COPENHAGEN
General advice:
− Money ¬– be very aware of the conversion rate before you start spending money. Its easy to think that Danish money is like monopoly money, but if you aren’t careful with conversions then you’ll end up blowing through money on $10 beers and lattes.
− Biking – if you live close enough to DIS/city center, then I would definitely recommend renting a bike for the whole time you’re there. I lived too far so it wasn't practical to rent one but I wish I had. Just be prepared that people take biking very seriously there and there are a lot of biking rules/traffic signals/etc. Be especially careful during rush hour times because the bike lanes are packed and people can be kind of reckless.
− Public Transportation – Technically, public transportation is on an honor system in Copenhagen BUT if you get caught without it on a bus or metro you get fined an insane amount of money. DIS will give you a transportation pass that allows you to get from where you live to school for the whole semester. DO NOT LOSE THIS. Copenhagen is divided into zones, so your transportation pass will only apply to the zones between where you live and where DIS is (in the middle of the city). If you want to travel in different zones, you have to buy individual passes.
− Grocery stores – Grocery stores in a foreign country are hard. I would definitely try to bring either your dorm manger or another Danish person with you the first time you go, or at least have them give you advice before hand. Even though everyone in Denmark speaks English, all the labels are in Danish. It’s actually a lot more difficult than you’d expect to find what you want, especially since they package things very differently too.
Activities/places to go:
− Christiania – commune/“Freetown”/autonomous neighborhood located inside Copenhagen, but technically not under the city’s jurisdiction. Good place to buy drugs (mostly weed) for pretty cheap. Also a good place to smoke outdoors without worrying about it. At the end of the summer there are free concerts every Sunday night. There’s a cool indoor/outdoor bar in the middle called Café Nemoland. Also a REALLY good Thai restaurant near the entrance called Café Loppen.
− Church of our Savior - near Christiania; really beautiful Baroque church with a super tall corkscrew tower that you can climb and see awesome views of the city.
− Canal tours – I never got the chance to do one so I don't have any specific recommendations but I assume they’re all about the same.
− Bike tours ¬– If you don't rent a bike while your there, definitely try biking at some point. Same deal as with the canal tours. You can also just rent bikes (there are tons of different places to rent from) and bike around yourself, just make sure you plan out an itinerary before so you don't get lost.
− Botanical Garden – associated with UCPH. Located near the Norreport metro. Free, fun place to walk around and take pictures. If its really nice out bring a picnic and bottles of wine and sit on the lawn.
− Tivoli Gardens - famous old amusement park in the city center. Especially fun to go around Halloween and Christmas because they decorate it and have special activities and shopping. Also have fireworks on some nights around Halloween. The first time you go I would recommend getting a wristband so you can go on as many rides as you want. There are also some pretty good restaurants inside the gardens, including Wagamama, which is a reasonably priced noodle place and some nicer/more expensive ones. At the end of the summer/beginning of the fall/when its still kind of warm out there are free concerts there sometimes.
− Denmark National Aquarium (Den Bla Planet) – I didn't get a chance to go, but I heard really good things. It’s Europe’s largest aquarium and has really interesting architecture.
− Round Tower - historic tower from the 17th century commissioned by Christian IV. Locateod near DIS/in the city center. Cool architecture and interesting stories if you’re into history. It’s not the most fascinating thing in the city but its cool to say you've done it.
− Stroget – longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. Most of the stores are very expensive but have really beautiful clothes. There are a couple that are cheaper like Bik Bok, Urban Outfitters, Karen Millen, Vero Moda. Other cool stores are TopShop, Weekday (lots of Cheap Monday stuff), the Cheap Monday store, Samsoe and Samsoe, Mads Norgaard. Pretty much anywhere you walk into will have beautiful Euro clothing.
− Nyhavn - canal waterfront with really pretty boats and good restaurants (expensive). Cute but kind of small Christmas market in December.
− Carlsberg Brewery - Danish beer. You get samples on the tour
− The Little Mermaid sculpture (pretty anticlimactic but fun to say you've seen it)
− National Museum - cool art and history museum
Nightlife:
− Kulor Bar –go on Tuesdays, when they have “50 cent night of Copenhagen” aka you pay a cover and get unlimited beer the entire night. I know it doesn't sound that much like 50 but it is because everyone gets trashed. Oh and also its usually only American college students on Tuesdays. If you go during the weekend there will be Danes which is kind of fun.
− Penthouse – more of a clubby vibe. Especially fun on the weekends or for special events when they will have a pretty reasonable cover that gets you free beer and cider all night.
− Francis Pony – more mature, less trashy bar. Attracts Americans but Danes go there as well. Its pretty hip and not insanely expensive. Near DIS.
− Australian Bar (aka “A Bar”) - very similar to Kulor Bar in that it caters to American college students and is super trashy/clubby but it's a good option if you can’t think of anywhere else to go, especially on the weekends.
− Karriere – hip/hipster bar in the meatpacking district. Usually has live music, super trendy (maybe too trendy).
− Culture Box – Culture Box has been named one of the best clubs in Europe but I think it’s on the decline because both times I went there it was almost empty. It’s kind of in a random neighborhood but sometimes they have good live music so maybe worth checking out.
− Mikkeller – super hip beer bar with amazing beers that they brew themselves. Located in the Vesterbro red light district.
− Bodega 54 – kind of dive-y but cheaper than other places.
Food:
Disclaimer – Eating out is insanely expensive. The entire time I was there, I only went out to dinner once. Its much more reasonable to grab lunch or a late night snack somewhere and there are a lot of good cheapish options for that.
− HOT DOGS – hot dogs may be the national food of Denmark. There are hot dog stands everyone and Danish hot dogs are SO DAMN GOOD. They put weird condiments on them, like fried onion strings, so be wary of that.
− Shawarma – another very common, very cheap food. There are little shawarma shops everywhere and they’re all open late. A lot of them serve pizza too, which can be pretty gross but sometimes does the trick if you’re drunk enough.
− Torvehallerne – aka the "glass market," indoor market with amazing food, cheese, wine, etc; walking distance from DIS
− St. Peder's Bageri – debatably one of the best bakeries in the city. Near DIS.
− Sandwich Pigen – really good cheap sandwiches; they give DIS kids a discount if you bring your student ID.
− Lagkahuset – kind of like the Danish version of Starbucks in the sense that they are everywhere. REALLY good pastries and decent coffee.
− Joe and the Juice – also pretty widespread around the city. Really good coffee and juices and also delicious, cheap sandwiches. Their avocado smoothie is a miracle cure for hangovers. Also I have a theory that they only employ really good looking males.
DAY TRIPS
− Louisiana Museum - about 1 hr 30 mins outside the city. Really cool/modern art exhibits. Has nothing to do with the state.
− Day trip to Malmo, Sweden (closest part of Sweden to Denmark, about a 20 min train ride)
− Bakken – amusement park that's about an hour outside the city.
− Kronberg Castle – Castle where Hamlet was set. Located in Helsingor, which is about an hour from the city center. One of the more interesting of the millions of castles, so I would recommend going on a tour (you can even do a self guided one). Helsingor is super small but if you want to make a day trip out of it there are definitely good cafes and restaurants. There are also good Christmas markets if you go in December.