Overview
A Taste of Denmark
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA
You're not in Copenhagen for a full city experience — you have one evening (Saturday) and one morning (Sunday) before the flight home. The goal is a genuine taste of the city: the coloured houses of Nyhavn, a canal cruise, Danish food, and a final morning at Kastrup Søbad before the airport.
Copenhagen is one of the world's most livable cities — bike-friendly, walkable, architecturally coherent, and with a food culture that has genuine depth. The "New Nordic" cuisine movement of the last 20 years transformed the city's restaurants, but the traditional food is equally good: open-faced sandwiches (smørrebrød), pork dishes, pastries.
Saturday Evening
Nyhavn to Skindbuksen
Nyhavn — The Postcard
The 17th-century canal lined with colourful merchant houses and old wooden ships. Hans Christian Andersen lived here for several periods (numbers 18, 20, and 67). Today the ground floors are restaurants and bars. Touristy but genuinely beautiful — best at dusk when the lights reflect in the water. The canal cruise departs from here.
Canal Cruise (5pm)
A 1-hour guided boat tour of Copenhagen's canals and harbour. Passes: Christianshavn, the Opera House (Henning Larsen, 2005), the Black Diamond Library (a waterfront extension of the Royal Library), Christiansborg Palace (the parliament), and the famous Little Mermaid bronze (you'll see it from the water). Sit inside the heated glass cabin for the tour, pop to the back deck for photos of the Opera House and Library. Book 24 hours ahead, ~$20/person.
Hart Bageri — Cardamom Croissant
Richard Hart's bakery (Galionsvej or Mærsk Tower location). Former head baker of Tartine in San Francisco, Hart moved to Copenhagen and has become one of the most respected bakers in Europe. The cardamom croissant is the must-have: buttery, flaky, fragrant with whole green cardamom. Also excellent: the kanelsnegl (cinnamon snail) and the focaccia.
Skindbuksen — Dinner
One of the oldest pubs in Copenhagen (since 1728), Lille Kongensgade 4. Cozy, wood-panelled, utterly authentic. Order the Flæskestegssandwich — Denmark's iconic crackling pork sandwich. Crunchy, fatty, salty, with red cabbage, cucumber, and gravy. Look for the brass nameplates on the tables: this was a favourite of sailors, coachmen, and poets for centuries. The name means "The Leather Breeches."
Sunday Morning
Kastrup Søbad to the Airport
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA
Kastrup Søbad — a 10-minute walk from your hotel. A circular wooden sea bath built on a pier into the Øresund Sound, with views of the bridge to Sweden. In April it's brisk but beautiful — the sky is enormous, the water reflects the morning light, and on a clear day you can see the Swedish coast. The snail-shaped walk around the structure is a nice final Italian-vacation decompression before the airport.
From Kastrup Søbad it's a short walk or bus to Kastrup Metro station, then 15 minutes on Metro M2 to Copenhagen Airport. Allow 1 hour before departure for priority pass lounge access.
- Aspire Lounge or Aviator Lounge: Terminal 2 · Priority Pass · complimentary food and drinks
- Last Danish purchase: Copenhagen Airport has a good cheese and charcuterie shop in departures — pick up brunost (brown goat cheese) for the flight
- Return: Logan Express from BOS to Framingham park-and-ride for the drive back to West Hartford
Practical Details