A Danish summer weekend with dance, architecture and Michelin stars

TravelSummerEuropeDenmark

18 Jul

Written By Frances Lawrence

Itinerary At A Glance

3 night independent itinerary for Copenhagen, based on flying from Manchester, in August.
Highlights include an architecture bike tour, outdoor dance performance by the Danish Dance Theatre, food trucks, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and leisurely bike-riding in the city suburbs.
Based on a two friends travelling, with a focus on leisurely outdoor and cultural activities, interspersed with time to just relax and soak up the atmosphere.

Bike bridges dot the Danish capital

The Little Mermaid, emblem of the city

Why Copenhagen in Summer?

Yep - Copenhagen is cool.

Summer suits Copenhagen. The city spills outdoors, into harbourside performances, street food markets, and long, light evenings that stretch well past dinner. It’s a season for swimming off the docks, cycling without a plan, and discovering how design features in everyday life here.

This itinerary starts with the familiar - a weekend in a European capital - but quickly veers off-script, avoiding the usual crowds and spots, and following a different line through this friendly, watery capital.

Honest verdict

Does the place live up to hype or expectations?

We felt Copenhagen exceeded expectations, with one exception - The Little Mermaid. Sure; she’s cute, and she’s emblematic of the city, but the sheer number of people crowded around her, all trying to get their instagram shot, was deeply offputting. I mean; you could hardly appreciate the sculpture for what it is.

Other than that, the food, the activities we did, the hotel we stayed in, the dane performance at the water’s edge, the morning yoga…………….literally all of it was perfect. Nothing I would change.

Did the itinerary work for the trip?

Perfectly.

One smart move was keeping the hire bikes after our guided tour. It gave us freedom to explore beyond the usual tourist zones. We saw parts of Copenhagen I bet tourists never see, because we could cover more ground. Copenhagen is also famously bike friendly everywhere, and its very very flat, so the riding is spectacularly easy. Suggest you get clued up on the hand signals given by riders, to indicate to each other when they plan to stop.

The outdoor dance performance was a highlight. It’s one of my favourite ways to experience culture while travelling; there is never a language barrier. This one, set against the water, was especially memorable.

Would I recommend it? Would I make another visit?

It is actually my second visit to Copenhagen, the previous one being in Winter, and the two seasons showed Copenhagen in two different lights. I feel we saw plenty on this trip that I didn’t feel we ‘left anything behind’.

If I returned to Denmark, I’d probably explore a different region, like the coastal sands or Odense. But yes, I’d absolutely recommend Copenhagen in summer.