Copenhagen, the world’s happiest city 2025, is the definition of a Scandi getaway with its colourful town houses, oversized canals and ‘too trendy for school’ attitude.
A long weekend in the Danish capital promises scenic cycling (weather permitting), belly busting bakeries and quirky sights from a jellyfish kaleidoscope to a rooftop ski slope.
The recipe for happiness starts with an early morning coffee and giant cinnamon bun at Sankt Peders Straede 29, which you can walk off with a 20-minute stroll to Nyhavn harbour.
Lunch is an open top sandwich, a Copenhagen favourite traditionally garnished with cold meat or fish, followed by a trip to Freetown Christiania – a colourful independent community with its own laws and flag.
Ride the iconic swing carousel at Tivoli Gardens then end the day in style at the Meatpacking district, where butchers have been replaced by trendy restaurants and bars.
Do we have you intrigued? Supercharge your trip with our essential traveller checklist for Copenhagen.
Top 10 things to do in Copenhagen
- Ride the iconic swing carousel, or Svingkarrusellen, at Tivoli Gardens open at set times throughout the year
- Wander the grounds of Rosenborg Castle, built in 1606 as a royal summer house by Scandinavian king Christian IV
- Stroll along the harbour of Nyhavn, Copenhagen’s most iconic landmark lined with colourful 17th-century merchants’ houses
- Stop for coffee at 108 in Christianshavn, one of the oldest parts of the city
- Visit Freetown Christiania, founded in 1971 when a group of people broke into a military barracks and declared it a free area independent of Danish government law
- Have dinner at the Meatpacking District, once home to Copenhagen’s meat industry and now a creative cluster of restaurants, bars and clubs
- Feel like a local and cycle around the Harbour Ring, or Havneringen, an eight mile (13km) route that takes in the waterfront and some of the city’s biggest sights
- Glide down the artificial ski slope atop a waste-recycling plant at CopenHill, possibly the quirkiest attraction in Copenhagen
- Witness the world-beating modern art collection, from Picasso to Henry Moore, at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
- Get lost in a maze of jellyfish at Cube O Discovery Park, an interactive ocean experience centre with a jellyfish kaleidoscope where lights and mirrors give off the illusion of dancing jellyfish in all directions
Boutique hotels in Copenhagen
Hotel Danmark. A minimalist design with a rooftop terrace. Doubles from £83 per night (link).
Manon Les Suites Guldsmeden. Cosy modern rooms and an outdoor pool oasis. Doubles from £237 per night (link).
Hotel Sanders. An elegant stay just 200m from Nyhavn. Doubles from £329 per night (link).
Eat your heart out
Breakfast: Cinnamon bun at Sankt Peders Straede 29
Lunch: Open top sandwich, or smørrebrød, at Aamanns 1921
Dinner: A seafood dinner in the Meatpacking district’s Fiskebaren
Drinks: Locally brewed beer at the neighbouring Warpigs’ in-house brewery
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