Copenhagen travel guide

Svanemølle beach is one of Copenhagen's not-so-few city beaches. It's a new and artificial stretch of sand located a bit north of the city centre wedged by the districts of affluent Østerbro and posh Hellerup. During grey and cold days, not much is happening, but duirng a hot summer's day (yes, Denmark does get a few of those), every single square metre of the small beach is occupied by half-naked bodies soaking up the sun.

The quarters northwest of Copenhagen (which are misleadingly called North and East) are separated from the center by a row of three rectangular lakes, Peblinge Lake, Sortedams Lake, and Sankt Jørgens Lake, commonly known as "The Lakes". However, if you count the bodies of water, you will get five, as both Sortedams and Sankt Jørgens are split by bridges. Though they are a bit dull to look at, the lakes are highly valued by the Danes, who happy pay top kroners to get an apartment with lake view. The path around the lakes are popular with runners (6.4 km in total) and the benches, which catch the afternoon's last rays of the sun, are popular with beer drinkers.

In the middle of Copenhagen, squeezed in between railway tracks, lies this tranquil neighbourhood. The small yellow houses were built in 1922 as home for employees of the Danish Railway DSB. It was also known as Chinese Town, not because any Chinese lived here, but due to the bright yellow color (politically correctness wasn't a thing back then). Today the houses are privately owned, but you can still find the old logo of DSB on the front. One way to access The Yellow Town is through what must be a candidate for the longest pedestrian underpass in Denmark.

This huge cemetery is more than 130 acres, making it the largest in Scandinavia. Many notable Danish are buried here including artists, scientists, and politicians. There are sections reserved for Muslims, Catholics, and people from the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Beside being a tranquil spot for a walk, the graveyard is a goldmine for history buffs. British soldiers released from German POW camps after WWI, which died of the Spanish flu in transit, are buried here. So are a great number of Germans who fled Germany right after WWII. Their grave is the only mass grave in Denmark and is marked by several rows of identical crosses. In one corner of the cemetery near the railway is a pile of old grave stones which have been tossed - it’s an odd sight symbolizing not just dead people, but forgotten too.

The urban landscape in Copenhagen is filled with art and cool design. It is an old tradition that ending of buildings have been used for painted advertising or murals done by famous and less-famous artists. As old buildings get replaced by new bright architecture with lots of windows, the big murals are slowly disappearing, but there are still quite a few left. So go hunting for wall painting in the streets of Copenhagen.

First there were six wooden giants placed in the suburbs of Copenhagen, but the list has now been extended with Captain Nalle among others. They are the work of recycling artist Thomas Dambo, who place them in scenic, but semi hidden locations to lure people out to explore. Due to the major success of the first six, the number of giants are now ever growing (both in Denmark and worldwide).

In 2000, there was nothing else than scrubland and a highway in this deserted area of Amager, the island where Copenhagen is partly situated. Then city planners got working. A metro was built and futuristic architecture followed suit. Today, Ørestad is a carefully designed urban environment with canals, open space and odd buildings in concrete and glass. The most iconic landmarks are the leaning hotel Bella Sky and the headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, but out there you also find triangular balconies, a high school with wall-less classrooms, and an apartment building (8TALLET) where you can walk from ground floor to the top without taking any stairs. Some find hyper modern Ørestad super funky, while others think it's soulless - judge for yourself, it's only five minutes away from the city centre with the metro.