A long weekend in Copenhagen

Copenhagen was voted the world's most liveable city in 2014 and once you're there it's easy to see why. Even the most 'conservative' of voters in our travelling party came away from the trip thinking a 55% tax rate could be worth it if your city was as beautiful, clean and just downright liveable as Copenhagen is.

We spent 3 nights, four days over Easter in this beautiful city with almost 20 pals from London spread amongst 4 AirBnB apartments. Below are a few highlights I have compiled for anyone jetting off there soon.

Accommodation

• We stayed in an AirBnB apartment opposite Frederiksberg metro. 
• The apartment was amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It sleeps 7 and looks like it is straight of a pinterest board. No idea how a family with two children can live in such a cool & immaculately decorated house, but we felt equally as cool staying there. Check it out here
• In terms of location, anywhere near a metro is great. 

Bikes

• Copenhagen is very cycle friendly with cycle lanes throughout and very flat. Hiring a bike is a great way to get around.
• Before you go google some bike hire places near your accommodation to make hiring easy & check opening hours.
• I can't recall to the £ how much we paid for bikes, but I think around £12 - £15 for a day. If I went back I would hire one for the entire duration of my stay though.

Metro

• We bought a 72 hour pass for transport (train & bus) which we definitely got our use out of. If the weather is good and you're hiring a bike for the duration this may not be a good value option though.

Food

Overall the food in Copenhagen was amazing, get excited.

• Torvehallerne Market is a must visit (if not multiple visit) for everyone. There is a big selection of food on offer including mouth watering smorrebrod, bahn mi, tacos, wood-fired pizza, a delicious cheese shop (get the creamy blue - I voted this one better than Kikorangi Blue from NZ which is a big call for any blue cheese lover). There's heaps of outdoor seating and a couple of bars so it's great for a lunchtime pitstop.
• We had brunch at a cafe called Granola one morning which was authentically Danish. We ordered the granola and would only recommend doing so if you're ordering an additional dish as the portion was child size.
• Copenhagen Street Food Market - the food wasn't as good as Torvehallerne, but there was a bar & good music and it's right on the water. Great spot in the sunshine also.
• Coffee - We had some fantastic coffee from both: The Coffee Collective & another cafe in Torvehallerne market. It's expensive at around 400KN but well worth it.
• Our apartment was opposite a bagel shop and there seemed to be a lot dotted around the city. We had some delicious filled ones from the shop near our house.

Other recommended places we didn't get to but heard great things about:

• Istid - ice cream parlour where you select your flavour & they make the ice cream in front of you using dry ice. 
• Mother - Pizza restaurant in the meatpacking district
• Gorilla - also in the meatpacking district
• Mirabelle Cafe - in Norrebro, the sticky cardamon bun was recommended 
• Madklubben & Gran Torino
• Grod - Porridge Cafe 

Writing these out has made me seriously want to go back!

Smorrebrod at Torvehallerne

Drinking

• Although touristy, a beer in the sun in Nyhavn is just delightful.
• Mikkeller & Friends - microbrewery
• Jolene - a fairly grimy bar in Vesterbro - the meat packing district, industrial feel - we had a fun night out here. There are a few bars & restaurants in the area it is in so definitely worth checking out.

Shopping

• There are so many design and homeware stores to explore and fall in love with. Although we didn't get to visit it, the Hay design store in the centre of Copenhagen is apparently fantastic.
• There was a huge mall opposite our apartment in Fredriksberg but it was closed all Easter weekend. To be honest I don't think there were any shops we don't have in London in there so I would focus on the small boutiques dotted around.
• The Acne Outlet store had some great bargains & is definitely worth a visit. Address is: Elmegade 21, 2200 København N, Denmark

Day trip to Louisiana Gallery

• One of the highlights of our visit was a day trip we took out to Louisiana.
• You'll need a different train ticket than your metro pass as this is 30min out of town. We bought our tickets & departed from Norreport station which is near Torvehallerne Market.
• The exhibitions were amazing, and the gallery sits on a cliff overlooking a beach so a stunning outlook.
• Smorrebrod from the cafe were delicious & the gift shop has a lot of great posters for sale.
• We also got free posters at one of the exhibitions we visited there so keep your eyes peeled!
• Trip Advisor page here

Canal Tour

• It was a great way to see the city from a different perspective. 
• The Netto tour is half the price of the standard boats.
• You can catch this one in Nyhavn and the jetty is only 50m or so away from the nicely branded, expensive boat tour place. 
• Make sure you get a seat on the edge of the boat (window seat) for better viewing!
• The Little Mermaid statue is one of the tour drive-bys - definitely underwhelming, it's tiny! I could barely see it!

Christiania 

• This is a hippy / free-town within central Copenhagen.
• We went on a sunny afternoon and had beers from Nemoland on a bank overlooking a lake - just delightful.
• Weed is available to purchase via masked men in the area. Although this is still technically illegal, the police turn a blind eye to this area.
• Some people told us not to go to this area at night as it was dangerous. There were a few odd people about but overall a friendly, chilled vibe.
• We didn't explore the whole of Christiania - but the apartment we stayed in had a book which included photographs of some of the amazing houses there. If I went back a walk into the depths of the area would definitely be on the cards. 
• You can do walking tours of the area, but it pays to plan and book ahead.

Other 

• A walk through Assistens Kirkegarden is nice on a sunny day 
• Dome of Visions - a glass / glass like dome building on the water front which we stopped off at on our bikes one day. Inside there was a bondage ritual going on as part of an art performance. Definitely worth stopping and and investigating.
• This guide has some great suggestions too - click here

Enjoy & feel free to add any additional recommendations in the comments.