Copenhagen: Nyhavn, Hygge & a Capital Designed for Human Beings

Copenhagen makes you feel slightly embarrassed about every other city you've been to. Not because it's the most beautiful (it's not), or the most historic (it's not), or the most dramatic (definitely not). But because it manages to be liveable at a standard that makes you question whether urban planning might actually be capable of solving problems, if enough political will and cultural investment are applied consistently over several decades. You leave Copenhagen thinking: it doesn't have to be like this anywhere else. They just chose this.

We came from Malmö on the train—35 minutes over the Øresund Bridge—arriving at København H, the main station, and immediately rented bicycles. In Copenhagen, this is non-negotiable. The city has more bike lanes than it knows what to do with, cycling infrastructure so comprehensive that the bicycle is genuinely the fastest way to move. By the end of the first morning, we were navigating like locals. Badly, but navigating.

Day 1
Nyhavn: The Photograph Everybody Takes, For Good Reason

Nyhavn—the historic harbour canal lined with colourful 17th and 18th-century merchant houses, now converted to restaurants and bars—is Copenhagen's most photographed image, and there is approximately no way to capture it without making it look like a postcard. We went at 8 a.m., when the outdoor tables were being set up and the light was long and golden. We sat on the harbour wall with coffee, looked at the buildings' reflections in the still water, and understood why this image circulates so persistently. It's just really lovely.

Hans Christian Andersen lived at number 20 for eighteen years. He wrote many of his most famous fairy tales here, in rooms above what is now an Italian restaurant. The plaque is there, understated, as Copenhagen generally is about its own significance.

Day 1
Torvehallerne: The Food Hall That Sets Standards

Torvehallerne is a covered food market in the centre of the city, and it's one of the best food experiences we had anywhere in Europe. Two large glass halls housing around 60 vendors: fresh produce, cheese, charcuterie, smoked fish, sushi, smørrebrød (open sandwiches), pastries that make Paris-trained chefs nervous, coffee roasted on site.

We spent most of a morning here. We ate smørrebrød—the traditional Danish open sandwich on dense rye bread, topped variously with pickled herring, roast beef and remoulade, egg and anchovy, smoked salmon and cream cheese. Each one was constructed with the care of something that doesn't need to be this good to sell but is anyway. We ate four between us and felt perfectly, usefully full.

Day 2
Christiansborg Palace & the Changing Guard

Christiansborg Palace is the seat of the Danish Parliament (Folketing), the Supreme Court, and the offices of the Prime Minister—all in the same building, which says something interesting about Danish attitudes to governmental space and perhaps also about Danish architectural ambition in the 17th century. The palace tower is the tallest in Copenhagen and free to climb; the view over the old city, the harbour, the church spires, is genuinely worth the stairs.

The daily Changing of the Guard at Amalienborg Palace—the royal residence, a short cycle away—happens at noon and is a Danish institution: the Royal Life Guard marching through the city streets in bearskin hats with particular ceremonial seriousness. We watched. It was exactly as ceremonially serious as expected, and the bearskin hats were magnificent.

Day 2
Tivoli Gardens: The World's Second Oldest Amusement Park

Tivoli opened in 1843, making it the second oldest amusement park in the world (after Dyrehavsbakken, also in Denmark). It's a genuine pleasure garden rather than a theme park—roller coasters alongside concert halls, pantomime theater, Japanese gardens, restaurants ranging from hot dog stands to Michelin-starred dining, all enclosed in a city-centre space that somehow manages to feel intimate rather than overwhelming.

We went in the evening, when the thousands of lights come on and the whole garden transforms. We rode one ride (the old wooden roller coaster, which dates from 1914 and is still excellent), ate a smørrebrød from a stand, and then sat in the gardens listening to a concert drifting from the open-air stage. Perfect way to spend a Copenhagen evening. Entirely endorsed.