Day One: We flew from London (LHR) to Copenhagen (CPH) on British Airways – just a 90 minute hop. As with London we opted for a centrally located citizenM Hotel at Radhuspladen. After checking in at the hotel we walked around the historic inner city for a couple of hours before finishing our first day at the K Cocktail Bar.
Radhuspladsen
Radhus
K cocktailbar
Day Two: we walked to the La Cabra cafe on Montegarde. La Cabra is one of our favorite coffee roasters in the world. Having the opportunity to visit their Copenhagen location in person was quite exciting. In the past we have had to settle for buying their coffee and having it shipped to the U.S. (They now have a NYC location but it is just not the same as visiting a location in Denmark.).
La Cabra Coffee
Montegade
After fika, we meandered through several scenic neighborhoods taking in the sights and architecture on our way to the Museum of Danish Resistance.
Fredericiagade
Sankt Pauls Kirke
The museum chronicles the lives of five individuals in occupied Denmark during Word War II. Some of the individuals were active in the Danish Resistance Movement while others were NAZI sympathizers; one Dane fought with the German Army. A very interesting way to demonstrate the impact of the German occupation on the country and its inhabitants. Well done.
Frihedsmuseet
Dinner at Cafe Oscar before walking to the waterfront for an early evening cruise. Burgers are big in Copenhagen!
Cafe Oscar
Copenhagen Catches Burger Fever
Since Copenhagen is a city of islands – some natural – some manmade, seeing the city from the water is a terrific way to get oriented with the city layout. Also, some of the most notable modern architectural structures in Copenhagen sit on the waterfront. We think a boat cruise or water taxi is a great way to begin your trip if you are visiting the city for the first time.
Nyhavn History
Christianshavns Kanal
Papirøen
Det Kongelige Teaters Operhause
Blox
After the cruise we stopped by our new favorite watering hole ( K Cocktail Bar or locally the K-Bar) in Copenhagen.
Day Three: Another beautiful blue sky day in Kobehavn. We crossed the Frederiksholms Kanal onto the islet of Slotsholmen where we passed by the Christianborg Slot (Home of the Danish Parliament). We then crossed over to Christianshavn to visit Vor Frelsers Kirke and Freetown Christiana.
Frederiksholms Kanal
Slotsholmen
Christiansborg Slot
Folketingef
Amager
Vor Frelsers Kirke
Christianshavn
Photograph courtesy of Vor Frelsers Kirke
Freetown Christiana dates back to 1971 when several hundred people moved into a deserted army barracks and squatted there. Some of the original squatters and about 1000 other people now call this home and continue to insist that they are not part of Denmark or the European Union. Residency is by invitation only, of course.
Today Christiana has become a major tourist attraction with a number of shops selling food, art and vintage clothing. The main attraction for us was the plethora of street art. Worth at least a short visit – you can get a fine cortado at Cafe Manefiskeren after poking around and checking the out the street art.
Freetown Christiana
After exhausting the inventory of street art in Christiana we set off (by Uber) to the Nordvest District to tour Grundyvig’s Kirke. As you may know we are fans of church architecture and art and this church is architecturally quite different from the many other notable churches in the city.
Grundtvig’s Kirke
After exploring the church we lunched on smorrebrod (not to be confused with the Swedish smorgasbord) at the nearby Cafe Bjerget.
Smorrebrod
Cafe Bjerget
After lunch we worked our way into the heart of the Nordvest District of Copenhagen. Nordvest was an industrial area until the 1970s when many of the businesses closed due to an inability to compete with foreign manufacturers. The area is now home to a significant block of lower income housing and many small shops and street art. As an added bonus the excellent roaster Kaffedepartmentet is located in Nordvest.
Nordvest
Kaffedepartmentet
We found ourselves in the mood for “Old School Italian” which vectored us to the Ristorante Italiano for a traditional and delicious dinner. The Italiano has been operating in Copenhagen since 1952. After our dinner we strolled through the area around the historic Vestergarde (sunset is around 2200 at this time of the year).
Ristorante Italiano
Vestergarde
Day Four: We started our day’s journey at La Cabra. We then strolled through the Kongens Have (not in bloom yet but still lovely) and the small but impressive Rosenberg Castle which is located in the gardens. From there we crossed out of the gardens to visit the Statens Museum for Kunst.
Kongens Have
Rosenborg Slot
Statens Museum for Kunst
The Statens Museum is very impressive. The architecture is grand and there is a wonderful space which was created when the museum was expanded. The museum has created a set of galleries which trace danish art from the early 1900s through to today. This museum is not to be missed when you visit Copenhagen.
Henri Matisse Collection
Danish Artists Collection
Day Four: We rented bicycles and rode south along the Inderhaven waterfront stopping to visit St Alban’s Church. St Alban’s is the one and only Anglican Church in Denmark, a remnant of the significant sea trade between Great Britain and Denmark. The membership of the church is a mix of English, Danes and Germans. The church quite appropriately sits by the water.
Inderhavn
St Alban’s Church
Gefionspringvandet
From the church we cycled further south and then crossed over to Christianshavn via the Inderhavnsbroen, a bicycle and pedestrian only bridge (how nice).
Inderhavnsbroen
Amager
We followed the well-marked bike paths crossing a number of canals and waterways through a mix of residential and industrial areas.
Amager Bakke also known as Copenhill is a trash to energy plant with a twist. A year round ski trail winds down from the top of the plant to the ground level. Amager Bakke also has the tallest man made climbing wall in the world. A trip to the top in the elevator also provides fantastic views of the Indre By as well as distant views of the bridge connecting Denmark to Sweden.
Amager Bakke
Indre By
After bicycling back to the bike rental shop we walked to the nearby Frederiks Kirke also known as the Marble Church. Fortunately the church was open and we were able to visit the interior which is quite impressive.
Fredericks Kirke
After visiting the kirke we walked back to the hotel for a refresh and then strolled across the Radhuspladsen to the nearby Hidden Dimsum for a delicious dinner.
Hidden Dimsum
Day Five: Our final day in Kobehavn before a late afternoon flight to London. We succumbed to a bit of shopping bracketed by fika at two Coffee Collective locations. So good!
Coffee Collective
We really enjoyed Copenhagen. It is a vibrant city with a mix of old and new architecture that works extremely well. The city is very pleasing visually. It is a very walkable city and renting bikes (as we did) is an excellent option (flat terrain) for extending your range without needing a vehicle or an Uber.
There is a plethora of fine dining opportunities, excellent coffee, and terrific museums. Also, there is plenty of street art in the neighborhoods around the city center. Københavnere enjoy a good cocktail and the city is widely recognized as a top-tier cocktail city. There are small cocktail bars all around the city – very handy indeed!
Copenhagen was city six of our 2025-2026 City Tour Series. We hope to extend our series during the fall of 2026. Stay tuned.
Be seeing you!
P.S. As you might imagine President Trump is not popular in Denmark after having made repeated threats to take over Greenland, which is under the protection of Denmark.
P.P.S. Copenhagen is a marvel of bicycle commuting and it is not uncommon to see commuters in full office dress (including high heels!).
