With the UK’s winter being in full force and generally unbearable, it was time to finally explore Scandinavia in its winter glory.

I spent two days in Copenhagen this January to celebrate my 22nd birthday before moving on to Malmo and Stockholm – here is how we spent our time in the Danish (and FOOD) capital

Getting there:

Despite the Ryanair flight from Stanstead being a tempting offer, we chose to fly BA from Heathrow (for only £40) this time because in the winter I need the extra luggage space. To get to Heathrow, I personally love to take the Elizabeth Line (my train to London arrives at St. Pancras, so I head to Farringdon or Paddington), but you can also take the Heathrow Express from Paddington or get the Piccadilly Line (although beware this takes a very long time).

The flight to Copenhagen takes just over two hours and lands at Copenhagen’s very central airport. From the airport take the train or metro into Copenhagen – or you can hop straight on a train to Sweden if you want to…

Danish is actually quite an intuitive language for English speakers (especially if you also happen to know some German) so we had no issues navigating the airport and city.

To buy a ticket for the train, there are ticket machines at the airport, or you can buy one on Omio in advance. The trains are incredibly comfortable and have charging points and luggage space. It takes approx. 12 minutes to get from the airport to Central Station, so it is definitely worth choosing the train if you are not on the right metro line.

Where to stay in Copenhagen:

If you are coming to Copenhagen in January, then you may be lucky enough to find great deals on accommodation because it is very much the low season following the Christmas boom. We chose to stay in the Savoy Hotel in Vesterboro as it is in a great area of town, only a 10-minute walk from the Central Station and 10 minutes from the Meat Packing District. They also have a great bar downstairs and a free wine hour every day from 5-6 PM. We paid £140 in total for 3 nights, which for Copenhagen is a real steal!

Day 1: Indre By and Rosenburg

Slightly insanely, on our first day in Copenhagen, we found out that some of our good friends were also there because they were going on a first date??? (The date went shockingly, apparently, but at least they got a holiday out of it). We walked back to Central Station and got on the train to Norreport, which took 4 minutes and was really spacious. We met up with our friends in the Indre By area at an amazing bakery/cafe called Riviera. This place was so busy, so we did have to wait around to get a table, but it was worth it! I had the maple syrup pancakes, which were some of the best pancakes if you have a sweet tooth. My friends had the french toast and then the eggs on toast (typical Brit).

After sitting and gossiping for an hour, we made our way through Indre By stopping at classic shops like Ganni and Samoe Samoe before walking towards Rosenburg Castle. This was such a beautiful park, and it was really quiet and relaxing (aside from our friends screaming at the Geese). The castle looks very medieval, and so clearly what you would find in a European City, although we were slightly surprised by how small it was. We chose not to go inside because, honestly, I think I’ve seen enough fancy roped-off chairs through the National Trust to last a lifetime – but you do you.

We then took a stroll down to Nyhavn – which is really where Copenhagen shines. This area is famous for a reason: everything about it is so beautiful, and the restaurants here smell amazing, so much so that we came back again the next day.

Our friends were then flying back home, so we returned to our hotel for wine hour and then decided to go out for dinner to a nearby restaurant called MadKlubben. I had the Seabass, and my friend had the Beef Bourguignon. This was the perfect first stop on our trip and is definitely worth a visit. Copenhagen is known for its food, and as such there is lots of experimental food (some of which we have been disappointed by), but this place did the classics spectacularly well.

We had wanted to go to the Tivoli Gardens but they were shut for our whole stay due to the lack of tourists, so bear that in mind!!!

Day 2: Little Mermaid and Freetown Christiana (my birthday)

We woke up early and got on the train to Norreport again to go to the oldest bakery in Copenhagen: St. Peders Bageri; I am not joking; if there is only one place to eat in Copenhagen, make it here! I have never had better pastries in my life, and they were so reasonably priced, we were honestly shocked. We had the classic cinnamon buns with icing, two of which cost 55 Krona. Near the bakery, there are also lots of other cute shops and cafes, including the fullest bookstore if you love to get lost in piles of books.

We then got back on the train up to Osterport to see the Little Mermaid statue. We had already been warned in advance that it is quite small, so you should not get your hopes up, so I think we were more than happy to go out of town to see her. This was definitely the most touristy part of town, and to say that Copenhagen had been relatively quiet, here we were met with 10 tourist buses all blocking the way. If you come in summer, I honestly might even skip this because it would be so busy, to see quite a small thing, which may leave you saying – is this really it?

We then chose to walk along the harbourside back towards Nyhavn. This first took us past quite an industrial area before reaching a church and intriguing fountain by Churchillparken. I must say as a Brit I was quite surprised to see a Churchill statue and to learn the park was named after Winston Churchill since I always get a bit of whiplash seeing famous Brits abroad. We then entered a military fortress, which had the cutest windmill (reaffirming my belief that I need to live in a windmill).

Then we passed Amelienborg, which was slightly disappointing, and we got yelled at by one of the guards in a fluffy hat (who needs Buckingham Palace).

Finally, we arrived back at Nyhavn and had Smorrebrod at Cap Horn on the harbour. I had the mushroom Smorrebrod, and my friend had the meatball Smorrebrod. I personally don’t love a very dense bread, so I loved that the mushrooms were on brioche.

Then we got on the metro from Norreport and crossed over to Freetown Christiana! I had no expectations for Christiana, but it was exactly what I would picture if you said anarchist zone in a city, where weed is normalised. We entered by a huge troll (with a teenage lad stupidly stuck on top), and an amazing painting of a tree of life. Inside Freetown Christiana there are lots of shops and bars, and an ice ring that goes around the middle. Of course, there were anarchist signs saying “Delete your government” and “Delete your local fascist” – how can you not love it here? Then we went into the main market and they were playing Gracie Abrams, proving that anarchists do have phenomenal music taste.

Finally, we headed back to our hotel for wine hour and then went to Gorilla in the meat packing district. Once again this place did not disappoint! For starters we had the cod fritters and the anchovy, and then for the main I had the ricotta and lemon Gnudi pasta which packed a punch, and a glass of wine to go alongside it. We then went to a nearby bar called Two Socks, which has such an extensive gin and tonic menu that if feels like a full book just of different gin and tonics. Neither of us had gin and tonics, so cannot make a specific recommendation there.