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Copenhagen for young people
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Copenhagen has its own atmosphere compared to other big cities; It is pulsating and energetic, but also relaxed and laid-back. And the city is full of unique and authentic experiences on all fronts.
 Copenhagen is easy to explore on foot. The city is not bigger than you can easily walk to the different parts of the city while doing some sightseeing on the way. Another opportunity is to rent a bike or use the public transportation, i.e. busses, trains and the Metro. A useful tip: Buy the experience card CphCard which provides free entrance to a large number of attractions as well as free transportation throughout the Greater Copenhagen Region. - Or try something different: Grab one of the free city bikes - but stay in the inner city!
The Inner City is centered around the pedestrian street Strøget with a myriad of people and plenty of shops with everything from fashion and design, flagship stores for Danish and international brands and much more. Strøget is also home to the city's big department stores.
The Latin Quarter situated north of Strøget is young and trendy, and the atmosphere is nice and relaxed. You will also find the so-called Grønnegade Quarters north of Strøget. This area has a myriad of small alleyways which are part of Copenhagen's most intense and trendy shopping and café streets.
Strædet is situated to the south of Strøget. Here and in the surrounding area, you find the oldest part of Copenhangen, try for example walking down Magstræde and see for yourself.
Kongens Nytorv is loaded with beautiful buildings and, over time, also quite a number of cafés and restaurants have found their way to the square, and right behind it, you find Nyhavn with the lively old canal streets.
In addition to the Inner City, Copenhagen consists of a number of other parts that really should be explored. For example Nørrebro with Sankt Hans Torv which is buzzing of life day and night - also in the many small alleyways surrounding the square. Take a break at a café or search out the exciting shops situated in the alleyways.
In the area of Østerbro, it is worth heading towards the alleyways behind Østerbrogade and Nordre Frihavnsgade, e.g. Rosenvængets Allé. The cobbled streets form part of the cosy atmosphere, and there is good opportunity for an exciting find in the shops. The square of Sankt Jacobs Plads has a cosy atmosphere - and the cafés provide a great place for taking it all in.
Vesterbro is raw and trendy at the same time; On Halmtorvet, the cafés are located side by side across from the beautiful Øksnehallen which hosts a variety of events. Istedgade was and, to a certain extent, still is the red light district of the city, but especially the part towards Enghave Plads square is developing fast, and the cafés are mixed with a variety of ethnic restaurants.
Frederiksberg is a city in the city with beautiful avenues and quiet residential areas. On Gammel Kongevej and Falkoner Allé, you will find a great number of specialty shops, and Værnedamsvej has a charming mixture of everything.
Christianshavn oozes of charm and atmosphere along the canal streets. This is where you find the free town Christiania (www.christiania.org), and if you enter from Bådsmandsstræde, you can join a guided trip and learn more about the many exciting workshops and buildings.
In Holmen, you find Copenhagen's new big Opera House as well as a wealth of creative life in many of the old buildings that belonged to the naval base until the 1990s. If you are interested in architecture, you should visit the School of Architecture.
Islands Brygge is situated along the harbour front. It has a harbour pool as well as a people's park. Havnestaden (The Harbour Town) has plenty of exciting buildings to look at and to the south, you will find Nokken - a small alternative society with peculiar houses - often with their own landing stages. Hidden behind Islands Brygge is a network of small streets where shops and cafés are mushrooming these years.
 Inner City
Copenhagen is a shopping mecca with a difference - no matter whether you are looking for beautiful clothes, trendy shoes and bags, designer ware for house and home, jewellery, exciting flea market bargains or beautiful paintings. The fashion boutiques in the Inner City are centred around Strøget where flagship stores for the famous Danish and international brands are typically situated closest to Kongens Nytorv and the less pricey shops are located towards the City Hall Square. Both to the north and south of Strøget there is a wealth of trendy boutiques in the small alleyways. To the north, you will find the newest and most trendy shops in Kronprinsensgade, Pilestræde, Store Regnegade, Grønnegade and Ny Østergade. In the Latin Quarter - Larsbjørnsgade and Teglgårdsstræde, Gråbrødretorv, Klosterstræde and Sct. Pederstræde are all good places to go if you are looking for trendy fashion and not least street wear. By the way, Larsbjørnsstræde and Teglgårdsstræde are commonly known by the locals as Pisserenden ("The Pissing Gutter"). If you are looking for design and lifestyle objects, the cool shops of Store Regnegade with both Danish and international brands, and Illums Bolighus on Amagertorv on Strøget are a must.
Shopping in the Bridge QuartersOn Vesterbro, especially the upper end of Istedgade - i.e. the part of the street that ends up in Enghave Plads square - is bustling. Small boutiques with unique designs, thrift shops and shops with funny bits and pieces are gaining ground against the more hardcore part of the street's shops. Do also visit the side streets to the big Vesterbrogade. Nørrebro is by far the multi-cultural part of Copenhagen. The many nationalities put their mark on the area, and shops and cafés is a wonderful mixture of everything. Around Sct. Hans Torv square there are plenty of trendy small fashion boutiques offering the newest trends, but there are also great thrift shops and - particularly in Ravnsborggade - many second-hand and antiques dealers. These years, Østerbro is quickly changing its image as Copenhagen's slick Bridge Quarter. Østerbrogade and Nordre Frihavnsgade are both great shopping streets, but it is also recommendable to head down the side streets, where small and smart shops keep emerging. This is a cosy and nice place to hunt for new as well as old stuff.
Flea marketsOn Saturdays during the summer season, there are plenty of regular flea markets around Copenhagen where you can make exciting finds. The markets on Israels Plads, Gammel Strand, Kongens Nytorv squares and behind Frederiksberg City Hall are among the biggest and most well-established.
Copenhagen is a café city - and the café life is intense, especially in the Inner City and the Bridge Quarters. Some are pure extravaganza where people come to see and be seen; others are small, cosy and unpretentious.
The cafés are experts in brunch and nice lunches during the early part of the day, and safe meeting places for a cup of coffee or a drink in the afternoon. In the evenings - when the guests have finished eating - some of the cafés turn into dance places with DJs especially during the weekends.
A new trend is the fusion cafés, where you can enjoy your coffee or lunch and "fuse" it with getting your laundry done, buying flowers or some other activity.
There are restaurants and eating places of all varieties; from the simple to the most sophisticated with Michelin stars. And ethnic restaurants are an important part of the culinary life.
Cafés are great eating places whether it is for breakfast, lunch or dinner - the menu is most often light and often oriented towards the Mediterranean cuisine. If you crave Danish specialities such as smørrebrød (open sandwiches), you should head towards the classic lunch restaurants which are often located a few steps down the side streets.
Take-aways are everywhere you go: You and your hunger decide whether to go for pizza, sandwich, burger, wok-cooked food or something entirely different.
The classic hot-dog stands have a solid menu with everything ranging from cooked and roasted sausages to toasted sandwiches with ham and cheese or beef.
All over Copenhagen, ice cream bars with lovely homemade ice cream are emerging. There are so many flavours to chose from that it requires a long and tough decision process - but it is worth it!
In Copenhagen, the night life starts late - most often around midnight - and it continues till the early hours of the morning. Particularly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the city comes to life with happy people all over. Cafés and bars are popular hang-out places in the early evening, however, during the weekends, many cafés later turn into dancing places where DJs provide the music. A new variation is the fusion restaurants which go from restaurant to bar and nightclub as the evening progresses. Cocktail and beer bars is a new trend in Copenhagen's nightlife. Fantastic drinks, shakes and mixes, and it is sizzling and bubbling on beer bars and microbreweries where the drinks are made with great care and new beer-based dishes are invented.
Where to go?In the Inner City, the night life with trendy bars, nightclubs, music scenes and discotheques are centred around Baron Boltens Gaard and the small streets behind Strøget. Some of the other hot spots in the city are located around Vesterbro, Nørrebro, Østerbro and Amager - follow the sound or the crowds. Beach bars is maybe not exactly what you expect to find in a city when you are looking for "cool", good food and great music, but in Copenhagen this is possible. On Halvandet and Copencabana there is plenty of sand and comfortable loungers - and beautiful views of the harbour day and night. Also in Amager beach park there is a lively evening and night life. The entertainment park Tivoli is an established part of Copenhagen's evening and night life. During the high season, there is for instance free Friday rock on Plænen (the Lawn) - Tivoli's big outdoor stage, where Danish and international stars perform.
 Do what the locals do: Go to the park and work on your tan, or relax on a bench and take in the life around you. You can buy a picnic basket on the way, or make use of the barbeque which is available for free use in most parks. Go for a stroll around the lakes - that's a classic, take a break on a bench on the way or grab a cup of coffee from one of the cafés. Jump on a city bike (www.bycyklen.dk) and pedal power your way round. Copenhagen is a great cycling city; there are cycle paths many places and you get around quickly. Take a harbour and canal roundtrip on a sightseeing boat, or board the water bus or the harbour bus which will take you up and down or across the harbour. Jump in the harbour or some of the other water surrounding Copenhagen. There are harbour pools on Islands Brygge and by the Fisketorvet square on Kalvebod Brygge. Amager Beach Park is situated only fifteen minutes from the city centre, and just north of the city, Charlottenlund Beach Park and Bellevue Beach Park provide other options. On Christianshavn, you can rent cosy rowing boats for a minicruise down the canals from the boat rental in Ovengade Neden Vandet, and on Peblingesøen lake, Café Kaffesalonen by Dronning Louises bridge rents out rowing boats and water bikes. In Frederiksberg Garden there are rowing boat trips on the romantic canals, and on Christianshavn, you can rent a genuine sea kayak and paddle your way round. If you need some real forest and open landscape, it is recommended to go and visit Dyrehaven deer park north of Copenhagen. It is perfect for long walks, cycling, running and it is a superb place for a picnic. Moreover, you can chose to see the park from a nice, old horse-drawn hackney coach. Grab one of the small brochures which provide information about Dyrehaven - they are placed in boxes by the red gates.
You will not miss out on experiences even if the sun hides behind a cloud and the temperature falls. Visit Copenhagen's castles and palaces, fine churches and other beautiful buildings. Look at world-class art on both big and small art museums. Or visit the galleries that have modern contemporary art on show. Keep an eye out for art exhibitions at the city's exhibition venues. Learn more about everything between heaven, earth and the sea at the Planetarium and at the Aquarium in Charlottenlund. Make eye contact with a lion at the Zoo or learn about diesel engines and their horse power in Diesel House. Look at new and old architecture around the city, and visit the Danish Architecture Centre in Gammel Dok on Christianshavn. If you are interested in design there are at least two interesting places to go; The Danish Design Centre and The Danish Museum of Art and Design. Visit an auction, feel the excitement when prices rise to often extreme price levels - or make a bid yourself, if you find something interesting. A tip: many museums have free entrance on Wednesdays, Statens Museum for Kunst (The Danish national gallery) and Nationalmuseet (The Danish National Museum) always offer free admission. And yet another tip: The experience card CphCard provides free entrance to many museums and attractions plus free transportation throughout the capital. The Copenhagen cinemas are thriving; The dogme films brought people to the cinemas and they have created new interest in both Danish and international films - the international films, by the way, are shown in the original language with Danish subtitles.
 If you brought along your skateboard, you can use the facilities in the Fælledparken and Havneparken parks on Islands Brygge as well as in Amager Beach Park. You will get around just fine on rollerblades in the city. One of the most popular routes is Vandstrandvejen north of Charlottenlund. You can rent rollerblades at Bellevue. You have ample opportunity to use your running shoes. The trip around the lakes is a hit during all seasons, and the Fælledparken park is large enough for you to get lost, if you are not careful. Also Vandstrandvejen between Charlottenlund and Klampenborg is a popular spot for runners. In Fælledparken park, there are several playing fields where you can play ball with your friends. And everybody can join in when there is a game of street basket and basketball on at i.e. Israels Plads square, in the Beach Park on Islands Brygge and on Enghave Plads Square - you just have to sign up. The DGI-town behind the main station is a sports and water paradise with several swimming pools, steam baths with aromatic oils etc. Moreover, there is an outdoor climbing wall.
The weeks leading up to Christmas is a really cosy time to visit Copenhagen. The city is nicely decorated, and the shops tempt with a multitude of ideas for putting under the Christmas tree. Cafés and restaurants serve delicious food, and the wonderful smell of hot gløgg is filling the air. Kongens Nytorv square is transformed in to an ice-skating rink, as is Blågårds Plads square on Nørrebro and Frederiksberg Runddel square. It is possible to rent skates there if you did not bring your own in your luggage. Tivoli's Christmas Market already opens in November with plenty of Christmas related stuff - you can also go skating here and almost all the attractions are open.
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