What To Do in Copenhagen: Explore the City’s Best Design, Food & Culture

Copenhagen highlights bike tour

Book a three-hour bike tour with City Bike Adventures as your first activity. The guides are knowledgeable and full of amusing anecdotes, and, most importantly, they lead the tour like you already know how to ride a bike. The tour passes through several neighborhoods and key landmarks like Kastellet, Rosenberg Castle, Christianshavn Canal, and Nyhavn. It’s a great way to get a lay of the land and get comfortable biking, so that borrowing the hotel bikes (most of them provide for free or rent) isn’t quite so intimidating.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek & Thorvaldsensmuseum

Copenhagen is a museum city, and these are two of the best because the buildings that house the art are part of what makes them so special. Glyptotek draws visitors to its Instagram-friendly, palm tree- and fountain-lined Winter Garden, but it also has a whole room dedicated to Rodin sculptures and an extensive collection of French and Post-Impressionist treasures. Thorvaldsensmuseum is Denmark’s very oldest public museum building and is solely dedicated to a sculptor you’ve likely not heard of unless you took an art history class in college: Bertel Thorvaldsen. Read up on your Greek and Roman mythology before going and you’ll appreciate it even more.

Designmuseum Danmark & Danish Architecture Center (DAC)

These two design-focused museums are complementary. The Designmuseum hosts exhibitions that will have you appreciating the role of design and how we often overlook it, but you’re really coming for the chair tunnel, showcasing 125 chairs stacked from floor to ceiling. DAC is housed inside BLOX, a cube-like glass building right on the water. Take in all the exhibits and then get in line to ride the four-story spiral slide, designed by artist Carsten Höller.

Sauna & steam

The only way to go back home having had a full hygge visit to Copenhagen is to spend an hour or two enjoying a sauna break. It’s likely your hotel has one on site, and that's always the most convenient option, but if not, here are a few others:

• La Banchina: Traditional outdoor sauna in Refshaleøen. Reserve a private session in advance for up to eight.

• Manon Les Suites: Looks like you’ve stepped into the jungles of Bali. It’s in a hotel, but you can reserve non-guest passes

• Aire Ancient Baths: Housed in a former Carlsberg Brewery building and is the most luxurious of the three, offering a "quiet thermal journey."

Botanisk Have (Botanical Garden)

The vast public garden is part of the Natural History Museum and is home to the largest collection of living plants in Denmark. It’s a good place to stroll off a meal or let the kids burn off some energy. Then, head into the iconic Palm House, modeled after the Victorian Crystal Palace in London. Climb the spiral staircase up (and feel the temperature rise as you do—it’s humid inside) to be at the treetops with views out into the garden and of the city beyond. And don’t skip the Butterfly House.

Boat around

Copenhagen is all harbors and canals, so you’ll want to see it from the water to cover all the angles. You could opt for one of the touristy canal boats (modeled after those in Amsterdam) or you could just take the yellow Water Buses that are part of Copenhagen’s public transportation network to feel more like a Copenhagener. If you want something a little more private, sign up for a boat tour from Hey Captain, or, if you're adventurous, rent your own boat from GoBoat at Islands Brygge.

Small studio & design shopping

As much as Copenhagen is about large-scale designs, it’s also a city where you can shop for more luggage-friendly souvenirs of your own. Don’t skip the shops in the museums above (especially the Designmuseum). For ceramics, visit Studio Arhoj and pick up a ghost or a sake cup; hit up both locations for all the selections. For everything to give you a good night’s sleep with stripes, visit Tekla. For paper products, check out Etiket. And for clothes, hit up NN.07, where Carmy from The Bear shopped when he staged in Copenhagen.

La Banchina

You don’t have to sauna at La Banchina to enjoy a meal there. Order at the counter and make sure you’re not standing in the bathroom-only line. The fish sandwich is exceptional, and the wine selection refreshing. If you come in the summer, bring a suit and enjoy an invigorating Nordic harbor bath.

Gasoline Grill or Jagger (or both)

I had no idea that I’d taste two of the best burgers ever in Copenhagen, but it’s a city full of Michelin stars and Noma connections. Gasoline Grill was founded by self-taught chef and former Claus Meyer (of Noma) collaborator Klaus Wittrup, and Jagger was created by Michelin-starred chef Rasmus Oubæk. Both have a few locations, and Gasoline Grill is at CPH, so, if all else fails, save room for one on your departure from Copenhagen.

The Roe Bar

Most in Copenhagen count Juno the Bakery as the best pasty shop in the city, heralded for their delicious cardamom bun. They often have lines out the door, and it’s in a neighborhood a bit out from the center. It was a huge discovery to find that The Roe Bar, in the very central Indre By, serves Juno’s pastries without the lines and the trek, and they do it in a very “Danish” designed space. The Roe Bar is the café attached to the Louise Roe Gallery, so it looks like a very sleek showroom with stainless steel counters, cool vessels, and minimalist furniture.

Slurp Ramen

Permission to get ramen in Copenhagen granted. Slurp is a serious ramen shop, with quality noodles, tasty broth, and Nordic craft and creativity. It’s a great lunch on a cold, windy, or rainy day. Besides a bowl of ramen of your choice, make sure to order the karaage chicken and a Slurp rice lager or Heinrich orange wine to drink.

Kanalhuset

Set in a big yellow 1750s building in Christianshavn, Kanalhuset serves a family-style meal at 7 p.m. every evening on long tables in its large dining room. The menu is seasonal and simple (and feels healthy after you’ve had some burgers). The entire purpose of communal eating—fællesspisning—is to talk to your neighbor, so come full of curiosity and a hearty appetite for conversation, and you’ll leave with a full stomach and some new friends.

La Glace

Somehow La Glace didn’t stand out as a must-visit during research, but thanks to one of those conversations at Kanalhuset, the locals told us to make a beeline for their creamy cakes and drinking chocolate (with a heaping bowl of whipped cream on the side). The name sounds French, but it’s been in the same Danish family for six generations. Go on a weekday if you can.

Ruby Cocktail Bar

Ruby usually finds itself on the top 100 best bars in the world list, so it attracts its fair share of the international crowd. The cocktails are genuinely well crafted and locally inspired, like the Nordic negroni. Sit at the main counter bar or in the room right off (avoid the outdoor area, it’s less charming), and head there before dinner if you want to hear more Danish spoken.

Kadeau

Copenhagen has a solid list of Michelin-starred restaurants, so it can be hard to choose which one to invest in (yes, the meal is an investment—especially if you add the wine pairing). Kadeau is a standout, recently earning its third star. The food is unsurpassed, as you’d expect it to be, but the service from every single person on staff was the true standout. Save it for your last dinner in Copenhagen and savor every minute.

Den økologiske pølsemand

If your wallet feels less full after Kadeau, a great next-day lunch is an organic hot dog from the “organic sausage man.” You can usually find the green and red cart parked near the Round Tower. They have vegetarian and vegan options, too.