MAPPED OUT COPENHAGEN
Text by Rebecca Engman

WHAT’S THE PLACE FAMOUS FOR?
Quaint images of Copenhagen are etched in the minds of many first-time visitors to the city, from the dainty Little Mermaid (right), to city policemen stopping traffic to let ducklings cross the road. But Copenhagen is also a modern European capital on the move, with an eye fixed firmly on the future. Following a successful stint as European City of Culture in 1996, and a triumphant EU Presidency in 2002, Copenhagen is eager to become a flagship for Northern European culture and commerce in the years to come, and is eagerly forging ties with Malmø, Sweden, its sister-city across the sound.

WEIRD FACTS
Copenhagen was gutted by a pair of disastrous fires in the 18th century, which obliterated much of the city’s original, distinctive wood architecture. The first, in 1728, began as a minor fire in a candle-factory but spread into a major conflagration as most of the city’s fire brigade was drunk, it being payday, at the time of the blaze. The second inferno, in 1795, spread whilst members of the fire brigade searched for the lost keys to the pump house. (Courtesy: Wonderful Copenhagen Tourist Board)

CURRENT TREND
Copenhagen is enjoying a long-distance courtship with Tasmania, following the recent engagement of Crown Prince Frederik to his longtime Australian love, Mary Donaldson, whom he was introduced to during the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In the run-up to the couple’s May nuptials, Copenhageners and their newfound mates Down Under are bonding over a love of beer and wine, lush coastlines and boat racing. All things Antipodean are hip in Copenhagen – and vice versa. This may be the start of a long, and unlikely, alliance.

BIGGEST EXPORT
Copenhagen has long been an outgoing port for manufactured goods, and the city is staking its financial future on biotech and high-tech products. Copenhagen is home to the burgeoning Medicon Valley district, which encompasses the Greater Copenhagen region as well as Skåne, in southern Sweden.

MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT (LIVING)
Affectionately known as 'Daisy’, Denmark’s very own Queen Margrethe is the city’s most beloved resident. Her Majesty is an eccentric among European monarchs, known for her love of unfiltered cigarettes, bravura New Year’s Eve speeches and a host of artistic pursuits. Margrethe has exhibited prolifically as a set designer, decoupage artist and painter and, in 1997, she became the first lady member of Britain’s Oxford and Cambridge Club. The Queen enjoyed a lively correspondence for many years with J.R.R. Tolkien and, in 1977, she illustrated an edition
of Lord of the Rings under the pseudonym Ingahild Grathmer.

MOST FAMOUS RESIDENT (DEAD)
The spirit of iconic fairytale author and native son Hans Christian Andersen permeates Copenhagen. Though the storyteller was actually born and raised in Odense, on the isle of Funen, Andersen moved to the Danish capital as a young man (where he launched a failed bid to become a ballet dancer). His peripatetic jaunts in the 19th-century city have become legend in Copenhagen history. What’s more, Andersen landmarks – from his one-time home on the Nyhavn waterfront, to the Little Mermaid statue, to the Andersen grave at Assistens Cemetery – are gaining in popularity ahead of the massive nationwide celebrations marked for the bicentennial of the writer’s birth in 2005.

DO THESE FIVE THINGS

1. The best view in Copenhagen, hands-down, is from the city centre’s Rundetaarn (Round Tower), Europe’s oldest functioning observatory. The 36-metre-high tower was completed in 1642, commissioned by King Christian IV as a tribute to astronomer Tycho Brahe. The observation deck is accessible by a 210-metre- long spiral stone stairway, whose bricks still bear marks from when a carriage was used to drive the king to the top of the tower; His Majesty’s feet were too delicate for the walk.
2. Cemetery sunbathing? In summer, Assistens Cemetery is a popular area for young Danes – don’t be surprised to see topless sunbathers and family picnics casually strewn over the graves of Copenhagen’s most eminent personalities. Assistens is also a popular tourist destination, with maps directing you to the burial sites of Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kirkegaard and Niels Bohr.
3. Christiania, the independent hippie commune located in the eclectic Christianshavn district, is a must-see. Founded in the 1970s by a motley crew of anti-establishment squatters who took over a disused military barracks, Christiania has endured as a symbol of free-thinking, with cultural events, craft stalls and the Amsterdam- style “Pusher Street”. But the area’s days as a free-for-all commune may be numbered if the Danish government has its way.
4. 10,000-plus years of Danish history are meticulously outlined at Copenhagen’s National Museum. Situated in the very heart of the city, near Christiansborg Palace and the scenic canals, the National Museum houses Denmark’s best-known historical artefacts, from the 3,500-year-old Sun Chariot to the axe used to quarter royal traitor Johan Struensee in the 18th century.
5. No trip to Copenhagen is complete without a trip to visit The Little Mermaid. The walk to the tiny bronze statue takes you through Langelinie, a verdant maze of paths. Though the statue’s size is not impressive, her resilience certainly is: since being erected in 1913, the mermaid has been vandalised eight times, beheaded twice, and blown up with dynamite last September, making her Europe’s most desecrated national monument.

BEST TWO PLACES TO STAY OVER €200

1. Located right on the waterfront, 71 Nyhavn Hotel, housed in a 19th-century spice warehouse, is charmingly rustic, with a top- rated restaurant (Pakhuskælderen), an authentic Scandinavian feel and extremely comfortable bedrooms (many with stunning views out to sea). Located within walking distance of all the city’s main attractions, with an outstanding breakfast buffet and impeccable staff, it’s no wonder it’s become the preferred destination for discerning tourists, including the Australian family of the future Queen. Book with www.octopus4easyjet.com
2. For a less Danish, but more traditional, experience, the nearby Hotel d’Angleterre has, as its name suggests, a feel of proper old England. The building itself dates from the mid-18th century, when Copenhagen city planners were hoping to turn Kongens Nytorv into the “Paris of the North”. Today, the hotel is popular with older, less adventurous tourists and those with a penchant for English-style afternoon tea, which is served in the lobby. Kongens Nytorv 34, Tel. +45 33 12 00 95.

BEST TWO PLACES TO STAY UNDER €200

1. The Hotel Opera is a quaint, English-style hotel centrally located behind the Royal Theatre, near Kongens Nytorv. The rooms are comparatively small, but charmingly well furnished, and the service is friendly and dependable. Tordenskjoldsgade 15, Tel. +45 33 47 83 00.
2. Looking for slick Nordic-style design on a tourist-class budget? The Square is a steal in terms of price and location, providing modern, minimalist accommodation just across from the Town Hall Square, within walking distance of Tivoli, Strøget and the Central Train Station. Book with www.octopus4easyjet.com

BEST FIVE PLACES TO SHOP

1. The home-lovers’ Eldorado, Illums Bolighus (Amagertorv 10) is a three-floor paean to Danish design excellence with the very best in Danish furniture and housewares.
2. If you can stand the crush of tourists, it’s hard to find a better shoppers’ paradise than Strøget, a mile-long stretch of shopping that’s the longest pedestrian thoroughfare in the world.
3. Flagship department store Magasin (Kongens Nytorv) is a Parisian-style shoppers’ paradise with everything under the sun.
4. Charming Grønnegade, a quaint sidestreet off Strøget, is home to some of the city’s most charming high-end boutiques.
5. Fisketorvet (Kalvebod Brygge 59), the city’s latest modern shopping mecca, is built in the shape of a giant ship along the developing waterfront area, Kalvebod Brygge. February is an excellent month for checking out “Udsalg” – clearance merchandise.

AND IF IT’S RAINING
The National Gallery, Statens Museum for Kunst (Sølvgade 48-50) is home to Danish Royal Art collections dating from the 17th century. The palatial gallery is located across the street from the Botanical Gardens and is the perfect place to get lost for an afternoon – be sure to check out the museum’s impressive collection of late 19th-century Nordic painters.

WHICH THREE RESTAURANTS?
Christianshavn’s Era Ora (Overgaden Neden Vandet 33B) is a gloriously indulgent eatery with minutely crafted, first-class Italian cuisine. The price fixe menu takes the guess work out of gourmet, and all of the restaurant’s ingredients are flown in from Italy.

Located along the canals and across from Christiansborg Palace, Thorvaldsens Hus (Gammel Strand 34) offers traditional Danish cuisine in charming, 18th-century style, at a reasonable price. Try “Sunrise Over Gudhjem” (a traditional herring dish).

The impossibly named Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus (Sankt Hans Torv 30) is one of the most popular cafés on Nørrebro’s trendy Sankt Hans Torv. Known by locals as just “Pussy”, it’s home to a rich, saucy French-Danish kitchen and impressive cocktail menu.

QUICK CULTURE FIX
H.C. Andersen’s Boulevard, just a stone’s throw from the Central Train Station, borders the world’s most famous amusement park, Tivoli (closed in February); the Danish Design Center, the nation’s official home of sleek Danish design; and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, a lush tribute to classic sculpture and 19th-century art. Easily walkable, Copenhagen’s bustling main drag provides the most accurate look at Danish culture, all in a three-block radius.

THREE COOL ADDRESSES
For those in the know about Copenhagen’s gay nightlife, it’s hard to find someone who can remember a time before Pan (Knabrostræde 3). A thriving nightspot since the early 1980s, Pan features a three-floor discotheque and raucous nightly events.
Copenhagen’s music and nightlife merge under one roof at Vega (above) (Enghavevej 40). Combining equal parts lounge atmosphere, DJ entertainment and the best in live alternative music, Vega has emerged as Copenhagen’s all-purpose nightlife hotspot par excellence. The club’s best hours are after midnight on weekends.

The city’s Vesterbro neighbourhood has enjoyed a cultural face-lift in recent years. Once home to a seedy underbelly of prostitution and drug crime, the neighbourhood has emerged over the past decade to become one of Copenhagen’s most cosmopolitan neighbourhoods, with a thriving café culture, great shopping around Vesterbrogade and regular art and live music.

WHICH THREE BARS?
Bo-bi Bar (Klareboderne 14) began its illustrious history in 1917 as a dirty dive for tattooed sailors. Today, Bo-bi is popular with hard-boiled newsmen and moody intellectuals who drink straight from the bottle. It’s somehow retained its gritty atmosphere.

The pared-down basement at Sofiekælderen (Oven Gaden Oven Vande 32) is fast becoming Christianshavn’s hippest hangout. With everything from piano-bar to live jazz, Sofiekælderen is the place to get in touch with your inner beatnik.

The jet-set mixes with the hoi-polloi at Konrad (Pilestræde 12-14). This slick, minimalist hotspot has all the trappings of a London or New York-style A-list bar. The place to go if you are rich and beautiful – or hoping to rub shoulders with someone who is.

PLAN AHEAD
The yearly Copenhagen Distortion Festival is a celebration of the best in clubbing. Organised each summer by Copenhagen nightlife impresario Thomas Dalvang-Fleurquin, Distortion is a riotous tour of the city’s best night-time venues and music events. Keep abreast of the latest news at www.humanwebsite.com/cphdistortion