48 Hours in Copenhagen
Text by Raphael Kadushin
The Danish capital is in the vanguard of eco-aware cities.
1. Be Amused at Tivoli Since it first opened in 1843, Tivoli has been Copenhagen's family room, an amusement park with a 20-acre garden, a pantomime theater, a range of restaurants and cafés, and a battery of fairground rides, from genteel to teeth-rattling. "I like the Vertigo because of the power and speed," says Andreas Kristian Gjede, the 17-year-old conductor of the Tivoli Boys Guard, the garden's musical brigade. From November 20 to December 30, Tivoli reopens for Christmas, with a market of garland-draped stalls selling apple dumplings and with a roving troupe of costumed pixies. Following the city's lead, Tivoli is focused on becoming by 2010 the first amusement park to run on renewable wind energy.
2. Taste Scandinavian Pride The best symbol of Copenhagen's new culinary star power is the pioneering Noma, where chef/owner René Redzepi does full justice to a homegrown harvest of Greenland shrimp, Gotland beets, dill, sea buckthorn, and wood sorrel. "Noma's Nordic kitchen has inspired quite a few other restaurants in Copenhagen," says Søren Frank, food and wine editor of the newspaper Berlingske Tidende, "by inventing all the time and making our own wild herbs and shellfish the new luxury—the new foie gras, truffles, and caviar." Even Noma's setting underscores its sense of place. Located in a converted 18th-century harborfront warehouse, Noma gazes fondly (and hungrily) out to sea.
3. Float in a Boat The best way to seethe city's glossiest new architectural showpieces and map the city's top cultural venues is to take a harbor tour. Companies like DFDS Canal Tours give a water-level view of recent landmarks, including Henning Larsen's Opera House, which floats on its own island. Opened in 2005, it's already famous for its mixed repertoire (Elvis Costello to Wagner) and a long slab roof that seems to hover above the building, as if all that beautiful music was blowing the lid off the place. "It promotes the three traits you see in all new Danish buildings," says Jack Renteria, from the progressive 3XN Architects firm, "simplicity, functionality, and a standard of sustainability that would be hard to match anywhere."
4. Shop Classic Designs The hipster neighborhoods of Vesterbro, Nørrebro, and Islands Brygge are luring adventurous shoppers with their quirky boutiques and galleries. But the Strøget, central city's pedestrian shopping street, still stocks the best haul for classic Danish finds. "Illums Bolighus is Copenhagen's temple to design," says Renteria. Here you'll find contemporary classics for the home, including a miniature, boxed version of Arne Jacobsen's iconic Egg Chair, if the real thing is too big to pack. At the neighboring Royal Copenhagen shop, Flora Danica tableware is handpainted with Danish wildflowers, mushrooms, and plants.
5. Eat a Real Danish Pastry If Danish modern cooking seems too sober, join the grandmothers and their granddaughters taking tea at Conditori La Glace, which opened in 1870. "It's a classic," says journalist Adam Price of the newspaper Politiken, "the place to drop by for hot chocolate and their famous sports-cake," an impressive cloud of crushed nougat, whipped cream, macaroon, and caramelized choux pastry. Just as good are the signature pastries named after great Danes, including a Hans Christian Andersen cake that blends lemon mousse and raspberry butter.
6. Strap on Skates "I like to ice skate at the big open-air rink in Kongens Nytorv, because it's very romantic," says Andreas Gjede. A few blocks away, the 17th-century Rosenborg Castle gazes out on one of Copenhagen's original odes to nature: the lush King's Garden—equally ethereal whether dusted with snow or in full bloom.
Fast Facts Copenhagen is the largest city in Denmark, with a metropolitan area population of 1.7 million, though the historic center of town retains a homey feel. Located on the eastern shore of the island of Sjælland (Zealand), facing the Øresund strait, it benefits from a surprisingly temperate maritime climate.
