Inside Loop - Dispatch #5 | A long weekend in Copenhagen
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Welcome to dispatch #5 of “Inside Loop” - a bespoke travel consultancy, tailored just for you. This newsletter will be arriving in your inbox every two weeks, and all the editions will be archived and live here.
This fifth newsletter is about a city I spent a lot of time in over the last two years - almost 14 trips in 24 months! In my opinion, Copenhagen is the perfect long-weekend destination. It’s a short-ish flight from Northern European cities, meaning you can really make the most of the time there. The best times to visit are right around Christmas time (when you don’t mind the cold weather because the city is incredibly hygge and festive) or in late June-July when the days are long, the weather is often very good, and you can spend a lot of time swimming in their canals or spending time on their beaches (yes! they have beaches!). I recently helped someone plan 3 nights there, and it reminded me just how great of a city it is to explore.
As a reminder for those still booking summer holidays - I get amazing rates on all hotels worldwide too, so definitely let me know if you want access to this!
1. Getting There
It’s very easy to fly to Copenhagen - most cities offer direct flights. An insider tip is to take the train from the airport right into the city centre- it’s very fast, clean and easy, and costs about Dkk 36 / €5. Taxis in Denmark will bankrupt you, and there is no Uber!
Photo: Famous Nyhavn in the afternoon light
2. Where to Stay
My favorite area is actually the most central one (often this is the area you want to avoid in cities!) I recommend staying in/around Kongens Nytorv (The King's New Square) or Nyhavn (famous colorful houses on a canal area), which means you can go swimming easily as you are right on the canals!
5* option: Hotel Sanders - From €800 a night - smart & luxurious. Scandinavian simplicity at its best, with a prime location.
OR Hotel d’Anglettere - From €650 a night - the swanky old school big hotel on the main square, glamour and tradition combined!
4* option: 71 Nyhavn - from €350 a night - right in the heart of Nyhavn, with canal views. Simple interiors with a maritime twist.
OR Villa Copenhagen - from €300 a night - a little further away from the main area I recommend but still waking distance to everything. Has a huge rooftop lap pool and all the comforts of a Scandi hotel.
3* option: Sankte Anne- From €200 a night - tiny rooms but great location, has everything you’d need for a long weekend.
3. Day-By-Day Itinerary
Thursday Evening - arrive at your accommodation and check-in. If you arrive in time for drinks & dinner, head to Lille Blå Vinbar for a delicious bottle of wine, and then Salon for a mind-blowing dinner, walking distance from the Nyhavn area. FYI - most restaurants work on a set menu for lunch and dinner (from very casual places to very fancy - it’s just how the Danes do menus) - you can often do wine pairing or not, and you can sometimes pick 3 or 5 courses.
Photo: All the streets are lined with Roses in May & June!
Friday - wake up and enjoy a delicious breakfast at Atelier September. Walk around the Royal Palace (every day at around 12 pm lunchtime they have a horse procession from here around the city if the Queen is in Copenhagen). From the palace, walk to Fredrik’s Church (an impressive 18th-century church with the largest dome in Scandinavia). You could walk up to the Royal Fortress which is in a star-shaped park and is very cool to walk around post-lunch near the water. Also, the famous Little Mermaid statue is in this park.
Lunch ideas around here:
Stop for a little wine break at the cute wine bar Beau Marché Café à Vins, before visiting the Rosenberg castle (you can buy tickets there) which is set in beautiful gardens and has a museum inside with the crown jewels.
You could also explore the famous (but touristy) Tivoli Gardens …you would have done lots of walking today but covered a lot of the main center of Copenhagen!
For dinner, head to the Meatpacking district (old meat market area where there are a bunch of trendy restaurants and bars) and eat at Fiskebar (famous seafood restaurant in an industrial-like setting with delicious food and a cool crowd - book ahead) or at Fleisch (same area). A fun idea for before/after dinner would be to visit the famous ÅBEN tap room and sit outside in the sunny evening and people watch (a very popular local place) - they have hundreds of different craft beers.
Photo: My favourite swim spot overlooking Soho House Copenhagen - cold but refreshing!
Saturday - go for a morning dip right in the canals in front of Nyhavn! Today, you should visit the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art outside Copenhagen. It’s right on the sea and on the most amazing site - it has stunning sculptures and really cool temporary exhibits. Even if you are not hugely into art, it’s a really cool experience everyone loves:
Weather permitting, I personally love cycling there from Copenhagen - it’s the most beautiful cycle along the water and beaches and the nature is amazing. It should take you an hour and a half to cycle there (mostly flat). You can then take your bikes back on the train into central Copenhagen (Louisiana is about a 30 min walk from the nearest train stop if you take the train, so it’s worth having the bikes anyway!)
Buy a ticket ahead of time for a late morning session so you have plenty of time to cycle there. They have a nice spot for lunch in the museum restaurant too.
I recommend renting good bikes for 24 hours (you can’t take Lime/Uber bikes all the way there as it’s too far from the city center and it doesn’t let you lock them up there). There is bicycle parking at the museum.
If you cycle there and take the train back just remember you need to buy a special bike ticket (it will give you the option on the ticket machines to add a bike) and go in a special bike carriage - it will be obvious when the train arrives which is the bike carriage.
In the early evening, a really fun thing to do is to rent a “GO BOAT” and either buy one of their pre-made food/drinks picnics or bring your own and do a little booze cruise around Copenhagen. No license required (they don’t go very fast). The boats are small and fit up to 8 people but you book a whole boat so it's private. Go for 2 hours to get the full experience! The boats depart from Islands Brygge which is a waterfront area that is super popular with the locals. Use this link to book it! They still have a few slots at 5pm/6pm but it books up super fast!
Dinner options: my all time favourite place BARR. It’s right on the water and has the most amazing views. This was the original location for Noma before they moved, and BARR is the sister restaurant to Noma (most chefs train here) but not nearly as expensive. It’s so cozy inside and the food is just off the charts!
For something more low key, you have Vespa or Bottega Barlie.
Photo: views from the cycle ride to Louisiana.
Sunday - depending on your departure time, try to get an early start today and get to Inipi for a sauna experience that will change your life (book ahead)! The best way to get there is to cycle for 30 mins (easiest to use Donkey bikes as you can park them right outside the sauna place) - you will cycle via the famous Christiania which is cool to see anyway. Inipi is right on the beach and it’s formed of two round-shaped igloo sauna houses. You do three rounds in the sauna, with breaks in the middle where you jump into the refreshing river. It’s a very intense sauna experience (gets up to 90 Celsius) and is led by a sauna master. Be sure to say you don’t speak Danish when they do the intro talk as it’s important you understand how it all works. It’s a very local place and you won’t find any tourists here. This is my absolute favorite thing to do in Copenhagen, and you will feel like a million bucks after!
After this, I would either explore the beach area of Amager or head back into town, and explore the trendy neighbourhood of Nørrebro, and have lunch at Baest which has amazing pizza. The Danes are famous for their pizzas (because they focus so much on the dough!) Next door is another brewery/tap room Brus which is cool to check out too. There is great vintage shopping in the area, and the best thing is to just explore and walk around.
If you have time before leaving, you could visit the National Museum of Denmark for some last-minute history and Danish culture.
Photo: The famous rows of old military barracks (now cute cottages) near Indre By.
You could easily spend longer in Copenhagen and there are many more places in Denmark to explore for a longer trip - so do get in touch if you’d like some help planning!
…and that’s all! If you enjoyed reading this newsletter please do encourage friends to also subscribe. And don’t hesitate to reach out if you want tailored travel tips on any upcoming trips!
🧡 Camilla