Copenhagen deserves more than climate summiteers. The Danish capital has a lot to offer, from “open sandwiches” to a dose of the arts.
Copenhagen needn’t have asked for anything more than the climate summit to put it firmly on the tourist map. A city sometimes termed a sleeping giant among operators who run European tours now has just what it needs. If you are at the climate summit or will just be passing through, take a pause — Copenhagen will make it worth your while.
First, hire a bicycle and hop on. Copenhagen is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world. The city has extensive bicycle paths and they are often separated from main traffic lanes, and sometimes have their own signal systems.
Start with exploring the city’s architecture, which has given it the name “City of Spires”. Only the spires of churches and castles feature on the city’s skyline. The finest is the baroque spire of the Church of Our Saviour. It has spiralling and narrowing external stairs that visitors can clamber up.
Other important spires are those of Christiansborg Palace, the City Hall and the former Church of St Nikolaj, which now houses a modern art venue.
Since you are at the coast you must visit the waterfront. The beaches are not recommended in the winter because of the freezing water, but are definitely worth a stroll. Amager Strandpark includes a 2-km-long artificial island and a total of 4.6 km of beaches, and is just 15 minutes by bicycle from the city centre. The beaches are supplemented by a system of harbour baths.
Any city in Europe will give you a dose of the arts, and Copenhagen is no different. Drop in to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum, founded by second generation Carlsberg tycoon-philanthropist Carl Jacobsen. It features his personal collections, whose main focus is classical Egyptian, Roman and Greek sculptures and other antiquities, and a collection of Rodin sculptures that is the largest outside France.
The Copenhagen Opera House is a landmark, and among the most modern in the world. Here you can watch the Royal Danish Ballet.
If you are hungry, Copenhagen has 13 Michelin-star restaurants. But be warned, they will hurt your wallet. A popular Danish meal is “open sandwiches”, called smørrebrød. It is served at roadside carts. Down your sandwich with Carlsberg beer or hop into a pub such as the Nørrebro Bryghus, which brews its own beer.
Finally, you can wind down with a canal tour of the inner harbour. Some operators have an unguided hop-on hop-off service, branded as the “water bus”, which is arranged into three circular trips at the northern, central and southern part of the inner harbour and canals.
