mission is to connect travelers with local guides for a
more authentic and immersive vacation experience.
Seeing the city through the eyes of a knowledgeable
local can open up any destination and take you beyond
the tourist traps to the heart of the hidden gems.
Our tour began outside the Ibsens Hotel, a
centrally located urban boutique hotel steps from the
famed Torvehallerne market. Our guide Kristian, a tall
blonde Danish-born entrepreneur dressed in khakis
and Converse, greeted us with a warm smile, a hearty
handshake and a promise to show us some of the city’s
best offerings.
We walked across the Dronning Louises Bro/
Hipster Bridge to Jægersborggade, an unassuming
street in the hipster neighborhood of Nørrebro lined
with small indie shops, wine bars, and funky designer
fashions. Jægersborggade (which literally translates to
Hunters castle street) boasts some 40 specialty shops,
selling everything from organic skin products, to
handmade caramels, vegan burgers to artisanal jewelry,
to the world’s only porridge café.
But, first and foremost, coffee. Best to start any city
sightseeing trip with a jolt of caffeine in the form of
liquid gold — I always say. We stopped into Coffee
Collective for an espresso before crossing the street to
Meyers Bageri, a poorly kept secret among pastry
addicts. Hmmm. The smell of home cooked baking
wafting in the air, so warm and comforting, lulled and
teased our taste buds as we waited impatiently in line.
An anticipatory morning visit to this busy little bakery
— with only enough standing room for some five
people — was certainly worth the wait. There were
chocolate scones, fresh out of the oven croissants and
sinfully delicious cinnamon rolls (known as
“kanelsnurrer”) made with Valrhona chocolate. They
sold chocolate chip cookies, raspberry bars and rye
breads so good even Atkins himself would make an
exception. Established by Danish chef and
entrepreneur, Claus Meyer, this bakery has achieved
T
he largest city in Denmark (with some 1.2
million people), the capital is often praised for
her communal living lifestyle, commitment to
achieving a real work/life balance and “world’s happiest
people” status.
Monacle,
a popular magazine dedicated
to trends, technology and design, dubbed the city of
Copenhagen the #1 “World’s Most Liveable City,” three
years running based on overall lifestyle and quality of
life. For the tourist who’s visiting, one can feel instantly
feel her down-to-earth charm and understated coolness.
Having stumbled across an amazing deal from Los
Angeles to Copenhagen, I found myself in the city for a
quickie stopover on my way to a friend’s wedding in
Italy. Accompanied by my husband and seven-month-
old baby on this matrimonial mission, we were eager
to turn this stopover into a memorable travel story. So
how do you pull off a perfect day in Copenhagen with
little time or connections? We opted for a day tour
organized though the Canadian-based company “Tours
by Locals.” With guides in some 134 countries, their
PHOTO CREDITS (PREVIOUS PAGE)
Left to right, from the top:
Photo by Adrian Lazar /
© Royal Smushi Café /
; Photo by Anders Bøgild. Tivoli /
Photo by
Ty Stange /
Photo by Adrian Lazar /
Photo by
Claus Randrup /
Photo by Nicolai Perjesi /
; Photo
by Simon Lau /
© PR Copenhagen Street Food /
;
Photo by Jacob Termansen /
; Photo by Andres Sune Berg /
; Photo by Christian Alsing /
;
66
THE AFFLUENT TRAVELER
|
Exclusively Yours
Copenhagen is a vibrant city of bike and beer culture, with sprawling boulevards, historic monuments, 100
year-old sculptures of the Little Mermaid and Michelin-starred restaurants serving up innovative New Nordic
cuisine. If Amsterdam and Helsinki had a baby, they might name their city spawn Copenhagen. She’s a liberal
leaning town of cutting-edge design, plentiful green space, sprawling cobblestone streets (including the
longest pedestrianized shopping street in Europe) and a harbor that’s clean enough to swim in.
WRITTEN BY
Julia Dimon
A
PERFECT DAY
IN
COPENHAGEN
We stopped into Coffee Collective
for an espresso before crossing
the street to Meyers Bageri,
a poorly kept secret among
pastry addicts.
EY
EXCLUSIVELY YOURS
/
