Stockholm and Copenhagen

[erbear]

We’re going in June. We usually plan much further in advance. Anyone have any recs of things to do, places to eat, etc? We will be 4 (me, DH and two teenage daughters, possibly adding my MIL). We are active, like to eat and see cool stuff.

[cheekywife]

erbear , we LOVE copenhagen, recs below. we're heading to stockholm at the end of april. if you scroll down, i got some stockholm recs earlier this year. 

this is mostly 2019 info with 2021 updates. RIP kester thomas, which went out of business last year.

not kidding about the croissants at hart bageri, we went three times in 2021.

in 2019, we stayed at the absalon hotel and in 2021, we stayed at the hotel alexandra. both were really good. i like to stay near central station and tivoli, it's super convenient and close to vesterbro (their meatpacking district that is getting hipper by the minute).

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v1XtavF9iOsUoYfrSNkJKdy9t19rA1F6GiL0efgkCPY/edit?usp=sharing

adding lidkoeb, where we went on my bday in 2021. this was better than ruby, IMO. i'd ask to sit at the bar.
lidkoeb.dk/

definitely hit any sanchez vesterbro, still some of the best mexican food ever. and we've been to mexico city. and the cocktails there were also great.

note: we did the Copenhagen pass this time too because there's just so much available on it.
We did the Copenhagen Pass and that was really worth it. It’s good for most of the museums, palaces, and public transport and included a boat tour.

Next time, I’d do a Hey Captain boat tour smaller & more personal. Weather didn’t cooperate the day we wanted to do that.
- We did HeyCaptain on my birthday last year and it was super cool! I'd probably still do a regular tour and this. The touristy boats are on the Copenhagen card.
The Danes do coffee and pastries amazingly well. We loved everything we had. Hart Bageri is the absolute best. I still dream about the cardamom croissants we had there. We brought some for the flight to London and were very sad when we finished them.

We did a walking tour our first morning, it was free and gave a nice overview of central Copenhagen. www.copenhagenfreewalkingtours.dk/

- we actually did this one again last November too to keep us moving through the jet lag
I think most tours finish at Torvehallen, which is a food hall and perfect lunch stop. The duck confit sandwich at the French place in Torvehallen is amazing! Coffee Collective is there and around the city. Their lattes were my favorite.

Tivoli is a must. Being there for the holiday market was magical but it’s fun no matter what.

The Round Tower was really cool. We went in the evening because they had their giant telescope available. It was overcast that night but it was still an experience we’d never had.

The National Museum was one of our favorites, the Design Museum was also cool but if you only have time for one, make it the National Museum. We went when they opened, left to have lunch, then went back for the rest of the afternoon.

We did Rosenborg and Christianborg palaces and they were very different from each other. Rosenborg is smaller and more manageable. We also liked the Glyptotek, which is near Tivoli. We wandered in because it was rainy and on the Copenhagen Pass, but may have overlooked it otherwise.

In November, we did Fredericksborg Castle (read the opening times!), SMK, Danish Architecture Center, and the Museum of Copenhagen and enjoyed all those. Amelienborg was closed so we still haven't made it there.

Barr – this was one of my favorite meals. It’s a former Noma chef but not as fancy or expensive. We went back here last time and it was even better. Don't miss this one.
Hia des Sanchez – another former NOMA chef, this is small but delicious. Josh still talks about these tacos. Rosio Sanchez now has a few restaurants and the one in Vesterbro is fantastic.

Baest – this pizza was some of the best I’ve ever had. It’s a bit of a trek to Norreboro but so worth it!

Gasoline Grill for burgers

Mad & Kaffe had a really good breakfast

We did Amass fried chicken, near Empirical Spirits and that was really delicoius. I think he's a Noma or Geranium alum.

Reffen is supposed to be awesome for food but it's closed by Sept/Oct.

Bars –
Kester Thomas - Honestly one of our most favorite bars in the world. We went three of our last four nights. Talk to to the owner, Erwan, and tell him Joanna/cheekygirl.23 sent you. It's billed as a champagne bar but the cocktails were all brilliant. I actually made Erwan's award winning XO this afternoon.

Ruby - voted one of the best bars in the world, it was better midweek, when not packed. We went our last night (Saturday this time) left after one drink and went back to Kester Thomas.
The Barking Dog - underrated, nearish to Baest

Curfew - this was our very first night and quite good but not as great as the ones above.

They have amazing department stores, Illum was especially nice. The bottom floors are markets/food halls and the top floors usually have bars and restaurants. We went to the café at Illum twice. Different than Illum but a small chain with lots of good stuff: Illums Bolighus | Shop Scandinavian Design | Worldwide shipping@erbear

[osumelissa]

We are heading to Copenhagen and Stockholm in June ourselves! Here is what we have found and planned so far (some of it is thanks to cheekywife recommendations!).

Copenhagen:
1. We compared pricing places we want to visit vs getting the Copenhagen Card and are definitely going to purchase the CC right before we get there. Don't activate it until you are there because that is when the time starts based on what we have read. We are getting the one (I think it is called Discover) with public transport included.
2. We are doing a bike tour with Bike with Mike our first full day. Easy to book via the website and you pay in cash the day of. It is 3 hours as an FYI. This will start my birthday morning!
3. We have an afternoon Hey Captain! boat tour booked. Totally up our alley since it is social - I would read about it and see if it would be good with your teens.
4. We have dinner at Barr booked for my birthday, as well as pre-dinner cocktails at Lidkoeb. Probably cocktails aren't right for the teens, lol.
5. We are planning to go out to Fredericksborg one day, and in Copenhagen proper, visit the National Museum, Museum of Danish Resistance, Christianborg, and Tivoli Gardens. Rosenborg is also on my list if we have time. Most sites I am finding in Copenhagen do not need or do not take advance bookings which is unlike other cities we have been to in Europe, especially post-pandemic.
6. We are planning to book Baest for dinner one night but their reservations only open one month in advance as an FYI.

In Stockholm, we so far have an Under the Bridges boat tour booked with Stromma. The only site we want to visit that requires advance booking so far is City Hall and the Tower but they can only be booked one week in advance. You can only visit City Hall with a guided tour. Everything else is show up. On our list of places to go are the Swedish History Museum, Skansen, Vasa Museum, and Drottningham Palace (that is outside of Stockholm).

[cheekywife]

osumelissa, you can also just get the copenhagen card once you arrive, that's what we did both times. LOVE barr and lidkoeb. we went to lidkoeb on my birthday in 2021.

[wise_rita]

Apr 3, 2024 17:02:18 GMT -5 osumelissa said:

6. We are planning to book Baest for dinner one night but their reservations only open one month in advance as an FYI.

I'm looking for a dinner in Copenhagen so Googled this place, and it says 60 days in advance.

[osumelissa]

Apr 7, 2024 12:43:46 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Apr 3, 2024 17:02:18 GMT -5 osumelissa said:

6. We are planning to book Baest for dinner one night but their reservations only open one month in advance as an FYI.

I'm looking for a dinner in Copenhagen so Googled this place, and it says 60 days in advance.

Yep you are right. I was mixing up Baest with a place in Stockholm we want to go to. Baest is 60 days in advance so I will book later this week for June. 

[definitelyO]

awesome - and thank you - we're considering adding on Copenhagen to an Iceland trip later this summer but haven't done much in the way of planning yet.