Copenhagen – This is a goodlooking city – even in chilly, thickly grey December. Copenhagen’s cyclists are out in stylish force, despite the icy temperature.
There is not a Lycra-clad limb in sight and barely a helmet. Women pedal in heeled boots and snug woollen hats. No one locks their parked bikes.
I haven’t a clue how they find them outside the Central Station, where there are hundreds to choose from.
‘It is Danish culture,’ says my non-Danish taxi driver, shrugging his shoulders. This must be why many of the men maintain beards, and stalls by smart Nyhaven canal do a brisk trade selling knitted accessories.
I am exploring on foot, with frequent stops for potent gluhwein or piping coffee and those delicious open sandwiches on chewy brod everyone eats in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
Copenhagen is expensive, especially in winter, when you can’t help but be drawn into a cosy cafe, glowing restaurant, bustling pub or twinkly shop.
The city is decked out prettily – most famously at the Tivoli Gardens (billions of lights, whooshing rides, wooden chalets and fireworks on a Friday). But it is not warm, so we only glimpse at it through the glittery gates.
Meanwhile, our hotel, the ecofriendly (don’t let that put you off – it is comfortable, except for the dishcloth-like bath towels) Axel Guldsmeden, is around the corner offering complimentary tea, cake and hot wine in the sheepskin-swagged lobby.
Staying here, it is difficult to muster your get-up-and-go – particulary after the healthy but hearty breakfast buffet, where you can opt for raw fennel salad with scrambled eggs.
But peel yourself away because there is much to see and do. In the evening you needn’t venture far. Fiskebaren, an industrial looking fish bar, is in the nearby meat-packing district and serves freshest fish with a twist – cauliflower, moss and granola sauce anyone?
You can combine culture with shopping at the Danish Design Museum, where Furniture For The People! is on until January 11, celebrating the centenary of the birth of furniture designer Borge Mogensen, who believed design could help to ‘frame’ a good life.
The sleek 2213 sofa he made for his own home is known as the ‘embassy sofa’ because it is said to be found in almost every Danish consulate around the world.
There is plenty on show by another world-renowned Dane, Hans Wegner. His design philosophy ‘we shall play – serious play’ is evident in his chairs: they are universally beautiful while being practical.
Take the famous Peacock chair with its flattened spindles, which are far more comfortable than the traditionally rounded versions.
The shop sells design books and geometric paper decorations by the Copenhagen company Livingly.
Look in on the Russian Orthodox Church on the same street, Bredgade.
Its sleet grey marble interior is magnificent and the dome rivals Rome’s Pantheon.
For further inspiration, there are plenty of desirable design shops in streets around the King’s Garden (also known as the Rosenborg Castle Gardens).
Gubi has an artistically curated collection of Sixties-style pieces and an elegant Grand Piano sofa in a deep bottle green (please, Father Christmas). Cross King’s Garden and you’ll arrive at the neat Rosenborg Castle, a 17th-century palace.
This is also a good spot from which to admire the surrounding streets, their houses painted in brick reds and warm greys.
In the nearby Ostre Anlaeg Park you’ll find six museums (including the castle, where you can gaze at the crown jewels) and, I am thrilled to report, at least one red squirrel.
The Hirschsprung Museum houses the Danish art collection of tobacco manufacturer Heinrich Hirschsprung. It’s a compact gallery with some lovely pieces.
The works from Skagen, Denmark’s northernmost beachside town, where artists such as Kroyer congregated to paint outdoors, capture the long summer days and light dancing off the water. There are antique shops and tempting jewellers Signen Just on Stockholmsgade, next to the Hirschsprung.
And the tastiest sandwich of my trip in Aamanns Smorrebrod on Oster Farimagsgade, nearby.
With toppings such as salmon and pickled fennel or Danish blue cheese with plum gel and roasted hazelnuts, you can almost forgive the price tag (around £6 a slice).
They offer punchy home-brewed schnapps, which will send you back into the cold with a swing.
The interior is quietly elegant with pearly marble pendant lights and dainty porcelain tea cups by Anne Black. Like the rest of Copenhagen, it looks effortless – or perhaps that’s the trick.
Daily Mail