Copenhagen is bound to surprise travellers with amazing places and views

Copenhagen is a city that took me completely by surprise and I say this with a full heart. On my Euro trip to Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam last month, I was least excited about Copenhagen. My high school best friend and I travel to meet each other half-way and spend time catching up while exploring new cities, at least once a year. Also, we did a photo shoot together, which I encourage even other travellers to take up.

Warm, hospitable and helpful are words that don’t do justice to the Danes. Copenhagen has an old-town feel while it also is colourful, abuzz with everything you are bound to find in a big city. It has one of the oldest monarchies in the world and one canvisit the grounds of the queen right up to her door-step even.

This is a city where, if you get lucky, can spot the Prime Minister riding his bicycle to work! Everything you want to see in Copenhagen is within cycling distance and it’s definitely the easiest ways to get around too. We did a cycling tour on day one to get a feel of the city and see many of the city’s famous landmarks which include the world-famous statue of The Little Mermaid, a famous story by Hans Christian Andersen, whose name adorns many of the city’s biggest landmarks.

They say that Copenhagen is one of the world’s happiest capital cities and I understood the reason. The quality of life is given high importance — higher salaries than major European cities, free education, more bicycles than actual people, lots of green pockets, a great health system and a hygge lifestyle — the Danish art of cosiness.

Right in the middle of this gorgeous, clean city, you will be surprised by the neighbourhood of Christiania - free town. I did a walking tour of this so-called ‘Free town’ and saw a very unconventional and interesting side of the city. It’s a neighbourhood of colour, expressive art that promotes peace, free spirit and human rights while being completely self-regulated. An anarchy with its own set of rules, this community welcomes all.

The Danes take their food pretty seriously, housing some of the best restaurants including Noma. Apart from Danish pastries and smorrebreads, their love for pizza and beer is real (Note that they have pretty huge servings!) Some of my favourite restaurants include Bodega cafe, Baest for pizzas and Brus for some great beer.

The finest way to explore this city is one neighbourhood at a time, each offering a distinct vibe and a lot of different activities to see and do. From Norrebro’s hipster vibe to a very lush Frederiksberg, their largest shopping street, Hippie town Christiania, Nyhavn (the row of colourful picturesque buildings you will see every time you Google the word Copenhagen) and a posh Osterbro, you will have a lot to absorb. One of my nicest moments was sitting on a bar-cum-boat and sipping on wine while enjoying people stroll by and paddle on their kayaks in the water.

Going off the beaten path to get a sense of the city, I’d recommend visiting Jaeggersborggade, a street in the Norrebro neighbourhood filled with really cool coffee shops (they boast of some of the best third wave coffee shops in Europe), vintage clothing stores, artist workshops, and a really cute cactus shop.

We managed to squeeze in a day trip to the city of Malmo in Sweden which was a 30-minute train ride. I would definitely recommend taking this day trip to get a feel of this city’s old town. Apart from that, we also went for a day trip from Copenhagen to Dragor.

Would I go back? I would do it at the drop of a hat. It’s bound to surprise you with amazing views, places, and food even if you head out without a map.