Central City Most tourist attractions are located around the core of the city, which roughly spans Copenhagen Central station, Strøget and the surrounding streets and canals. Central Copenhagen is a remarkably safe, clean and easy area to navigate, and much of the original architecture from Copenhagen’s 17th-century heyday is still intact.

Vesterbro Running west of Copenhagen Central station to the border of Frederiksberg, this used to be a notorious hang-out for drug dealers and prostitutes. Today it’s the pride of Copenhagen’s bohemian set, home to the hippest bars, the edgiest clubs and a diverse, expanding population. Steer clear of areas around Istedgade-Sommerstedgade after dark, as drug users and panhandlers are known to frequent the area at night. Christianshavn Located just over Knippel’s Bridge, sandwiched between the harbour and the Amager quarter, Christianshavn is a neighbourhood of contradictions.

The slick corporate headquarters of Nordea Bank and the Danish foreign ministry co-exist peacefully with 18th-century churches, hip clothing stores and hippie cafés—and the squatter town of Christiania is less than a five-minute walk from the heart of this neighbourhood. Østerbro The city’s east side, running east of the green ramparts on Langelinie, is home to the diplomatic quarter, excellent boutique-style shopping along Østerbrogade, and scenic jogging and walking trails along the lakes.

Nørrebro The working-class northern quarter, located immediately north of Nørreport train station, used to be on the wrong side of the tracks (quite literally). Today, not only is the neighbourhood home to some of Copenhagen’s most memorable landmarks, notably Assistens Kirkegård (Kapelvej 4), but it’s a magnet for youth and vibrancy, especially around St Hans Square, Nørrebrogade and Blågårdsgade.

Islands Brygge This section of the harbour front is one of the city’s most vibrant hotspots, with a wealth of cutting-edge art galleries clustered on and around Njalsgade. Students, artists and professionals all mingle effortlessly—and the city beach at Islands Brygge is the best place to splash around on a summer’s day.

Frederiksberg Lush Frederiksberg, on the westernmost edge of Copenhagen, borders Vesterbro on its eastern side and the suburb of Valby on the west.

The area is best known as the home of the Copenhagen Zoo and breathtaking Frederiksberg Gardens. Quaint walkways are lined with charming shops along Gammel Kongevej, Værnedamsvej and Godhåbsvej—and with more than 170 drinking and dining establishments, this upscale quarter really is where the good life is.

GETTING AROUND

The sleek new Metro is the quickest way to negotiate your way around the city. Train fares are calculated in zones—a two-zone Metro ticket costs DKK 17 one-way and will get you to any Metro station in Copenhagen city. Tickets can be purchased with change or debit cards at Metro ticket machines, or using a standard 10-trip HT clip card for DKK 100, available at kiosks and convenience stores around the city.

Copenhagen’s Mercedes taxis are clean, efficient and reliable. Taxis are easy to hail outside most train stations and major hotels, but a surcharge of DKK 13 is added for cabs ordered in advance. Rates are DKK 10 per km weekdays from 7am-4pm, rising to DKK 13 per km during night and weekend shifts.

For getting around—and getting attention—in central Copenhagen during the spring and summer months, hail or call for an original Copenhagen rickshaw. Bicycle taxis are a fun way to get where you’re going, and the drivers are mostly student and backpacker types. Copenhagen Rickshaw (Tel: 3543 0122) or Quickshaw (Email: bestil@quickshaw.biz). Copenhagen is world famous for its environmentally friendly free bikes campaign. In a bid to cut pollution and bike thefts, the city provides free bicycles for loan during the spring and summer months. They are easily recognisable by their red frames and advertisements covering the wheels. If you have a bit of time on your hands explore by foot.

SHOPPING

Copenhagen’s biggest shopping area is a cluster of streets that merge to form the pedestrian thoroughfare known as Strøget—apparently Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street—spanning from Kongens Nytorv Square at one end to the Town Hall Square on the other. Along the way, you’ll see the city’s Parisian-style shopping mecca Magasin (Kongens Nytorv) and its hallowed halls of Danish design: Illums Bolighus (Amagertorv 10), Royal Copenhagen Porcelain (Amagertorv 6) and Georg Jensen Silver (Amagertorv 4). While you’re there, keep an eye out for Queen Margrethe, the delightfully eccentric royal who’s been known to wander unaccompanied through the throngs of Amager Square every so often. Købmagergade intersects with Strøget at Amager Square, which is instantly recognisable for the Stork Spring Fountain, a popular landmark for meeting up with friends or just hanging out. The area has been a social hub for centuries— the Amager Square McDonald’s is on a site which used to house a café that Hans Christian Andersen and Søren Kierkegaard were known to frequent. Købmagergade is home to a number of mid-range fashion shops, as well as the city’s other big department store Illum (main entrance Østergade 52).

Kronprinsensgade is a side street of Købmagergade, and it’s here that the city’s hippest fashion shops—Bruuns Bazaar, Bruno & Joel, Paris, Texas and Flying A—are based.

Store Regnegade offers the best in home furnishings and a bustling café scene. Casa Shop (Store Regnegade 2) features top-of-the-line designer furniture by Scandinavian and Italian design firms, and across the street at Frydendahl (Store Regnegade 1) you can find knick-knacks and funky art objects for Danish-style home decorating. The finest textile house in the country recently moved into the neighbourhood with the opening of the Georg Jensen Damask boutique on the corner of Store Regnegade and Ny Østergade (Ny Østergade 19).

Strøget is a major tourist pull, but don’t overlook the side streets such as Strædet, which runs behind the main thoroughfare from Axeltorv to Central station.

THINGS TO DO

Copenhagen is one of the greenest capitals in Europe and it’s not necessary to venture outside the city limits to find landscapes that are perfect for picnics, walks or naps. The manicured gardens of Rosenborg Palace (Øster Voldgade 4), popularly known as Kongens Have, are a popular getaway for cuddling couples, bookworms and families on sunny days. Østerbro’s Fælledparken is a city treasure, with huge green expanses that are made for impromptu football games or just horsing around. Located adjacent to the park proper is the national stadium Parken, where you can watch local heroes FC Copenhagen (www.fck.dk) in Champions League games. Or spend a day wandering the verdant Frederiksberg Gardens, located just across the street from the scenic Copenhagen Zoo (Roskildevej 32). Recent additions to the zoo include a pair of Tasmanian devils, presented as a gift from the government of Tasmania in honour of the birth of Denmark’s new little prince this year. Copenhagen’s National Museum (Frederiksholm Kanal 12) houses artifacts from throughout Denmark’s history, from runes and relics of the Viking era to the actual axe used to draw and quarter royal traitor Struensee in the 18th century.

For something old, visit the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Dantes Plads 7), home of Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen’s collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works, along with casts of Roman and Greek statuary. Something new is just down the street at the Danish Design Centre (HC Andersens Boulevard 27), with furniture designs by Arne Jacobsen, Henning Larsen, GUBI and Jørn Utzon.

The Danish capital has a time-honoured tradition in ballet and the performing arts, and a visit to the Royal Theatre on Kongens Nytorv is a highlight of any trip to Copenhagen. The theatre’s repertoire of ballet, opera and symphony performances can be seen on its website www.kgl-teater. dk. Or pay a visit to the Copenhagen Opera on the Holmen harbour front, a stunning architectural endowment to the Danish people from shipping magnate Mærsk McKinney Møller.

As a low-rise city, there aren’t many breathtaking views to be had of the Copenhagen skyline, but the Round Tower (Købmagergade 52) offers one of the best. The tower was commissioned in 1642 by King Christian IV to honour Denmark’s greatest astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Even His Majesty enjoyed a trip to the observation deck, although he never climbed the last 36 metres to the top—the wheel ruts from the King’s carriage are still visible in the brick.

Measuring a mere three metres shorter than the Round Tower, the gold and copper spiral tower of Vor Frelser’s Kirke (Our Saviour’s Church, Sankt Annægade
29) provides another spectacular view of Copenhagen from on high. Each year, hundreds of visitors climb the 400 steps of the church’s spiral tower to view the Danish capital from an altitude of 90 metres.

EXCURSIONS

Copenhagen Excursions (www. sightseeing.dk) is the city’s oldest bus operator catering to tourists, offering regular sightseeing tours of the capital’s major attractions as well as excursions to North Sealand, Odense, Sweden and Viking settlements. All buses depart from the Town Hall Square.

The scenic canals are one of Copenhagen’s main draws. Boat tours of the canals are available through DFDS Tours during the summer tourist season, but in the cold winter months, you can book a coffee or Champagne tour of the city by boat through Flyvefisken (Tel: 3296 4964).

Or you can experience the city as it was intended—on foot! Copenhagen Walking Tours (Tel: 4081 1217, Email: info@copenhagen-walkingtours.dk) offers Danish and English theme tours of Copenhagen’s main attractions, from Jewish Copenhagen to Romantic Copenhagen. Historical walking tours (Copenhagen History Tours, Tel: 2849 4435) are also available—you pick your century and your tour will guide you through the architectural highlights and anecdotal history of the period. English tours are offered on weekend mornings. Use a free day to explore the breathtaking countryside of North Sealand. Regional and S-trains run several times hourly to Klampenborg Station, north of Copenhagen, where signs will lead you to beautiful Dyrehaven, a lush game reserve where deer frolic all year round. The park, also home to the world’s oldest amusement park, Bakken, affords picture-perfect views of the Eremitage Castle, the old royal hunting lodge.

TOURIST TRAPS

Although Copenhagen has managed to resist the usual big-city tourist traps, there are still a few spots around town that you shouldn’t be wasting your time or money on. Theme museums are a case in point— Louis Tussaud’s Wax Museum, located next door to Tivoli Gardens, has unsettling wax renditions of the entire Danish royal family, but the rest of the permanent exhibition is weak and outdated (Bruce and Demi in wax, anyone?). Similarly, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum is pure tourist treacle. Finally, although you may be tempted by the girls passing out promotional fliers out front, don’t waste your time at the limply anticlimactic Museum of Erotica on Strøget.

CONVENTION CENTRES

State-of-the-art Bella Center (Center Boulevard S, 2300 Copenhagen S, Tel. 3252 8811) is the official home of the Copenhagen Congress Center, which forms the backdrop of the year’s top business and political conventions. Situated in the rapidly developing Ørestad business area, Bella Center is conveniently situated just a 15-minute drive from the airport, and the city metro drives directly to the centre.