a week in copenhagen
When we first started to seriously plan this adventure Copenhagen was not on our list of locations to visit. Was it somewhere we wanted to go, yes. Had we heard amazing things about the city, yes. Yet it didn’t make it onto our list because we thought it would be too out of the way and too expensive. Thankfully, we changed our minds when we saw that Copenhagen was the least expensive entry point to Europe.
At the time of booking our flights from Nova Scotia to Europe, and at the time of writing, Air Canada is offering direct flights from Montreal to Copenhagen. When we saw that every time we checked flight costs Copenhagen was consistently cheaper to fly into, we changed our plans so that we would spend a week in the city.
In this post I’ve listed the activities we did, the places we ate, and where we stayed. A basic overview of our time, and highlights, of our visit. Hopefully, it helps provide some inspiration to anyone planning a trip to this awesome city anytime in the near future!
Activities
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
On the last Wednesday of each month, this museum offers free admission so we took advantage.
We loved walking through the exhibitions, taking in all the details from the floors to the ceiling. From the Winter Garden to the Rooftop Terrace this museum is simply stunning!
Two of our favourite exhibits were the Egyptian area with mummies and the exhibit about the architecture of the Glyptotek itself. This museum is absolutely worth a visit. Make sure to allot plenty of time as there is so much to see!
Designmuseum Denmark
We took advantage of the one night a week when the museum was open late.
I truly enjoyed wandering through their exhibitions, especially the ones revolving around furniture and the decades.
Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens were probably our favourite activity that we did while in Copenhagen.
The spiral staircase in the Palm House was such a fun surprise! The ability to view the entire room from above was such a unique experience. Not to mention the fact that the building itself is stunning.
The cherry on top was the butterfly house! I’ll be dedicating an entire future post to the photos and details of this experience so stay tuned.
Torvehallerne
Torvehallerne is such a cute market. Chris made sure to stop to purchase a beer from Mikkeller & Friends, a recommendation from our friend Liam.
I had seen online that the Coffee Collective was a great place for coffee so I indulged in a latte along with some great conversation with a Danish man who gave us some recommendations for other food around the area.
SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
We really enjoyed the Baroque Exhibition that SMK had during our visit. One of the gentlemen working the exhibit was the sweetest and repeatedly checked in on us to see how we were enjoying the exhibit.
Right at the beginning he pointed out two unique elements - the changing paint as you walk through the exhibition, and the lightening as you come “out of darkness”.
He also pointed out that all of the drapery had been printed with images of some of the exhibit’s most influential and famous pieces. These tips really added to our experience.
We continued through the rest of the museum, or as much as we could get through, as it is quite sizable. We didn’t realize it when we arrived but the building is built with the older portion, pictured above, attached to a newer addition by the beautiful glass “Sculpture Street”.
The newer section of the gallery housed modern Danish art. Chris was especially intrigued by the work of Danish artist Vilhelm Bjerke Petersen.
nyhavn
We made a point to visit the iconic Nyhavn neighbourhood. The colourful houses and canals truly are beautiful so we totally understood the hype.
The day we visited I was suffering through the first day of a head cold so we didn’t linger in the area too long, but were happy we made the effort to visit before we left the city.
Islands Brygge Harbour Baths
The one item on Chris’ Copenhagen Bucket List was to swim in the harbour. We made this a reality by visiting the free Islands Brygge Harbour Baths.
Chris, along with a bunch of other travellers from Washington, DC, found the highest platform and made the jump into the cold harbour water. I stayed on the sidelines due to my cold, but experiencing this activity is now on my Copenhagen Bucket List for our next visit to the city!
Restaurants
Café Sandø
Our Order:
Laura - Croissant Sandwich with Ham & Cheese, Mint Tea
Chris - Grilled Cheese & Side Salad
Accomodations
UrBan House copenhagen by meininger
Our hostel was located in the trendy meatpacking district of Copenhagen.
We stayed in a ten-bed dorm room with an ensuite during our stay. The hostel had daily events, a kitchen for self-catering, a pool table, a foosball table, a bar, and lots of lounging areas.
We took advantage of the kitchen and dining room, cooking all but one breakfast at the hostel. We tried our best to only eat one meal out a day if we could, so any opportunity we had to cook, we took it.
Chris also had the opportunity to work while in Copenhagen so we put in a lot of hours in the dining room behind our computer screens. I spent the time planning. adding to our itinerary, and working on posts for this site.
Both Chris and I would recommend this hostel to anyone visiting Copenhagen. They also offer private suites at the hostel if you don’t want to share a room with others. It is a super social place, in a great location, close to transit, with nice amenities, and helpful staff.
Looking back…
Would We Revisit: YES!
Would We Recommend: YES!
Our Top 3:
Botanical Gardens
2. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
3. Exploring the City
Pros: Copenhagen is an incredible city! It is very relaxed. The meatpacking district seemingly never slept. There is incredible but expensive, food everywhere you go. Every single place from museums, restaurants, hotels, and even washrooms, have amazing, well-thought-out aesthetics. It is honestly such a beautiful place!
Cons: The price. Chris said that while he didn’t eat a single bad meal while there he wouldn’t rate the restaurants highly because while delicious he didn’t deem them worth their cost. Things such as taking advantage of free entry days, cooking at your accommodations, or investing in a Copenhagen Card can help lower costs but as everyone points out, it is not a cheap city.
Overall: Chris and I are really glad that we made the choice to visit Copenhagen and hope to visit the city again in the future. Hopefully, on our next visit, we will be able to explore more of Denmark as well! We still have so many things we want to explore both in and out of Copenhagen. Fingers crossed it won’t be too long before we can come back again!
Please let me know if there are any aspects of our time in Copenhagen you’d like to know more about! Or if there is any more information you’d like to see included in future recaps of the cities/countries we visit.
Also, keep an eye out for my gallery and deep dive into our time at the Botanical Gardens coming in the next few days.
Thanks for reading! :)
