3 Days in Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a must visit… Clean, beautiful, safe (expensive), this seaside city is everything you could possibly want in a vacation.
We went in December, so it was quite cold… But we got to fully experience hygge, or the coziness of wintertime. Soft lighting and fireplaces galore, warm drinks and bundled up in sweaters and scarves - we were certainly cozy.
We stayed at 25hours, Paper Island and cannot recommend it more. Here is my full review here. TLDR; stay here :)
Here is a breakdown of our trip:
Day 1
We flew from Paris to Copenhagen on a Wednesday and arrived in Copenhagen around 4pm. It was already dark outside when we arrived, so we had to trick ourselves into realizing we had plenty of the day left and it wasn’t late evening.
We didn’t use any public transit unfortunately so we took a taxi to the hotel for about $40 and 20 minutes. The subway supposedly is VERY clean and cheap and runs all night long, so I wish we had experienced it!
Once we checked into our hotel, we left our luggage in the room, bundled up, and headed out for the evening. Less than 5 minutes away from the hotel was an outdoor food market called Broens Street Food with an ice skating rink, bar, and multiple food options. We got some pasta, hot chocolate, and beer (what a pairing, lol) and sat under a heater.
Across the water from the hotel is the famous canal, Nyhavn. We walked over the bridge and happened upon the canal and decided to get some more food, though we could’ve done without. We split an order of meatballs and had one beer each and it was $50…
One thing we noticed in Copenhagen is that everything is walkable… We walked EVERYWHERE and didn’t even realize we had walked 15+ miles each day.
Our next stop was Magasin du Nord, one of their department stores. It was so much fun seeing so many brands I had never heard of or seen before! We didn’t buy anything here though because I knew I’d be spending $$$ the next few days.
After the fresh air of the department store and seaside, we walked back to our hotel and wandered up to the rooftop bar to enjoy a nightcap by the fireplace and overlook the city. The bar is enclosed so you are safe from the wind and chill during the winter :)
Day 2
We woke up nice and early on our second day in Copenhagen and started with our free coffee at the hotel.
We tried washing our clothes in Paris; however, we could not figure out the French laundromat instructions so we had wet clothes in a bag…….. disgusting. So we rented 2 bikes from the hotel and biked to a laundromat about 10 minutes away named Montvask and washed our clothes again. It was only $7 and took maybe 30-45 minutes total to wash and dry our clothes.
While we waited for our clothes, we went across the street to a bakery called Emmerys, which seems to be a chain within Copenhagen, but it was great! Neal and I split the avocado toast and a homemade poptart of sorts.
After a full belly and clean clothes, we strapped our laundry to our bikes and hit the town. We biked through Indre By, the city center, and visited Arket.
I had been eyeing a blazer I tried on in Paris, and ended up not getting it again. I did buy 2 coats (my entire Europe haul is linked here) and some more cashmere socks.
Neal had a work call to get on, so we went back to the hotel and while he was working, I went to the lobby bar and wrote some postcards out while enjoying a nice mulled wine.
Neal needed to spend a few hours on work, so I ventured out on my own. Something remarkable I noticed the very first night was how women would run, at night, alone, with headphones in their both ears… I have never known that feeling of safety, so I wanted to act like the locals. I put on my new puffer coat, put my earbuds in, and listened to a podcast while walking.
My final destination on my solo walk was Ruby, but we passed by multiple Christmas Markets, so we had to stop. I got a few gifts, and desperately wanted some snacks, but wasn’t quite hungry enough to eat a full hot dog or wood-fire grilled salmon.
I finally made my way to Ruby and had some incredible cocktails. The interior was stunning and so cozy, I wish I had eaten some dinner here, but I stuck with a reposado margarita and a cheese plate (total was $100 for 2 margaritas and cheese… RIP).
I needed cheaper drink options, and Neal was on his way to meet me, so we met at Taphouse for some cheap craft beers. We had a few of these and then walked to the most exciting part of the day…
TIVOLI GARDENS! I love a theme park, and knowing that Walt Disney visited Tivoli to get inspiration for Disneyland made it all the more exciting. They have a giant food hall, rides, a theater, games, and a christmas market.
We unfortunately only had about 2 hours here and didn’t realize they were closing an hour early, so we barely saw the park. We rode a few rides (they were insane…) and then next thing we knew, they were closing down and clearing out.
We walked ourselves back to the hotel about a mile away and went to the rooftop bar for another nightcap.
Day 3
Our final full day in Copenhagen was packed. We woke up and were told to visit the Meatpacking District across town. I had biked the day before for the first time in YEARS and did not realize how sore I was from that until I sat on the bike again. Thus commenced my 15-minute ride from hell. I was hurting the entire bike ride and letting Neal know about it LOL.
Once we arrived at the Meatpacking District, I threw my bike down and we walked (I limped) to Hart for breakfast. The pastry chef from Noma, consistently rated the #1 restaurant in the world for years, opened his own bakery and is highly rated. We got a cinnamon bun and a tart.
Across the street is Prolog coffee so we got a cup from there. I’m annoying and love a latte with vanilla in it and non-dairy milk (sue me!) and they cannot comply with these requests, so I got a regular drip coffee with milk and it was still great!
Neal’s friend mentioned Warpigs to him, and we are from Memphis, so we had some barbecue for brunch. It was pretty good!!
We decided our next stop was going to be the Design Museum on the opposite end of town. I refused to bike any more so we dropped the bikes at the hotel and walked to the museum. I’ll admit that art museums go above my head at times and it seems a bit wasted on me, but this museum was great! Very interactive and multimedia with a mix of architecture, interior design, and history.
Neal had to work the rest of the day (boo) so I went shopping!!! I went by Hay House, the famous Danish design house, and got my sisters a few trinkets, then Boii Studios and got myself a poplin top (again shown on the Europe haul linked above).
I passed by a Christmas market and wanted to try a famous Danish dog. They said they had 2 options - an herb-infused and a spice-infused dog. I picked the herb-infused hot dog with mustard on it and it was delicious! As Lisa Rinna said, this was my one hotdog a year, and it was a great one.
This evening was also host to one of the more exciting events of our trip - the Santa Lucia Christmas parade. What makes this parade so unique is that hundreds of people in Copenhagen dress their kayaks up in christmas lights and decorations, and kayak throughout the city’s canals caroling.
The entire streets lining the canals were packed - thousands of people were out to see the kayaks and carolers - I found a spot alone on one of the swimming platforms in the canal and it was perfect. If you find yourself at the Santa Lucia christmas parade as a viewer, try to find one of the swimming platforms for the best view.
This was one of the best moments of my travels. I love Christmas, I love Europe, and this was such a beautiful moment I will never forget.
We ended the evening at Union Station for dinner and got a bunch of small plates to split. We ordered truffle fries, house rolls, lamb meatballs, and a caesar salad - all were delicious.
Our final drink of the trip was at 1105 for martinis. A vibey and sexy spot for a great date night. Highly recommend stopping by here!
Copenhagen Tips
Walk everywhere! or bike! You really see so much of the city when biking or walking. I was nervous to bike, but was only yelled at once (a success if I say so myself). They have their own bike roads and the road rules are quite easy to understand after a few minutes.
It is expensive. By far the most expensive place I’ve ever visited. Keep this in mind when traveling there!
I don’t think there is a bad time of year to visit. I was worried about it being so cold, but the Danish have cozy winter figured out. Bring lots of layers (I swear by the Uniqlo Heattech line for layering) and warm socks/gloves.
