GETTING THERE
Air India (airindia.in) flies
non-stop, Emirates
(emirates.com), and
Lufthansa (lufthansa.
com) fly with a minimum of
one stop to Copenhagen
from New Delhi.
GETTING AROUND
You can easily see the city
by renting a bicycle from
one of the numerous shops
on and near Gothersgade,
including Københavns
Cykelbørs (one-day
rentals from `1,000;
cykelborsen.dk), open
since 1881, or by using
the city’s bike-share
programme, Bycyklen
(from `350 per hour;
bycyklen.dk), available
around the clock and
equipped with GPS. Public
transportation is widely
available and affordable
(bus, metro, and S-train
tickets start at less than
` 275 per ride), as are taxis.LODGING
The boutique Hotel
Sanders (doubles from
`29,000; hotelsanders.
com) positions visitors
near the popular
17 th-century canal Nyhavn.
The staff excels in
anticipating guests’ needs,
and the 54 rooms
seamlessly marry Danish,
French, and British design
traditions while still feeling
modern. If you’re keen to
explore Tivoli Gardens,
Nimb Hotel (doubles from
`30,000; nimb.dk) provides
a serene, family-friendly
escape at the entrance ofthe historic amusement
park. Recently expanded,
the Moorish-inspired
property contains
38 rooms, all of which
come with free admission
to the gardens. At the
centrally located Hotel
Herman K (doubles from
`34,500; brochner-hotels.
com), guests find refuge
within sleek, minimalist
rooms—some of which
have balconies.EAT & DRINK
Recently reopened, René
Redzepi’s acclaimed
Noma (tasting menus
from `24,300; noma.dk)
remains an in-demand
reservation. And the
restaurant’s alums have
fanned out to develop
other buzzy spots. You’ll
find excellent set menus
that present an expansive
vision of New Nordic
cuisine at Relæ (tasting
menus from `5,000;
restaurant-relae.dk) and
Amass (tasting menus
from `7,500; amass
restaurant.com). The chef
behind the former,
Christian Puglisi, has also
opened Bæst (entrées
`750–`1,300; baest.dk), an
innovative Italian-centric
concept where the kitchen
creates Danish twists on
pizza. Michelin-starred
Marchal (entrées `2,000–
`3,500; marchal.dk)
delivers refined, French-
inflected Nordic dishes. For
casual lunches, try
Restaurant Palægade
(entrées `1,100–`1,300;
palaegade.dk) and Told &Snaps (entrées `800–
`1,200; toldogsnaps.dk) to
enjoy smørrebrød, the
iconic Danish open-faced
sandwiches, or sample the
Mexican fare of Rosio
Sanchez at her taqueria,
Hija de Sanchez (tacos
`400–`1,100; hija de
sanchez.dk), or her cantina,
Sanchez (entrées `1,100–
`4,000; lovesanchez.com).
Reffen (reffen.dk), a new
addition to the city’s
epicentre of urban
creativity, Refshaleøen,
gathers culinary
entrepreneurs in an
international food market.SHOPPING & ACTIVITIES
There’s no shortage of
boutiques in Copenhagen,
but Strøget, in the central
neighbourhood of Indre
By, is the main shopping
corridor. Storm (storm
fashion.dk), Rezet
Sneaker Store (rezet
store.dk), and Naked
(nakedcph.com) maintain
highly curated selections
of chic footwear, and
nearby Ganni (ganni.com)
draws a stylish crowd with
its boho-chic floral
dresses. Pieces from local
designers abound at
Holly Golightly (holly
golightly.dk), Lot#29
(lot29.dk), and Sabine
Poupinel (fb.com/sabine-
poupinel). Other points
of interest worth seeking
out include the hiking
trails of the sleek Amager
Bakke (copenhill.dk)
power plant and the iconic
Little Mermaid statue
(visitcopenhagen.com).COPENHAGENTivoliGardensVesterbroNørrebroFrederiksbergKødbyen NyhavnRefshaleøen
carries people around in
speedy, delirious whirls.
Toby wanted to do that, too,
and so we did—though I nearly
parted ways with breakfast as
a result. We rode the bumper
cars and the Rutschebanen,
a wooden roller coaster that
dates back to 1914. How did
I think, in my five preceding
visits, that I could grasp
the spirit of Copenhagen
without spending a day at the
19 th-century playland that Walt
Disney went to for inspiration
to try his hand at a similar
thing in southern California?
Our bicycle outing felt like such
a success that we did it twice.
We went in search of the Little
Mermaid statue and wound up
instead dodging tourists in
Nyhavn. Then we skirted the
edge of Freetown Christiania,
the city’s unruly enclave of
tree-painted houses and pot
smoke. Toby declined to
venture in; maybe we’ll try
again in a few years.
And in all of my quests
for unfamiliar flavours in the
Danish capital, how had
I skipped over the classics?
Toby wanted shrimp, and
I craved herring, which sent
us to Restaurant Palægade and
Told & Snaps, two Copenhagen
stalwarts that uphold the
standards of smørrebrød by
paying close attention to the
quality of each ingredient.
Our last dinner in Denmark
came together at Marchal,
inside the gracious and grand
Hotel d’Angleterre, where we
feasted on gougères and caviar,
and where chef Andreas Bagh
gave my son a spin at a gleaming
French duck press. The tool was
more than a century old,
we learned. But while I watched
Toby straining to turn the
ancient wheel, it dawned
on me: for my son, many of the
things I consider quintessential
are all brand-new.
CenterCity
ChristianiaEXPLORING CONTEMPORARY COPENHAGEN
Small in size but big in impact, the colourful Danish capital never rests on its
(charming) laurels. Allow three or four days to fully experience the hotels,
restaurants, galleries, and boutiques of its influential tastemakers.travelandleisureindia.in