Amy spent a wonderful 72 hours in one of our favourite cities, Copenhagen. This is a round up of her favourite places to stay, eat and play in the scandi city.
Instead of exchanging Christmas presents this year, my husband and I decided to have a weekend away in an attempt to ward off the January blues. We've been wanting to visit Scandinavia for the longest time, so Copenhagen was the destination of choice. It did not disappoint.
We stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel, Kanalhuset, on the island of Christianshavn. The hotel is by the canal, within walking distance to everything, but just out of the way enough to feel peaceful. The building dates back to 1754 with mid century style interiors, comfy beds and modern bathrooms. The hotel serves sharing style meals every evening and has a cosy bar where they serve delicious snacks and drinks.
Denmark is famous for its bakeries and we were spoiled for choice in Copenhagen; their cream filled salted chocolate buns were incredible, and we ate simple but amazing cheese morning buns each day too.
Our three favourite bakeries
1. Juno The Bakery - selling sourdough, pistachio croissants and their famous cardamom rolls.2. Hart Bageri - which has 7 locations in the city, meaning you'll have no trouble getting your carb fix
3. Andersen & Maillard - a coffee shop, roastery and artisan bakery
The weather in Copenhagen in February was similar to that of the UK (cold and miserable) but the interiors of Copenhagen's stores, coffee shops and bars are the complete antithesis of this. Everywhere we went had the cosiest candlelit atmosphere with an emphasis on hygge, of course. We loved seeing items we stock in Bellwoods dotted throughout the city too.
Where we shopped
1. Ferm Living a well-known Danish design brand focusing on home decor and furniture, long lasting in form and function
2. Frama - a multi-disciplinary design brand that creates lifestyle objects to inspire the senses and encourage mindful living
3. Knast - a small design and interior shop in the heart of Nørrebro. It features a collection of designers and craftsmen where everything is locally produced.
We spent most of our break walking off our pastries and exploring the beautiful architecture and history of the city, stopping for cosy drinks on the way. Here are our top picks for good coffee, tea and natural wine.
Where we drank
1.Original Coffee - Brewed by Friends since 2012
2. Coffee Collectif - Creating the best coffee experience while improving the lives of farmers across the globe
3. IO Tea House - a Copenhagen-based teahouse dedicated to the exploration of the potential of Japan’s organic and naturally farmed teas.
4. La Banchina - a walk-in restaurant and wine bar with an on-site sauna. They serve vegetables and everything the sea can provide, thirst-quenching natural wines and a chance to exhale by the water in the middle of the busy city.
5. Pompette - a small natural wine shop and wine bar located in Nørrebro, Copenhagen.
Where we ate
Locally sourced fresh produce plays a huge part in danish food culture, one of my favourite parts of the trip was walking around and sampling the offerings in Copenhagen's food market TorveHallerne.
Other delicious food spots included:
1. Slurp Ramen Joint - a ramen shop dedicated to making the best ramen in all Scandinavia and giving you the experience of a buzzing ramen joint with good vibes, great music and even better food.
2. Gasoline Grill - world famous burgers housed in an old petrol station.
3. Pate Pate - one of Copenhagen's oldest restaurants, and an institution. It's seasonal comfort food and wine, designed to be shared.
4. Aamanns - a modern smørrebrød lunch spot.
Copenhagen is such an easy place to get around, we mainly walked, but also found hiring the Bolt E-bikes a real highlight, the city is perfectly set up for cycling.
There were so many things to see and do, but I’ve narrowed the list down to my top ten :
- Climb the spire at the Church of our saviour
- Enjoy the Botanical Gardens
- Visit Rosenborg Castle
- Climb CopenHill
- Shop on Jaegersborggad street
- Walk around Assistens Cemetery
- Cycle around the three lakes
- Visit the Garden of the Royal Library
- Walk along the river past the Opera house onto Nyhaven
- Climb The Round Tower
We loved our trip to Copenhagen so much that we’re already planning to go back sometime when the weather is a little warmer. Locals really seem to embrace the summer with outdoor food markets and living life on and in the water, which we can't wait to try.
I hope you enjoyed my guide to Copenhagen - let us know if you have any other tips on this amazing city.