Copenhagen 2026: Meatpacking District, Carlsberg City, Sondermarken, Frederiksberg Havn

Refreshed and more energetic on our second day in Copenhagen, we continued our exploration of the areas west of our hotel by visiting the Meatpacking District and Carlsberg City. We then made our second attempt to tour Frederiksberg Havn, the large park and castle dedicated to King Frederik IV, after being too tired to get there on the day that we landed.

Located in the Vesterbro area, the Meat Packing District was formed in the 19th century as a centralized location for slaughtering cattle and pork along with marketplaces for selling meats. The oldest section dates back to 1879. Since the 1990s, the area has been designated a protected industrial heritage site and transformed into a trendy dining and nightclub hub while maintaining homages to its heritage. Most notably, the former Flæskehallen building (“the Pork Hall”), was a space for slaughtering of pigs with areas for cooling, storage, and distribution of pork. Ironically, the building is topped with a large bas-relief of a bull, which is more of a tribute to the meatpacking industry in general. This building is found within a main square called “Flæsketorvet” (“Pork Square”) which is full of chic cocktail bars, lively breweries and restaurants focusing on meats and seafood, and art galleries.

There are still a few meat shops in the square but the abattoirs have all moved away. We first visited the Meatpacking District around lunchtime on a rainy Wednesday and the area was mostly deserted. That was just as well since we were able to waltz into our restaurant of choice without a reservation. When we returned on a sunny Friday evening a few days later, we saw how busy it can get here. All the outdoor picnic tables were packed with people enjoying the start of the weekend with long lineups out the door for some establishments.

On our first visit, we randomly chose to eat at Kodbyen Fiskebar, a contemporary seafood restaurant and bar specializing in sustainably sourced wild Nordic fish and shellfish with all the butchering and processing done in-house. The restaurant is set in an “industrial-chic” space harkening back to its meatpacking history with concrete ceilings and floors, white tiled walls and beams, and recycled doors. The aesthetic is softened by warm lighting, designer furniture and a lit-up central aquarium where lively fish swim in circles. We did not realize it until after the fact but Kodbyen Fiskebar was named in the Michelin Bib-Gourmand Guide, awarded to restaurants that serve very good food at moderate prices. While we can attest to the innovativeness and deliciousness of the food, we dispute the “moderate prices” since this was easily our most expensive meal of the trip.

We started with freshly made sourdough bread served with a whipped seaweed butter made with sea lettuce and the powder of a dense blue-green algae that gave it an aquamarine colour. This was followed by a crab donut topped with crème fraiche, Danish cheese and caviar.

Continuing on with our seafood feast, we ordered fish and chips which in this case consisted of lightly smoked Danish cod fish with fried potatoes and remoulade sauce. This is the first time we have had smoked fish and chips and the flavour was quite unique.  We also tried scallops from Norway with courgette (zucchini) in a buttermilk, sorrel and pistachio sauce. Our final two courses included chunks of sea bass from the English Channel with a bell pepper drizzle sitting in a sweet corn sauce and langoustine (small, lobster-like shellfish), topped with white asparagus from Holland that is covered in a tarragon sauce which was poured over the dish at the table.

During our first day in the Meatpacking District, we also passed by Superbon, a hip Asian-fusion restaurant whose Asian-influenced interior starkly contrasts the façade of the space that it resides in. The building was once an old Bosch service facility that was the showroom, workshop and sales office for Bosch electronic automotive components. The 1918-19 neon Bosch sign and a graphic depiction of a sparking ignition part remain on top of the building and light up at night. The original raw industrial interior of the old workshop has been layered with bold colours and patterns in the walls and furniture, with artificial flowers, plush velour sofa-like chairs, banquettes and bar stools, and the iconic red laminate flooring often found in Chinese restaurants. The back room leading to restrooms feature arcade-style video games. Along the ledges facing the exterior windows are blue and white Asian styled vases filled with artificial orchids and other flowers.

The restaurant space is huge and given our initial impression of the Meatpacking District, we did not think we would need reservations to get a table.  We wandered up on what we later realized was Friday evening to find that every table was spoken for. Disappointed, we were about to leave when the host threw us a bone. He said that he had one table left where the people who reserved had not shown up yet and had not confirmed. He would phone one more time and if he didn’t get an answer, we could have the table.  Luck was with us and we ended up with that table!

We started off with fruity cocktails including a “Saigon Spritz” (Yuzu sake, limoncello, grapefruit juice and crémant sparkling wine) for Rich and a “Golden Hour” (non-alcoholic grapefruit and soda drink) for me. We then proceeded to share a bunch of dishes including tuna carpaccio with ponzu, lime leaf, and aromatic oil; watermelon salad with chili, mint, puffed rice, thai basil, and sesame; soft shell crab with papaya, and lemongrass; duck bao with hoisin sauce, pickled daikon, ginger, and spring onions; tempura fried eggplant with yellow curry sauce, sweet corn, sugar snap peas, and herbs; grilled ribeye steak with chimichurri sauce; and coconut jasmine rice.  Because of the luscious décor and the fun, eclectic menu, this was my favourite meal of our trip.

After dinner, we ventured back into the main Flæsketorvet square to get ice cream for dessert. We initially were headed for the acclaimed Ismageriet for their freshly made Italian gelato but the lineup was ridiculously long and not moving. Instead, we went to the neighbouring Kødbyen Is, a small producer of handmade popsicles and ice cream bars in a large variety of flavours. We selected a chocolate hazelnut and a chocolate coffee bar which made for a nice end to our meal.

In addition to its eateries, the Meatpacking District is known for its art galleries. We visited two of them on our first day in the area. Poulsen Gallery focuses on contemporary, figurative paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture, and printmaking with eclectic work on display from a large number of Danish and International artists. The main exhibition space featured a solo exhibition titled “Greener Grasses” by American artist Landon Bailey Higgins who is known for his depictions of gummy bears.  In addition to being a pop cultural icon as well as his favourite childhood candy, Higgins uses the gummy bear as a “visual metaphor for his closeted experience and self-identification”.  For this show, blue and red translucent gummy bears are depicted in door frames, windows and through keyholes with idyllic scenes behind them, asking the stereotypical question of whether the “grass is greener on the other side”. 

There were many interesting pieces but I especially liked Chinese-American artist Jiannan Wu’s sculptural relief titled Explosion (2022), made from acrylic on resin, wood and metal. Wu is known for capturing a snapshot of urban narratives through his dioramas. Explosion depicts a moment of impact or crisis with billowing smoke, blazing fire and people in gas masks. Rich was drawn to a pair of oil paintings in circular frames by Carl Dobsky titled “Portrait of a Young Man /Young Woman in Prayer”. Dobsky is a figurative narrative painter who places allegorical imagery into contemporary contexts. Look closely and you see that the man and woman seemingly with their hands clasped in prayer are actually holding cell phones and the backgrounds are modern urban skylines.

Another contemporary art gallery in the Meatpacking District that we visited was the V1 Gallery, which represents a curated group of established and emerging artists across multiple media. There seemed to be only one exhibit on when we visited and it was the solo works of Danish artist Kaspar Oppen Samuelsen who creates very unique compositions that are painting-based collages that feel almost patchwork-like. He starts by drawing on canvas, then breaks the drawing, paints the individual linen pieces then reassembles them to create an image. His latest show is titled “Grey Cataract, White Cat” with works created after a cataract surgery in one eye caused it to see hyper-vivid pinks and magentas while the other eye saw dim greyish colours. The resulting images, some circus-like, some of humans, animals or landscape, have a dreamlike, surrealistic feel.

The district in Copenhagen now known as Carlsberg City District (Carlsberg Byen) was redeveloped throughout the 2010s, turning it into a mixed-use residential/commercial district after the historic Carlsberg Breweries ceased production in the area in 2008. The plan was to convert the former breweries into a walkable neighbourhood with housing, offices, schools, cultural venues and public spaces while retaining key heritage structures. Many factories were repurposed into hotels, cultural and commercial spaces while adding modern rental apartments and condominiums. This resulted in an interesting juxtaposition where old brewery buildings with smokestacks or giant storage vats are found beside new mid-rise buildings with avantgarde designs.

Commercial spaces are integrated at the base of both the new apartments and the refurbished factory buildings. Restaurants, retail stores selling clothing and furniture, and a slew of coffee shops and bakeries are spread throughout Carlsberg Byen, although there is not a designated shopping or dining street so it is a bit of a hunt and peck to find them. We were particularly interested in the baked goods sold by Hart Bakery since they have a unique spin on the traditional Danish specialty of the cardamon bun which I was not that fond of when we tried one from Torvehallerne Food Hall. Instead, Hart makes a cardamon croissant that is to die for! It was perfectly flakey, crunchy and sticky with just the right amount of sweetness and cardamon flavour.  These croissants were so good that we went to another Hart Bakery later on in the trip to get another batch!

The two original Carlsberg Breweries that once resided in present day Carlsberg Byen have a fascinating history. The initial Carlsberg Brewery was founded by Jacob Christian (J.C.) Jacobsen in 1847, specializing in the brewing of Bavarian-styled lagers. He selected a location on a hill in Vesterbro that took advantage of access to clean water and proximity to railways. He named his company Carlsberg, meaning “Carl’s Hill” in honour of his son Carl, who he hoped to pass on the business to one day. J.C. did not just build a factory but created a self-contained “city within a city” that included housing for his workers, stables, research laboratories and infrastructure.

After Carl returned from studies abroad, his father gave him a subsidiary brewery to run with the instructions to only brew ales and porters, so as not to be in competition with the main company. But Carl had his own ideas for innovation in brewing techniques and market expansion and went in direct competition with his father. This resulted in a years-long feud between the two that led Carl Jacobsen to form his own brewery in the 1880s on land immediately north-east of his father’s brewery.  Carl named his brewery “Ny Carlsberg” (New Carlsberg) while J.C.renamed his company “Gamle Carlsberg” (Old Carlsberg). Since Carl favoured supporting the arts while J.C. was a man of science, these passions are reflected in the architectural styles of the historic artifacts left over from each of their breweries.  In 1886, father and son reconciled shortly before J.C.’s death. The two breweries were merged in 1906 and Carl became the first managing director under the newly formed Carlsberg Foundation.

J.C.Jacobsen’s Brewery buildings are functional and relatively austere compared to those erected by his son Carl. Large brick brew houses and factories labeled with the name Gamle Carlsberg are now used as offices, event spaces and visitor centres. The old stables also still survive and still house a few horses.  You can wander around to see the exterior facades of these buildings but an entrance fee is required to visit the interiors. The Home of Carlsberg is a museum that provides guided tours of the historic brewing halls and dark bottling cellars along with beer tastings and interactive exhibits detailing the history of the Jacobsen family, Carlsberg’s scientific breakthroughs and brand history.  Jacobsen House Brewery is still situated in Carlsberg City and produces specialized beers on site, acting as a reminder of the area’s heritage and the Carlsberg brand.

The historic “Star Gate” was the entrance to the old Carlsberg Brewery when it opened in 1847. It is topped by a 12-point star that was J.C.Jacobsen’s original Carlsberg Brewery trademark. In 1883, the Chalk/Limestone Tower was added to the entrance, with a lighthouse mounted above a guardhouse. It was one of the first locations to have electric lighting which was projected over the city as a symbol of the Brewery’s technological modernity. It is possibly the most ornate structures in this brewery but pales in comparison to the monolithic pieces found in the Ny Carlsberg side. J.C.’s own family villa was located in the middle of his brewery and included a main building plus two conservatories and a landscaped garden. In 1875, J.C. opened a scientific research centre called Carlsberg Research Laboratory where techniques for malting, brewing, and fermentation were developed as well as non-brewing related biochemical and biotechnology research. Breakthroughs made at this laboratory included methods for yeast purification, pH scale for measuring acidity and protein/enzyme research. In 1882 after basically disinheriting Carl, J.C. bequeathed his Carlsberg Brewery and his private home to science.  The villa was turned into the Carlsberg Academy, a venue for scientific conferences and was also offered as temporary residence for noted scientists including Niels Bohr.

As much as J.C. supported science, Carl was equally passionate about the arts. Carl wanted an impressive, monolithic gateway to mark the entrance to his brewery from the Valby district to the west.  He commissioned what is now known as the “Elephant Gate” which was completed in 1901. The gate consists of a central brick tower topped a green onion dome, supported at its base by four gigantic granite elephant statues, two facing into the brewery and two facing out from it.  Each elephant bears the latin motto “Laboremus pro Patria” meaning “Let us work for the fatherland” and a swastika symbol, which was adopted by Carlsberg in the 19th century as a sign of good fortune but abandoned after the Nazis co-opted the image. The elephants were chosen as symbols of strength and faithfulness with each elephant dedicated to one of his four surviving children, whose initials appear on the elephant’s blanket. In addition to being a beautiful art piece, the building was used as a water and wort tower, cooling and routing beer on its way from brewhouse to yeast cellars. The side of the tower leading into the brewery bears the names of Carl Jacobsen and his wife Ottilia while the other side features sculptures of them sitting in a balcony below the dome.

Prior to the construction of the Elephant Gate, the Dipylon Gate was erected in 1892 providing access to Ny Carlsberg from the Vesterbro neighbourhood to the east. The tower at this gate housed malt chambers and had a clock tower which was integrated into production and timekeeping for brewery operations.  Named after the ancient gate in Athens, Greece, Dipylon Gate has a pair of double-barreled arches.  On the back of the gate above the arches are a set of nine tiled figures including Carl, Otillia, their son Alf, Vilhelm Dahlerup who designed the gate and other brewery buildings, and various managers of the brewery.

As exemplified by the Elephant and Dipylon Gates, Carl Jacobsen’s goal was to integrate artistic beauty into functional infrastructure such as tanks, towers and passageways.  You continue to see this in his beautiful and lavish brewery factories designed with decorative brick colours and patterns, and artworks including friezes and sculptures. Prominent sculptures included The Bell Strikers at the top of the Dipylon Gates, Thor’s battle against the jötnar atop the Carlsberg Brewhouse, and a copper and zinc statue of Atlas carrying the heavens on his shoulders which sits atop the old Maskincentralen Power Plant. Another significant example of mixing art with function is the “Winding (Twisted) Chimney”, a 56-metre ornate brick and granite chimney that rises from an octagonal platform and spirals or winds around its own axis in an intricate pattern. There are gargoyles mid way up the chimney that are modeled after Notre Dame de Paris and the top section is decorated with Egyptian lotus motifs. Completed in 1900 by architect Vilhelm Dahlerupl, Carl wanted to show that a functional chimney could be turned into a work of art.

Hotel Ottilia is a boutique hotel that was created by combining and refurbishing historic brewery buildings including the Maltmagasinet, which dates back to 1881. Opened in 2019, the hotel is named after Carl Jacobsen’s wife Ottilia. The distinctive gold discs on the façade of the hotel symbolize horizontal beer tanks and have narrow slits cut beside them to let in more light.  Hotel Ottilia features many tributes to Carl and Ottilia including busts mounted on the walls and a large copper statue of Carl. There is also a bust honoring Carlsberg founder J.C.Jacobsen. These works from the late 19th century were moved from another building that was demolished.

The Grey House originally housed one of Ny Carlsberg’s laboratories and was called Kvalitetteknisk Laboratorium but more recently was given its nickname due to is grey façade. The pediment and frieze of the building are decorated with ornate sandstone relief carvings depicting cherubs and herons.  Carl Jacobsen’s Villa was built in 1892 along with his landscaped garden that was filled replicas of classical sculptures, a tree-lined path and a pavilion.

Carl Jacobsen loved art so much that he opened a major art and sculpture museum called Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (meaning sculpture collection) in 1897.  The museum specialized in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities as well as Danish and French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.  There is a large indoor winter garden with palm trees, a fountain, a pond, and lots of natural light under a glass dome. We did not have time to visit this art gallery but walked by it multiple times since it is located in Central Copenhagen between our apartment hotel and many other tourist attractions.

Leaving Carlsberg City and continuing west into Frederiksberg, we first came across Sondermarken, a large, semi-wild park that was created in 1699 as the natural, wooded portion of the royal grounds located south of the more manicured and landscaped Frederikberg Have (Gardens). A 1901 wooden “Norwegian” house with a thatched roof and a bright red and yellow Chinese pavilion are remnants of the 18th to 19th century fashion for having “exotic, foreign scenes and structures to be created within romantic parks. The Kildengrotten is a small, artificial grotto built in 1787 around a natural spring to create a cave-like interior to provide shade for visitors. Access to the grotto has long been restricted but stone sculptures and a metal gate with a face on it were added in the 2010s, adding interest to the space.

Another romantic garden folly from the 18th century was the “Hermit’s House”, supposedly inhabited by a Christian philosopher devoted to pious meditation who lived in this sparsely furnished structure in the wilderness.  Also found in Sondermarken is a treetop climbing adventure park with routes of varying heights and difficulty levels including platforms reaching up to 9 metres high.  An underground art space called the Cisterne is located in Sodermarken. We would have visited because the space sounded very interesting, located in a former underground water reservoir with dark, damp, cavernous chambers.  But the entrance fee was expensive and we were not interested in the current exhibition that was on display.

While we were walking through Sondermarken, we started running into young teenagers dressed in strange attire, often covered with what looked like shaving cream. By the time we reached the large open grassland at the northern edge of the park, we found where they had come from. We heard the roar of the crowd and the sounds of whistles and noise makers before we saw the huge congregation of joyously partying upper primary school kids, all dressed in costumes.  We found out later that this was an annual organized celebration of the last day of school for students graduating from primary school involving water guns and shaving cream (and some illegal booze from the looks of it). This was a sanctioned supervised events since adults looking like teachers as well as a few policemen stood at the side to make sure things did not get out of hand.

Escaping the hubbub, we crossed over to the more serene Frederiksberg Have (Park), created in the early 18th century by King Frederik IV to surround his yellow Baroque palace, Frederiksberg Slot. One of the largest in Copenhagen, the 31.1 hectares gardens were designed with a mix of Baroque formality and English romanticism. Open to the public since the early 19th century, there are winding tree-lined paths, large lawns, lakes and canals where small boats can be rented.

In addition to the natural beauty and the history of the palace, several points of interest can be found in Frederiksberg Have. A small neoclassical Greek-inspired temple stands by the boundary of the Copenhagen Zoo. Designed around 1801, it is named “Apis Temple” because of the charging bull relief in the pediment. At one point, the temple acted as the entrance to the Zoo. On a small island in one of the lakes is a Chinese-style pavilion created in 1799 as a royal tea house. A beautiful bridge leads to the island but unfortunately it was still closed for the season when we were there. Near the Chinese pavilion is a tree with its branches covered with bags containing toddlers’ pacifiers. Parents hang these bags as part of a Danish tradition to mark the achievement of their children giving up their pacifiers.

This was the second day where we walked a very long distance while still slightly jetlagged. Rather than retrace the same steps as the first day to get back to the hotel, we found a bus that would bring us close to there and decided to take it despite the relatively high cost of the ride.

Copenhagen 2026: The Lakes, Torvehallerne, Frederiksberg

Our first day in Copenhagen was much more strenuous than we would have liked but self-imposed out of necessity since we had such a large time gap between when our flight landed at 6:40am and when we could check into our hotel apartment at 3pm. This resulted in a lengthy trudge through several neighbourhoods near our apartment hotel, Erik Vokel Suites, while we were jetlagged and extremely tired. At least we planned all outdoor activities, hoping the fresh air would keep us awake. On our first trip overseas many years ago, we tried to visit a museum on our first day in London and my forehead actually hit the glass of a display case when I dozed off for a second and tilted forward while trying to read a label. The plan was to walk along a stretch of water called “The Lakes” to get to Torvehallerne, a high-end food hall, loop back on the other side of the Lakes and then head west towards the posh Frederiksberg district where we would see beautiful architecture, an interesting cemetery and a large park.

After we dropped off our bags at our hotel and headed towards the Lakes, we passed by several “coal chute doors” which were once used to deliver coal directly into a basement or storage cellar from the street. Near the Copenhagen Central Train Station was the Hotel Astoria, a historic 1934 luxury “station hotel” built to allow travelers a convenient place to stay overnight before continuing on their journeys. Noticeable from afar is the bronze sculpture on its roof, shaped like a winged wheel topped with a crown, which is the old Danish State Railways logo also found on the train station. The winged wheel is a classic rail symbol of speed, motion, and transport.  Further along was the Vesterport (West port) Train Station which is part of the suburban/urban “S” rail service that connects central Copenhagen to its suburbs. Also built in 1934, this station an example of the modernist/functionalist architectural style compared to the Art Nouveau/Neo-Renaissance style of the 1911 Central Station. At the southern edge of the Lakes is the Tycho Brahe Planetarium, named after the renowned Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), known for his accurate astronomical observations including the discovery of a supernova, all done prior to the invention of the telescope. Open in 1989, the striking cylindrical-shaped building has a blue and white V-shaped patterned sloping roof and zigzag pattern on its yellow façade.  The result is a minimalist, Brutalist style that resembles a cylindrical fortress.  The planetarium features state-of-the-art astronomy exhibitions, immersive space journeys in the largest dome theater in Europe, real meteorites, and lectures on astronomy.

When I first researched what to do in Copenhagen, I saw mention of “The Lakes” and scanned Google Maps looking for a natural lake in the city. It was only after further investigation that I realized this name referred to a set of man-made interconnected rectangular water basins created between the early Middle Ages (12th-14th centuries) through the 16th centuries. Formed by damming a natural stream, the first lake called Peblinge Sø (Student Lake) was created to power water mills. In later centuries, Sørtedams Sø (Black Pond Lake) was added to the north and then Sankt Jørgens Sø (St.George’s Lake) to the south for fortification and defense of the city since they could both be flooded in case of attack. Today, the three lakes are surrounded by paths for walking, running and cycling with the entire loop spanning 6.35km.  The eastern side of the Lakes features elegant 19th-century residential architecture and institutional buildings, while the western side has more varied residential character with terraced houses and villas.

Sculptures are found at the ends of various bridges that intersect The Lakes including copies of two famous bronze sculptures representing the Nile and Tiber River Gods. Nilen has 15 babies crawling over him, alluding to the flooding of the Nile River. Tiberen holds a cornucopia symbolizing prosperity and a rudder representing travel.  Nearby is the “Young People Sitting” or “Seated Lovers” sculpture created in 1940 by Johann Hansen, depicting a couple seemingly deep in conversation. A new sculpture erected in 2024 by Danish feminist artist Kirsten Justesen is a tribute to Grevinde Danner, a 19th Danish icon in the Women’s Right’s Movement who fought for women’s emancipation and social awareness. Engravings on her skirt highlight her many accomplishments. Found on the posts of the bridges are various depictions of Copenhagen’s coat of arms, consisting of three (red) towers rising above wavy water lines. The central tower is topped by a crescent moon and a knight with raised sword stands in the gateway. Stars top the two outer towers. This emblem is seen throughout Copenhagen, especially within its City Hall.

Leaving the walking trails of The Lakes to head towards the Torvehallerne Food Market, we saw some interesting buildings. The headquarters of the United Federation of Danish Workers at 4 Kampmannsgade has a band of stylized yellow floral/lotus-like motifs decorating the top. At its entrance is a humorous untitled work by Danish sculptor Keld Moseholm Jørgensen.   The artist describes this piece as “three fat men trying to make ends meet”. Torvehallerne (Danish for “Market Halls”) is a premier indoor food market just east of the middle lake with two pavilions housing over 60 stalls, flanking an outdoor space that hosts a fruit and vegetable market. One pavilion seems to focus on fresh meats, seafood, cheese and cafés selling sandwiches and tapas while the other offers breads, pastries, baked goods, chocolates, sweets, coffee and tea.

This first visit to the food hall was a scouting mission to see what we could bring back to the hotel the next time we were in the area. We could not purchase anything perishable this time since we were only at the beginning of our planned walking route and still hours away from being able to check in. Initially we just wanted a cold drink and a seat to rest our feet. Rich had read about “Cocio”, a Danish chocolate milk that has been dubbed “the world’s best chocolate milk” with a rich, caramel-like velvety taste. We found a stall with small tables that sold the drink and purchased a bottle for 28 DKK. It was tasty and in the days that followed, we bought a few more bottles at local grocery stores at more reasonable prices (between 17-20 DKK). After checking out both pavilions, we made our selection for lunch by ordering our first Danish specialty—the smørrebrød which are open-faced sandwiches with different toppings on pieces of rye bread. We chose a three-piece sampler that included one with shrimp/hardboiled egg, one with chicken salad/mushroom, and one with rare roast beef topped with crispy onion.

To bring back to the hotel for dinner, we bought some big peas and fresh strawberries from the open-air market, as well as feta/spinach and ham/cheese pastries. For dessert, Rich bought another Danish specialty which was the cardamon bun. On our next trip to Torvehallerne, we were able to stop by at the end of the day. This time, we bought three types of seafood spread including a curry shrimp, a crayfish, and a cod spread, as well as slices of smoked halibut and a breaded fish cake. We were able to get two hearty dinners out of this haul.

After our tour of Torvehallerne Food Hall, we completed the circuit of the first two Lakes up to Dronning Louise Bridge, then headed west to Frederiksberg Allé, an elegant avenue lined with lime trees that has been compared to Paris’ Champs- Élysées. Laid out in 1700 as the private road of King Frederik IV leading up to his Baroque palace, Frederiksberg Slot, the avenue spans over 1km in length, is 40 metres wide. There are beautiful Art Nouveau and Neo-Renaissance buildings, fountains, and sculptures found along this street. One of the most impressive buildings is at 42A Frederiksberg Allé where the Alhambra Amusement Garden, created by Georg Carstensen in 1857, once stood. When the building was redeveloped in 1906, an Alhambra sign was added as a tribute to the location’s history. Gorgeous Art Nouveau sculptures and floral motifs decorate the entrance and façades of the building. Today it is the building houses the Frederik VI pub and eatery at ground level with residential apartments above it.

A pair of memorial fountains installed in 1922 are situated on either side of Frederiksberg Allé. One fountain is topped with a bronze sculpture of a seated falconer with a falcon in his hand, as a tribute to the royal falconry farm once located in Frederiksberg. The sculpture atop the other fountain depicts a seated Dutch woman with her child, reflecting the history of Dutch settlers and farmers brought to Frederiksberg in the 17th century.  Another ornate building at 23 Frederiksberg Allé is nicknamed “Lille Rosenborg” (Little Rosenborg) because the details of its façade are reminiscent of King Christian IV’s Rosenborg Castle. Interesting street art includes a stone fish carving that has been integrated with a drainpipe. A section of the boulevard is dedicated to the “Frederiksberg Walk of Fame” with plaques on the ground honouring Danish legends of film, TV, theatre and music. Unfortunately, we did not recognize any of the portraits that were depicted in caricature-style, but it was still fun walking by them.

At the end of the Frederiksberg Allé is the Frederiksberg Cemetery (Kirkegård), established in 1734 behind the Frederiksberg Church. We always visit cemeteries in a new country as we are interested in the cultural differences found in burial practices. Danish cemeteries are designed as lush gardens or parks with trimmed hedges delineating plots, gravel paths, and an eclectic planting of different types of trees, shrubs and flowers, especially tulips which are a symbol of remembrance and respect. It is the Danish tradition to treat burial grounds as public parks for recreation and a place of serenity, relaxation and enjoyment. Unlike other countries where a grave is purchased and maintained by the cemetery for perpetuity, in Denmark the gravesites are reused after 20 years for burials or 10 years for urn cremations unless the family continues to pay for maintenance.

While many of the grave markers are modest headstones provided and owned by the families, some have interesting sculptures or artwork on them while other plots are decorated items that perhaps reflect the personality of the deceased. A common motif scene on multiple tombs is what looks like Aladdin’s lamp, likely a symbol of light or the soul of the departed.  Notable burials in Frederiksberg Cemetery include Adam Oehlenschlager, the poet who wrote the lyrics to Denmark’s national anthem, and Poul Schuluter, Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982-1993.

Although there were many eclectic tombs and sculptures in the cemetery including the typical mourning and religious figures, the grave I was especially looking for was that of Robert Storm Peterson (1882-1949), a cartoonist, writer and early pioneer of Danish animation. Working under the name P.Storm, he has been described as the forerunner of Danish cartoon and drawn animation. Peterson was best known for his characters Peter, a cheerful, round little man and Ping, his well-dressed witty penguin. The characters are carved into a large tree next to Petersen’s tomb as a fitting tribute to the animator.

After our visit to the cemetery, we intended to tour the Frederiksberg Have (garden) before heading back to the hotel. In retrospect, this would have been too much for us to handle as we were already exhausted at this point. Instead, we came across the smaller Haveselskabets Have, which sits between the cemetery and that much larger park. This beautifully landscaped little public garden was created in 1882 and serves as the headquarters of the Danish Garden society. Surrounded by tall yew hedges to form a quiet oasis, the park is divided into various sections including a water garden with aquatic figures, a romantic rose garden, a long mirror pool, a pond with bridge and a pavilion, perennial gardens, flower beds, fountains, sculptures and benches to sit and admire the scenery. This made for a lovely, serene final destination to a very long day. Too bad we still had to walk all the way back to the hotel.

Copenhagen 2026: Flight, Hotel, Surrounding Area

Our flight into Copenhagen was quite eventful. We thankfully booked our tickets early before the recent surge in oil prices caused both higher airfares and fewer flights worldwide. Our research showed that many attractions and stores were closed on Mondays in the city, so we decided to use them as travel days and flew both to and from Copenhagen on a Monday. As an added bonus, it was also less crowded on the trains.  When we took a day trip to Malmo, Sweden on a Saturday, our train, which passed through the Copenhagen airport, was packed with people clogging the aisles and overhead racks with their huge suitcases.

We chose Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) since it offered the best prices relative to the other airlines. Unfortunately, our selected “red-eye” flight was scheduled to leave at 5:10pm EST and landed at 7:05am Denmark time. This meant in Toronto’s time zone, we were flying “overnight” from 5:10pm to 1am, making it almost impossible to sleep. When we landed 30 minutes early, few stores or cafés were open yet, the reception at our accommodations did not open until 9am to drop off our bags, and check-in was not until 3pm. This meant many hours of stumbling around Copenhagen with little to no sleep.

The cost of the same flights fluctuated weekly if not daily.  Using Google Flights Tracking alerts, we snagged two Premium Economy tickets for over $400 less that the highest price offered around that time. These days we always splurge and fly Premium Economy if it is available, since we are of the age where we want to be more comfortable on long flights. But more importantly, this type of ticket allows us to board the plane before the people with economy tickets, almost guaranteeing us overhead space for our carry-on luggage. For the past few years, it seems like on every flight we take, there is an issue with enough cabin storage. We have not checked a bag on a flight since 2013 when Air Canada lost our luggage, never to be found again. One additional perk that SAS offers its Premium Economy customers is the ability to bring on a second carry-on bag per person, in addition to the personal item.  This came extremely handy when we bought a few souvenirs that would not have fit in our first carry-on bags. It is too bad that SAS only flies direct out of Toronto to either Copenhagen or Stockholm or else I would always fly this airline, just for the perk of having a second carry-on bag!

The weird timing of our flight had some advantages. When we arrived at the Toronto Pearson airport lounge, which we had free passes for with our credit card, we found that our standard lounge was closed mid-day. Instead, we were allowed into the premium lounge, which was roomier and had better food choices. We had a nice snack of Asian dumplings, meatballs, pasta, and salad while we waited for our flight. Because it was so comfortable in the lounge, we cut it a bit close to return to our gate, which was at the other end of the terminal. But we still started back there with enough time to arrive just before boarding began.

Leaving out of Terminal 3, our gate was “B26” which involved going down an escalator (that wasn’t working) where we had to hop on a shuttle bus that drove for what felt like a long way before reaching our destination.  We found out later that this was the “Infield Concourse”, a separate satellite building located beyond the main T3 terminal that is used for overflow of certain flights that the main B-gates can’t handle. What made the experience feel extra weird was that we were the only people on the bus! We were either really early or really late. Debarking from the bus and scurrying up the escalator of the new building, we found our real gate and a lounge full of people. While we were not late since boarding still had not started yet, the rest of them were really early!

We got there just in time to hear our names called because we were amongst the people who did a web check-in, which meant our passports had not yet been inspected or scanned by a live attendant. We were the first people in line to have our passports checked and during this process, we received an unexpected and wonderful surprise. Out of the blue, the boarding agent told us that we had been upgraded to business class and issued us new boarding passes.

The level of luxury and pampering that we received on this flight is something we will not soon forget. We were the first people to board the plane and arrived to find big, comfortable seats with so much leg room that I had to unbuckle my seatbelt to reach my personal belongings bag in front of my seat. We learned later what all of that extra room was actually for! On top of the usual around the waist seatbelt, we also had an over-the-shoulder belt like in a car. Before we were even settled, we were offered a pre-takeoff drink of champagne (or cranberry juice in my case). Built into each seat was a compartment with a bottle of water, complimentary toiletry bag containing overnight essentials, and big, plush over-the-ears headphones to use with the entertainment system.  I was so impressed with the movie choices including several movies that I had been wanting to watch but were yet not available on any of my streaming services. Since I couldn’t sleep anyways, I ended up watching several movies during the 7-hour flight including “This is Not an Accident”, part of “Marty Supreme” (which I found annoying and quit), and half of “No Other Choice”, which I finished watching on the flight home, along with “Is This Thing On” and “The Family McMullen”.

Once the plane took off, the offers of drinks and then food seemed to be non-stop and came with a four-page menu of choices. We were given hot towels to clean our hands (both before and after the meal) and our fold-away trays were covered with tablecloths. First, we were provided with a snack of roasted cashew nuts in a heated bowl accompanied by a choice of cocktail. I chose a “Hugo Zero” mocktail of elderflower, mint and sparkling soda while Rich selected a “Polar Pioneer” consisting of vodka, blue Curaçao, Umeshu, Champagne and apple juice.

This was followed by a three-course meal. The appetizer options included seared scallops with smoked tomato vinaigrette, corn salad and truffle oil, which we both selected. The other option was Thai beef with cucumber salad, fried vermicelli and roasted shallots. There were three choices of main including oven-baked pasta with spinach, pomodoro sauce, broccolini, roasted peppers and grilled lemon, or Ponzu-marinated chicken thigh with herbed butter, garlic gai lan (Chinese broccoli) and jasmine rice, or beef top blade steak with onion demi-glace, sun-blushed tomatoes and crushed potatoes. I chose the beef and Rich had the chicken.  Both came with salad and bread. Of course, wine was served with dinner.  Finally, dessert was a choice of fruit salad, a cheese plate with Grey Owl and blue cheese, or a frangipane tart with mixed berry compote. At this point, I was regretting all the food I ate in the airport lounge! I chose the fruit which seemed like the lightest option while Rich had the cheese. As post meal aperitifs, I had a Baileys on ice and Rich had a cognac. It was so nice to have real plates, glasses and cutlery for our meals, with no plastic foil or lids to remove from the food.

Once dinner was over, it was time to turn our attention to all the fancy buttons on our seats. In addition to the standard tilt in a regular seat, there is a button that triggers an ottoman to raise your legs and a massage function that gently strobed up and down your back. But most intriguing was the tilt functions that caused the chair to recline within a self-contained unit so that the person behind you is not affected. At full horizontal incline, the unit turned into a bed where your legs and feet slid into that deep cavern that I originally thought was storage space for my personal items. We were also given a plump pillow, a plush blanket and the toiletry bag contained socks, ear plugs, sleep mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, skin cream and lip balm. If this had been a true red-eye flight, the sleep environment would have been ideal. But given that the lights went out around 9pm, it was hard to fall asleep even in these conditions.  Just before landing in the “morning”, which was about 11:30pm in our original time zone, it was time for breakfast. When the plane landed at 6:40am Denmark time, our adventure in business class was sadly over. Having been so royally spoiled, it was difficult to go back to flying economy, or even premium economy.

It was actually interesting to compare our experience flying out in business class with our flight home in premium economy. There was no pre-takeoff champagne, hot towels or tablecloth. Our drinks came in plastic cups instead of glassware and while we did still get cashews, they were not heated in a bowl and we had to rip open the packaging to get at them (the horrors! 😊). After being served each course on individual plates in business class, we were back to the standard airplane meal that came in a single tray with peel-away plastic wrap over the food. At least there was real cutlery and the premium economy people received an extra meal choice (chicken or pasta) while the economy travellers were only offered chicken. Our section consisted of wider seats than economy with just two seats on each side of the centre aisle but there was no longer the extra over-the-shoulder seatbelt. Our seats were the first row of the Premium Economy section so we still had plenty of legroom although we had to store our personal items in the overhead bin since there was no seat in front of us. From our seats, we peered longingly into the business class section just in front of us, before a curtain was closed to separate us. We were provided with the usual crappy earphones that you stick inside your ears but which never actually fit well, so we used our own noise cancelation Bose headphones instead to watch the same great selection of movies.  While we were descending into Toronto, I spotted the ultra tall tower that is being constructed across from our condo. It was a lovely experience flying Scandinavian Airline’s Premium Economy and we would have appreciated it all the more had we not been so decadently spoiled on our flight out.

The Copenhagen Airport is full of fun art, starting with the first of six Little Mermaid related sculptures that we would see on this trip, including this replica, the actual iconic one in Langelinie, plus other versions created as homages or spoofs of the original. We took our time exploring the airport before going through customs since the reception at our hotel did not open until 9am and we wanted to drop off our bags before roaming around the city as we waited for our 3pm check-in time.

Like most of Europe, Copenhagen has a robust train system that ties into its transit system. The purchase of fares for the train, bus, metro and even ferry boat services are consolidated into the single Rejsebillet app which allows you to pre-purchase tickets on your cell phone. Copenhagen works on a zone system so it is the same price to ride on any mode of public transportation when traversing between the same number of zones. When buying transit tickets, the minimum purchase is for 2 zones at a cost of 24 Danish Krone (DKK) or $5.2CAD.  The trip from the airport to Copenhagen Central Train Station (København H) crosses 3 zones at a cost of 30DKK and takes only 15 minutes, making it a quick and easy ride into the centre of the city. Confusingly, the corresponding metro station, which is about a block away from the train station, has the same name. This seems to be true for all hubs in the city where the train and metro both stop at the same location.

We noticed some interesting aspects of the train and metro systems. The trains run quite frequently, often with multiple trains passing through popular locations. There are special cars with toilets and others designated for bicycles where seating has been replaced with bike racks. A few cars are designated as “silent” cars, where no noise, phone calls, or conversation is allowed. On another car, in addition to space for bikes, there were spaces designated for a luggage rack, wheelchairs and baby carriages. We lucked onto this car on our way back to the airport and were able to stow our luggage on the rack. The metro stations have all been outfitted with safety doors that line up perfectly with the subway train doors. Subway trains seem to come every 3 minutes, but the main city routes (M3 and M4) follow the same path for multiple stops.  If you are traveling to those locations, a subway train seems to come through København H metro station 1-1.5 minutes that will head to your destination.

Like many of the older train stations in Denmark (and Europe in general), København H is ornate and majestic. Open in 1911 in the south-east corner of the historic old town, the station is the largest in Denmark and acts as the central hub that disburses trains in all directions. This made it easy to return home from a day trip since all trains seemed to pass through this station. But picking the correct train to leave the station was daunting, especially if our destination was not the last stop since there were so many choices and tracks to choose from. On our four forays out of Copenhagen, we were able to select a departure time and purchase our ticket ahead of time using the Rejsebillet app. The ticket is good for 90 minutes, so if you miss your intended train, you can board the next one 20-30 minutes later. Once we arrived at København H, we had to read all the departure boards to find the right track and be aware of the time that our train left since several trains headed to different locations could pass through the same track just minutes beforehand. Denmark transportation does not use the tap-on/tap-off system of ensuring that a fare is paid. Instead, there are intermittent spot checks by transit inspectors, especially on longer train rides. We were only checked a few times but I wished it had happened more often as that would have made me feel better about the hefty prices we were paying to ride on the transit system.

For our 13-day stay in Copenhagen, we rented a unit in the Erik Vokel Suites, a chain of apartment hotels that also has locations in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid and Hamburg. Lately we have been looking for apartment hotels which provide us with a complete living space including a full kitchen, couch, and dining area, in addition to a bedroom and bathroom. It also offers a manned reception desk so that we can drop off our bags before check-in time and have someone on site to address any issues.

We chose Erik Vokel for its ideal location, two blocks away from the central train station and right around the corner from a Metro station that feeds the two main subway lines running through the centre of the city. It was also within walking distance to many attractions. The reception desk is only manned daily from 9am-5pm so we took our time getting to the hotel to drop off our bags. Once we got there, we realized that we could have arrived earlier since there are large lockers available outside of the reception area where we could have safely stored our luggage until check-in time. Although there is a self-check-in option for people arriving outside of the staffed hours, we were grateful that someone was available to hand us our keys. One evening during our stay, we encountered guests with their luggage standing helplessly in front of the apartment next to ours with no way to get in since the auto-generated key did not work. At least there was an off-hours emergency phone line that they could use, but that must have been a stressful experience for them.

Our unit had some interesting quirks including an electric black-out blind that rolled down behind the regular blinds, effectively blocking out all light at night and in the early morning.  Although our apartment had a washing machine, it did not have a dryer or a clothes rack. I used a glass pane by the window as a pseudo drying rack, letting the sun do its work and then helping out the drying process with a hair dryer. Surprisingly, the apartment also lacked an ice tray in the freezer. I had bruised the top of my right foot just prior to arriving in Copenhagen resulting in a painful swollen bump that was aggravated by the amount of walking we were doing each day. Without ice to help ease the swelling, I resorted to an old trick.  I went to the local grocery store and bought the least expensive bag of frozen vegetables that I could find, which turned out to be a bag of okra. After several nights of applying the okra on my foot along with taking Motrin to ease the inflammation and Tylenol to dull the pain, I was able to walk without issue for the rest of the trip.

Denmark has extremely strict rules on recycling, with households being required to sort their refuse into up to 10 different categories. At Erik Vokel Suites, we found 8 small recycling bins under the kitchen sink that matched to corresponding communal bins down in the basement.  We were required to sort between paper, cardboard, plastic/food containers (washed), organic, metal, glass, hazardous waste(?) and non-recyclable garbage. We were warned when we checked in about fines of up to 3000 DKK for violations, although it was not clear if that was a fine against us as the guests or against the hotel.

This recycling initiative is paired with a deposit-return program for bottles and cans where you pay up to an extra 3DKK for a bottle, which you can get back when you return the empty, washed container back to any grocery store. Our 13-day stay at Erik Vokel Suites came with maid service every 5 days.  Because Danish currency was not available for purchase outside of Denmark, we had decided to go cashless and rely solely on our credit cards since we heard that Denmark was basically a cashless society. But this meant we had no way to tip the maids.  So, we washed out all of our bottles of milk, juice, and pop and left them for the maids to claim the deposits. It wasn’t much but better than nothing.

Not having Danish currency should not have been an issue under normal circumstances as Denmark is mostly a cashless society. But we were unlucky enough to encounter two region-wide WIFI outages that rendered credit card machines inoperable. This inconvenienced us when we were unable to purchase pastries at a bakery, coffee at a castle or drinks on a ferry boat between Helsingor, Denmark and Helsingborg Sweden. We almost couldn’t travel to Helsingborg at all because we could not pay for the ferry ticket, but the attendant let us on for free. The only other time when we wished we had cash was when we wanted to buy a souvenir from a yard sale. But luckily, the vendor accepted PayPal so we were able to make the purchase.

In general, everything felt really expensive when converting from DKK to CAD. A cup of coffee was almost $9 CAD and a simple meal for two easily came to over $100CAD.  The equivalent of $5.20 CAD per subway ride in Copehagen makes Toronto’s fare of $3.30 with 2-hour hop-on-hop-off privileges suddenly seem like a bargain. But after 9-10 days of walking until it felt like our legs would fall off, there was no price too high to pay to take transit if it saved us from walking the same route back to the hotel again. After a while, we decided not to do the conversion and just enjoy our trip.

It was unusually cold for 11 of the 13 days that we were in Copenhagen and surrounding areas but at least we did not get that much rain. We constantly juggled our planned schedule to try to be indoors in museums and castles during rainy days and outside in parks, cemeteries, and canal walks during the sunny ones.  Copenhagen is a beautiful city and we loved all the time that we spent here, exploring the popular attractions as well as finding gems off the beaten path.