This might sound obvious, but one of my favourite ways to explore a new city is by bike! And there’s no better city to bike than Copenhagen, I remember reading somewhere that there are even more bikes in Copenhagen than in Amsterdam! I’m not gonna lie, it’s definitely a bike-friendlier city than Amsterdam! The cyclist manners are also a lot different, you could see they took cycling very seriously. I was just so surprised at how they stopped for every pedestrian and used signals for things I have never ever learned. So yeah, very bike-friendly city. It’s also quite small, so really, there’s no reason to not rent a bike! I got lost a few times, thought I had to bike for hours in order to get back, but then it it turned out it took only 10 minutes. That’s how small it is. Like all things in Copenhagen, renting a bike can be a little expensive. I eventually rented mine through cykelboersen.dk, which were a lot cheaper than my hostel. You can basically rent bikes everywhere though.
Although Christiana is a well known touristic site, it’s still very worth a visit! At first I was a little shy about entering the place, as it looked a little hostile/private, but then I saw an elderly couple with a map coming out of the place and I know I would be fine ;) Christiana, also known as Freetown Christiana, is basically a large commune. It is much more complex than that, they build their own houses and they’re basically self-sufficient (or so I think) and so on. When I came there it was a weird mix of tourists, junkies and locals that come there for some vegan food or cheap drinks. Christiana is also called ‘the green light district’, because of their open cannabis trade. As it is illegal now, you’re not allowed to take any pictures. Of course I did take a few, but not too many. I found it very interesting, it had such a weird vibe. On one hand people were building their own houses, or there was someone working in a garden, locals (from Copenhagen, not Christiana) were sipping on some coffee, there were stalls with stuff that reminded me of Camden Town, cafes, even a design store! But on the other hand some people had masks on their faces or their scarves so high you could only see their faces, and people looking in trash bins looking for food, or desperately trying to light their joint. I had no idea what to make of it, besides ‘interesting’. There was a friendly vibe though, and again, definitely worth a visit!
Nørrebro is a very eclectic part of town. As the population is very diverse, the neighborhood feels a bit alternative, like Berlin. There’s a bit of street art around, lot of cafes and basically food everywhere and a great amount of those hip design stores. I really really loved Nørrebro, I think it’s my favourite part of town. When there, make sure to visit Assistens Kirkegard, a beautiful cemetery is also more like a very big park. Famous people like Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard lie there, but it’s more than just that. It’s also a great place to have a picknick, strangely enough! Also make sure to visit Jægersborggade which is now one of the most buzzing streets in town! Be aware though, there will be lots of hipsters in this street. It even has it own cactus shop! Naturally, I loved it. It reminded me a lot of Berlin. When you’re looking for food, Blågårdsgade is the place to be! In this street there are plenty of cute little cafes or fruit stalls. I really wanted to have dinner there but I just wasn’t hungry, ah man! Some real third world problems right there.
Copenhagen is one of the most expensive places I’ve ever visited. I think it’s very much alike Iceland! I always had breakfast at the hostel (talking about Iceland, they had Skyr at the supermarkets! <3) and lunches were mostly just sandwiches on the go. I can't really remember what I ate anymore, but a few favourite (and affordable!!) places where Bang Og Jensen (Vesterbro), Bog Cafe Paludan (somewhere in town haha), Cafe Retro Nørrebro (Jægersborggade) and there’s another place that I just can’t remember the name of for the life of me. I’m such a good blogger, shit. Other names I had found but haven’t been to: Cafe Alma, Il pane di Mauro, Rist Kafé, Barburrito, Big Apple Juice Bar, Riz Raz. As I am very lazy you may Google them yourself for more information, ha!
So yeah, this is another obvious tip, but still worth noting. When you think of Copenhagen, you think about all the colourful little houses. Well, that’s Nyhavn and it’s actually only just one small street and that’s about it. It’s obviously very touristic and not that impressive, but you’ll have to have at least one picture of this ;) I normally don’t feel like I have to see the touristic sights (never went to the little mermaid, I mean, it’s a mermaid of stone… plus it’s rather a bit out of the city centre! Seriously, go do something else.) but as I love colourful houses I felt like I had to see this. Also make sure to take a look at the unicorn building around the corner and the beautiful place nearby the Danish National Art Library.
When you go shopping, you can’t miss the Kompagnistræde, where you have all the hip stores (or in the area). A few: Retrovilla, Mant, Hay House, Plint, Notre Dame. One of my favourite stores in the centre of the city was Søstere Grene! We have one store of them in the Netherlands (Groningen) so I’ve been there once before. I had totally forgotten about this store until I stumbled upon it in one of the main shopping streets. It’s so good! It’s actually very affordable, cheap even, and has lots of pretty stationary and design and things for in the kitchen and EVERYTHING. Love it, seriously. I had also wanted to go the the Danish Design Museum or Louisiana, a modern art museum a little outside the city. If you want to have a great view of the city, make sure to visit Rundertaarn. And if you really like fairy tales, you can also visit Hans Christian Andersen’s house (Radhusplasden 57, according to my notes).
As I had booked a ticket to Copenhagen 2 weeks in advance, I didn’t look long for a place to stay. Of course you have AirBnB in Copenhagen, but I still found that a little expensive (it might be a better option when you’re not alone though). I searched via Budget Places and soon found out about Urban House! The reviews were amazing, it was cheap, it was in a good spot (nearby the train station/Tivoli and the Vesterbro area which is apparently hip and happening) and the pictures just looked great. I didn’t think twice and just booked it. I normally do a little more research, but I just knew I had to book this. And I’m so glad I did! I think this is my favourite hostel I’ve ever stayed in! It’s still really new, so everything feels fresh and shiny. But it IS fresh and shiny! And also incredibly hip (or should I say hipster?), like everything else in Copenhagen. The common rooms are all so nicely designed, it seems like they have thought of everything, there is a huge kitchen with tons of supplies, but there’s also a bar and a cafe where you can order something. I like this a lot, because lots of hostels seem to have either of the two (most of the time a crappy kitchen and nothing else, or only a sorta expensive cafe and nothing else, looking at you Generator Dublin!). I really loved that in this hostel, you had both. There were also lots of areas where you could just chill on your own or meet people, again it has to be the most hipster hostel ever, it even had a tattoo shop with a very hipster bearded man, ha. Let’s just say this hostel screamed hispter, which is good because I love hipster. I’m not gonna lie, Copenhagen itself IS hipster, which is why I love it. I shall now stop using the word hipster. Anyway, great staff, great place, great price, great everything :) They even had a Euro Vision screening night, what’s not to love? Would recommend y/y.
This may seem counterproductive, but while you’re in Copenhagen you might just catch a train to Sweden. Even though I was in Copenhagen for just a few days, I just felt like adding Sweden to my ‘have been here’ list. The Øresund bridge that brings Sweden & Denmark together will take you to Malmö in just about 30 minutes. Well, the bridge won’t take you, but the train will. But I think you’d already figured that out. A return ticket costs about 24 euro, which is pretty doable. I really enjoyed Malmö as well! A Malmö blog post will follow soon, obviously.
So, that’s a proper post about Copenhagen, isn’t it? I felt like it was about time I made a post with some information instead of just some random travel pictures. I hope you like it and I hope it might be useful to at least one person… it’s quite a bit of work!
As I’ve only been in Copenhagen for 1 full day (and an evening and a morning) I haven’t done everything there is to do in Copenhagen, of course. But I hope these tips will still be useful anyway :)
luusjeindelucht says
Ohhh die boekjes en cactussen en fietsen en alles <3
Angélica says
Jaaa het is zo leuk! Echt een aanrader :D Alle mensen zijn daar ook heel knap en hip gekleed, haha! (Of ja, een hoop)
Maris says
Prachtige foto’s! Je hebt me helemaal nieuwsgierig gemaakt naar Kopenhagen.
Angélica says
Aww thanks :D
Urban House says
Love your post & pictures! Thank you for recommending us ???? May we share your post on our social media channels?
Angélica says
Ah thank you so much! And yes, of course you may :) I’d be honoured!
Juliana Proença says
I was surfing the web reading articles about Copenhagen and ended up here. I ve been living in Copenhagen for the last 3 years and loved your way to describe the city :) I just started my own blog! nice post..
Angélica says
Ah thank you so much! :) Copenhagen seems like such a great city to live in!