it was time for us to go back to our accommodation, check out, pick up our suitcases and leave Copenhagen where we have spent 5 memorable days.
Our flight was operated by Norwegian, took off at 07:05pm and landed at 09h05pm.
GAY PRIDE WEEK: where, I suppose, anywhere else this celebration lasts just for a day, in Copenhagen it takes place during a whole week and the LGBT flag is everywhere in the streets and on the stores windows. At night, the city hall place called Rådhuspladsen becomes a real night club with a stage on which brilliant drag queens perform all night long! We went there 2 or 3 times, it blew our minds! I have never seen a place that much gay-friendly and more generally, where people are free to be who they are, who they want to be, without any judgement, without that fear of being assaulted for being different. Thank you Copenhagen!
In 2021, Copenhagen will host the WorldPride and I have no doubt this event is going to be huge!
TOP 3 restaurants:
1. HOOKED
2. AMALIE
3. STELLA CAFE
TOP 3 attractions:
1. NYHAVN
2. CHRISTIANSHAVN
3. CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Flight: 88€
Accommodation: 145€
Budget around 100 DKK for each meal: 15€
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