Copenhagen, Denmark City Travel Information
The "Little Mermaid" statue of Copenhagen, winner of "Tourist Trap of the Year" award.
City Description:
Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and a good gateway or terminus for a trip to Scandinavia. However being notoriously expensive and somewhat light on historical sightseeing many people understandably skip visiting. For those that do make the trip though they get the chance to discover a different side of Scandinavian culture and see one of the world's most interesting social projects being the "free town" of Christiana.
back to top
City Highlights:
Christiana is a crazy place to visit. It is a town within a town. Some travelers will talk about visiting it only because marijuana is sold/smoked their openly however there is a lot more to Christiana then that which is why I think it is a highlight. The architecture is amazing, the vibe of the area is completely different from the rest of Copenhagen and on a sunny day it is a great place to hang out at in one of the beer gardens having some of the cheapest beer you can find in Copenhagen. Besides that, how often do you come across a self-governing consensus-run city within a capital?
back to top
City Lowlights:
Copenhagen is crazy expensive. The food is super pricey, drinks are pricey, rooms are pricey and the city doesn't have much to show for all this "pricey-ness" which can leave some people scratching their heads wondering "why"?
back to top
Restaurants:
Copenhagen has a large number of super fine dining restaurants mainly around the inner-city of Noma. If you aren't looking to break the bank on food you can visit one of the many schwarma and pizza places in the city. One tasty meal is a "pizza sandwich" and Copenhagen is the first place I have seen this sold out. For some Danish food try out an open-faced sandwich named Smorrebrod. Another Danish favorite in Copenhagen is a hot dog. Finally, don't get suckered into eating at an all-you-can-eat buffet on the main shopping street of Stroget. They are low quality and you'll end up on the toilet "spraying mud".
back to top
Nightlife:
If you want to drink with a bunch of tourists visit the area around Nyahvn. A bunch of bars and cafes can also be found at an area named Norrebro near the Norreport station. Finally the area of Christianshavn which includes the town of Christiana has a decent amount of drinking holes. One thing to note, most "cafes" also sell beer and wine.
back to top
Public Transport:
Getting around Copenhagen is relatively easy with their metro system, local train system and bus system. However using these services is very expensive. There are also plenty of pricey taxis available to use.
back to top
The People:
The Danish people were polite if you talked to them and most spoke a great amount of English. Other than that, nothing much else to say since a lot of the Danish people seemed a bit reserved.
back to top
Sights:
The city within a city of Christiana is a cool place to visit. Back in the late 1970's a group of anarchist, hippies, vagrants and self-styled revolutionaries took over a military compound in central Copenhagen…and the city allowed it! Crazy huh? They govern themselves and try to be as self-sufficient as possible. The area has a ton of cool architecture and is somewhat of a spectacle to behold being almost like a living social experiment. Also, they have beer gardens and good restaurants to eat at. For you pot-smokers, Marijuana is openly sold/smoked there.
Besides that, there isn't much to see in Copenhagen. You have a couple museums, an "Old City" which isn't anything spectacular and the biggest tourist trap in the world, the "Little Mermaid". I don't see what the big deal about the statue is. It's a human sized statue of a mermaid sitting on a rock on a harbor that has an ugly background of industrial plants. Somehow it has in ways become symbolic of Copenhagen. How? I don't know. Some might point to the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen since he is the author of the "Little Mermaid" but why anyone would make such a big deal about this statue because that is beyond me.
back to top
My Thoughts on this City:
I didn't much like Copenhagen. If the prices were a bit more reasonable it would have been alright, but considering how expensive everything is I was always worrying about spending money. The people are nice however and the city is clean but if you are on a time or money crunch you could easily skip this place. Christiana however is a very fascinating place to visit which is probably why it is Copenhagen's #1 tourist attraction.
back to top
Subscribe to Posts (RSS)