To Do -
Nyhavn Canal
One of the most famous and picturesque parts of Copenhagen is along the Nyhavn Canal. This 17th-century waterfront is the center of town and is lined with colorful buildings, bars, and restaurants.
Grab a seat outside at a restaurant along the canal and watch people and boats as they drift by. On a sunny day this area will be packed with tourists and locals alike enjoying a cold drink or a meal in the most charming area of Copenhagen.
Go to the Top of Round Tower
For some rooftop views of Copenhagen climb to the top of the Round Tower. Located in the middle of the city this 17th-century tower has some of the best views above the city, harbor and surrounding waterways.
Walk up the beautifully designed stairway that slopes gently until you reach the top. The view is worth every step.
Explore the Freetown of Christiania
One of the most unique places in Europe, the Freetown of Christiania was created as a squatter military zone in 1971, as homeless people started moving into the area the neighborhood slowly turned into a hippie community. Their anti-government stance helped grow the commune into an almost independent state with 850 residence, their own laws, and freedom from the government. Visitors are allowed to visit the town but taking photos is prohibited. The use of marijuana is legal inside Christiania and you will notice vendors selling it along the main strip of the town. This place is covered with unique art displays and was a lot of fun to visit!
This is the only photo we took, the entrance to Christiania
Bike or Limescooter around
Constantly ranked one of the most bike friendly city in the world, Copenhagen is best explored on bikes or electric scooter. 62% of locals ride bikes to get around and only 9% of the population has cars and drives around. The bike lanes are huge, easy to navigate, and fairly flat. You can get around the entire city so easily this way, we 100% recommend it, just remember where you left your bike!
To Eat -
Reffen Street Food Market
Copenhagen has acquired a booming street food scene the past couple of years. There are a bunch of different food markets throughout the city but the largest and most unique market is Reffen Street Food Market. With over 50 brightly colored food stalls serving a variety of food from all over the world it’s hard to decide where to eat! We rode our lime scooters here and spent the entire afternoon sipping beers and snacking out of all the delicious food stalls. Getting here from the center of town was a bit of a trek as you pass over many bridges and different neighborhoods, on this perfectly sunny day it was fun to be amongst all the locals making the same journey to spend the day at the market.
Reffen is a completely organic street food market which focuses on being as waste free as possible. There are certain standards each vendor need to comply with; using compostable containers, reducing food waste whenever possible, and using only organic, free-range, local ingredients wherever possible. These vendors are creative and innovative with their food and stalls, some were food trucks or trailers, and others were made out of shipping containers. We loved the melting pot of food offered and will definitely be coming back here during our next visit to Copenhagen.
Torvehallerne Market
This buzzing food hall in downtown Copenhagen was great. We came here everyday we were in Copenhagen and couldn’t get enough. The absolute best thing we had was the duck confit sandwich from Ma Poule. It was a crusty baguette filled with mustard, greens, and a hefty helping of warm duck confit. We came back and got this two days in a row! We also got a burrata cheese and charcuterie plate from Ma Poule that was amazing!
Another great stop in Torvehallene is the Mikkeler and Friends Bottle Shop. Jeff is a beer aficionado and this bottle shop was everything he could ever want with a massive selection of bottles from Mikkeller, other beers from Belgium, America, and a good selection of local up-and-coming breweries as well. This place has quickly become a must-visit, both for traveling beer geeks and for locals seeking out the perfect brew for the occasion.
Another stall we loved was the Banana soft serve. This little company had the genius idea to used frozen wasted bananas to make their soft serve ice cream. A healthy and delicious alternative that we loved!
Another popular food stall in the market is Hallernes which serves up different smørrebrøds. A smørrebrød is a Danish open-face sandwiche with different toppings. The smørrebrøds at Hallernes are all made with fresh, and seasonal ingredients and and focus on local fish and meat. Each open faced sandiwch was unique and beautiful like edible art.
Slurp Ramen
We stood in line outside in the rain for a hour to get a chance to eat at this cozy ramen shop and it was 100% worth it! The chef/owner of Slurp used to work at Noma and his ramen is meticulous and drool-worthy. The menu is small and only serves 3 types of ramen, shio, shoyu, and miso. The ramen was rich in flavor and delicious.
Noma
photo by Noma
We did not eat at Noma during our visit but it’s on our bucket list! We figured no list of places to eat in Copenhagen would be complete without adding this legendary restaurant. Consistently ranked one of the top restaurants in the world, Noma is a two-Michelin-star restaurant run by famous chef René Redzepi. The restaurant focuses solely on ingredients from the Scandinavian region and the menu changes with the season. Like any restaurant of this caliber reservations are extremely difficult to get but if you do end up dining here it will be a life changing experience. If you make your way to the Reffen Street Food Market, keep and eye out for Noma on the right side of the road along the water with the greenhouse.
photo by Noma
Baest
Baest is an incredible pizza restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Christian Puglisi. Everything served in this restaurant is made from scratch using the best local ingredients; the pizza dough, charcuterie, and even the cheese is all made in house. Their magnificent wood-fired oven hails from Naples and whips out the most divine pizzas in Copenhagen.
Sole D Italia
To Drink -
Mikkeller Baghaven
Mikkeller Baghaven. If you are into sour beers, this building is a sanctuary. Here on the wharf represents where some of the finest wild ale fruit beers are made. Inside this fairly beaten down building are dozens of various oak barrels raging in sizes where these amazing brews are barrel aged often for 12-18 months. Many of the Baghaven beers are loaded with the finest fruits in the world. Another thing that makes these beers so delicious is the amount of fruit used in the process, many of these beers boast almost 1lb of fruit per liter of beer. While we sampled almost every beer here and took a few back to the US with us, the Pántáo (Peach) sour was our favorite. It truly tasted like a summer peach fresh off the tree.
Also worth noting is that Baghaven is located right on the waters edge. If its a nice sunny day this is one of the most relaxing places to hang out with the locals and enjoy some incredible beers. They also have a few other goodies, like the Campari slushy pictured above.
War Pigs
WARPIGS. This famous brewery is the collaboration between Mikkeller from Copenhagen and 3 Floyds of Indiana. Mikkeller and 3 Floyds are two of the best in the beer game and when you put them together you get WarPigs. This place does two things, beer and traditional Southern BBQ. I dont think anybody really excepts a beer and BBQ joint in the middle of Copenhagen but as the death metal plays in the background it seems to work just perfectly. They have a great collection of beers, and if you are into big barrel aged stouts that pour jet-black this is a great place to be. As they say at WarPigs “Drink Beer, Hail Satan.”
Mikkeller Bar Viktoriagade
This is the OG Mikkeller bar. It is nothing fancy but it is perfect. If you dont find a beer that suits your needs on tap (you are a picky person and you need to reflect on that) but you can ask for the bottle list. The bottle list “book” that you will read for entirely too long is about 50 pages of small print and has some of the best beers from around the world. This little below ground bar is the holy grail of epic beers.
Where We Stayed -
We loved our stay at Kong Arthur Hotel. It had a great location and was only a few blocks from Torvehallerne Market. We walked there every morning for coffee and breakfast. The hotel also sits along the river and you can see swans drifting by in the water from the lobby. The hotel dates back to 1882 but has been remodeled and has stylish, modern rooms. The staff was also very friendly and helpful. Oh, and the welcome drink was a great surprise. Nothing beats a free glass of wine or beer when you arrive at a hotel. We would definitely stay here again.
