Copenhagen is becoming one of my favourite cities, having only visited twice, it’s left a big impression and captured my heart. This summer I spent 3 days in Copenhagen, with the plan of visiting design show northmodern and immersing myself in Scandinavian design. It may not be your idea of a holiday but hey, I’m a design geek. With 2 full days and 2 half days (travel days) I wanted to fit in as much as I could BUT not forgetting to relax either!
Not only is Copenhagen a great city for design but it’s an incredible place to explore, I had time to explore this city a little more and the weather was on my side! not typical Danish weather with it being so hot, but I wasn’t complaining.
Arriving in the city in the afternoon I headed straight to the hotel. Staying in the same place as I did last time I visited back in February. The Skt Petri is a great design hotel is in the centre and close to everything, to my surprise I got a corner room with balcony with incredible views of the Round Tower and the city. It’s not a cheap hotel but it does have offers on and it’s a great place to stay and worth it.
After we settled in we headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant ‘Central Kitchen’ and ate so much great food. read more on my post about the nordic cuisine at Skt Petri.
The first full day was planned to explore the city and go to places that I hadn’t been before. What’s great about Copenhagen is that it’s really easy to get around. We walked everywhere but you can hire bikes and even jump on the trams.
THE LAKES
Three huge lakes curving around the north west side of the city is a hot spot for runners, cyclists and walkers. It’s a beautiful wide space that has great views of the centre, Nørrebro and Frederiksberg.
ASSISTENS CEMETARY
Take a walk through the Assistens Cemetery, it’s peaceful, beautiful and vast. Famous for being the burial place of Hans Christian Andersen. You could spend hours walking around this place and even (if you don’t find it creepy) have a picnic.
SUPERKILEN
Nørrebro is a multicultural part of Copenhagen, architecture firm BIG designed this park to bring together the local residents. Within the park there are different objects and scultptures representing various nationalities, also many places for activities such as ping pong tables, swings, a boxing ring, and so much more. I particularly liked the monochrome crazy playground, sorry about the arse shot!
Read more about this project on Dezeen
NYHAVN
Always a beautiful place to stroll. This harbour is a bustling place full of restaurants, bars and shops. You’ll also spot people relaxing by the harbour walls, sun bathing and dangling their feet over the sides,very relaxed.
THE HAY HOUSE
Danish design company Hay has a huge product portfolio, I seriously love their stuff. Displaying all they have to offer in this HAY house in the centre of Copenhagen, this flagship store is impressive! I have been lucky enough to visit twice and I guarantee I’ll end up there each time I visit Copenhagen. A great place for interior design inspiration and of course some shopping.
THE STANDARD
This was one of my dream places to visit. The standard split into 3 restaurants and a jazz club. Imuacultaletly designed by The Conran Group it features furniture and lighting by GUBI, with minimal nordic design with the warmth of wood and muted pastels.
In the hands of Noma co-founder Claus Meyer, this place is a foodie and design lovers dream. I enjoyed a lovely glass of wine overlooking the waterfront. Perfect to get away from the hustle and bustle of Nyhavn.
The second full day I headed off to northmodern, attending the press breakfast with talks by Norm Architects for their new IKEA hack kitchen design (see my post on he REFORM kitchens). Further talks and presentations by designers for Georg Jensen (particularly looking at the new CAFU range), Playtype ( a cool shop and company in Copenhagen working with fonts and type), Danish TM (an online magazine celebrating Danish design and architecture), and a great insight into the styling for two great displays by stylist and designer Birgit Tarp for Design Circus. There were more talks and presentations being an information packed perfect start to the day.
A great thing about northmodern is that it has been carefully curated, it’s spacious and has a high level and consistent standard of design throughout. Something which I’ve been missing in many trade shows I’ve previously attended. Read more about my northmodern visit here
Not to be done with the show just there, the lovely Julienne and Emma from Industry Publicity invited Stephen and I to the northmodern design dinner later that evening. Located in a converted warehouse Papirhallen on Paper Island, it was seriously impressive. The dinner hosted by northmodern and Design Denmark was a huge highlight to my holiday, the food was incredible (as all Danish food is) and I had the opportunity to meet some prestigious designers and business types, hopefully a few friends too. A perfect night!
Flying back the next morning, I HAD to stop off at Torvehallerne for a much needed coffee and giant cinnamon bun. Which if you’re on a budget (like me) it’s a great cost effective meal as it’s cheap, tasty and SO filling.
3 days in Copenhagen well spent I think!
H x
Photography – Hannah Trickett
4 Comments
Lovely pictures!! It makes me want to go back so badly x
Thanks! Yes me too, lets go back!
Such beautiful photos of a beautiful city! I’ve been there five times now and every time I visit I fall in love with it a little bit more! x
Thanks Abi, yes I can’t wait to go back to explore more! x