Weekend in Copenhagen

Would you like to spend a weekend in Copenhagen?

Here you will find some useful travel and foodie tips.

Friday

We arrived in Copenhagen around 9:30 PM. As you may imagine, restaurants here close quite early, especially during winter season. We had dinner at Dada (we booked a table some days in advance through their web page), a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant open until late. Obviously, is not a traditional restaurant but it worth the visit, both for the location both for the food. On their menu you will find crispy falafels made with edamame, colorful salads, green dishes, grilled flatbread and all sorts of dips. The atmosphere is chill and romantic.

After dinner, we just took a walk in the city center (Strøget) and came back at Wakeup Copenhagen - Bernstorffsgade hotel.

Saturday

The day after we woke up early and we went to Coffee Collective to have breakfast. One of the most important specialty coffee roaster and shop in Europe. You can find them in various locations in Copenhagen but we went at the one in Kristen Bernikows Gade, a central street full of high level shops and hotels. We tried filter coffee, cappuccino and a traditional danish pastry called Kanelsnegle (cinnamon snail)*. Everything was perfect, an amazing way to start the day.

*There’s a Danish custom to eat cinnamon buns on Wednesdays. It’s called Onsdagssnegle (Wednesday snails), and we recommend that you partake in the tradition. Some bakeries sell their Kanelsnegle at reduced prices on this day.

Near by you can find Hōjbro square and Storkespringvandet (the Stork Fountain).

We walked until Nyhavn, one of the most iconic places in Copenhagen. Originally, was a busy commercial port where ships from all over the world would dock. The area was packed with sailors, ladies of pleasure and pubs. Today the beautiful old houses have been renovated and touristic restaurants dominate the old port. Nyhavn is always filled with people enjoying the relaxed atmosphere by the canal.

Near by you can visit the Frederisk Kirke (also well-known as the marble church) and Amaliensborg, the home of the Danish royal family. From there you can walk until Kastellet, one of the best preserved fortresses in Northern Europe. It is constructed in the form of a pentagon with bastions at its corners (which looks like a star from above).

In this area you will also find the iconic statue that symbolize Copenhagen, the Little Mermaid. A bronze statue, depicting a mermaid becoming human, based on the 1837 fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen.

After that, we took the metro and we went to the Rosenborg Castle. Originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606, the castle was used by Danish regents as a royal residence until around 1710.

The castle interior is stunning, filled with works of art and old furniture. Furthermore, you will also be able to see the treasures of the royal family: crowns, scepters and other jewels.

Near the castle you will find the Botanisk Have (Botanic garden). If you appreciate this kind of places I recommend you to visit it. The garden holds the largest collections of living plants in Denmark and the greenhouse architecture is unique.

We had lunch at Aamanns 1921, recommended by the Michelin Guide and winner of the prize "Smørrebrød of the Year" by the Association of Danish Food Reviewers. We wanted to try an high level Smørrebrød and this restaurant was the most recommended on internet.

In fact, the service and food was perfect. I tried the Smørrebrød with Icelandic cold smoked salmon with fennel, dill, fresh cheese and horseradish. Bread with homemade butter is offered before the meal, the best I have ever tried. The price for what we got was quite high but we always have to consider the high-level of the restaurant and the quality of the ingredients.

After lunch we went to Torvehallerne market. The market offers more than 80 shops. Here you can find Danish delicacies, local vegetables, fresh fish, fresh baked bread and good coffee.

Around 17:00 we went to Tivoli Gardens. We chose this hour to have the possibility to see the park both with sunlight and at night. Tivoli, is an amusement park opened in 1843, the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world. We only payed the entrance because we didn't took any ride. Even if you are not into roller coster, you will like the park because is really beautiful to see, especially at night when all lights are on. Depending on the period of the year, the park has a different theme. We went there with the Christmas theme and the atmosphere was magical.

We had dinner at the Tivoli Food Hall, where you can find different stands with all kind of food; Japanese, Lebanese, Italian and so on. We tried the stand called Wakha which offers warm flatbread with Moroccan spice filled with fresh ingredients, organic wines and mediterranean beers. I tried the Veggie Flatbread filled with sweet potato, onion jam, hummus, harissa, peanuts, chili & goat cheese.

Sunday

The last day we had breakfast at Lagkagehuset, a Danish bakery chain with more than 90 branches in Denmark, England, Paris and New York. I tried a traditional danish pastry called Spandauer characterized by flaky dough, custard cream filling and sugar glaze.

Then we visited Christiania, "Freetown", the autonomous anarchist district. Christiania has been famous for many years thanks to the permanent stalls along Pusher Street that sold all types of cannabis. Nowadays the stalls have been forced to close. However, inside Christiania is still not possible to take pictures. I was very curious to visit this place but I was somewhat disappointed. It is probably busier during summer (because of music venues and food stalls), when we were there it was nothing special. Above all, I advise you to go during the afternoon because in the morning there are very few people around.

After Christiania we took the metro until Vesterbro, a non-turisty area. There I had the possibility to see the real life of Copenhagen inhabitants. I went to the supermarket (something I really like to do when I am abroad) and I bought some flour to prepare the typical Danish rye bread. From there we walked until Copenhagen station, we crossed it and we arrived at the Strøget, which we visited a bit more. It is the city center of Copenhagen, full of shops, restaurants and beautiful buildings. We came back to Nyhavn and we saw the Opera house from the other side of the canal.

We took a break at Black swan beer bar where we tasted some craft beer. Near by we visited the Alexander Nevsky Church.

After all this visits we came back to Torvehallerne where we had lunch. We chose the stall called Hav Torvehallerne, where you can take a mixed platter with various fish and salads options. After lunch we also bought some souvenirs (Porridge by GRØD, Coffee from Original Coffee roasters and so on).

We came back to Copenhagen airport by train from the central station.