HERE’S THE PLAN...

Essential Info

Population: 1.3 million Language: Danish; English is widely understood and spoken. Time zone: GMT+1 (Mar–oct GMT+2) International dialling code: +45 Visas: Not required by UK citizens for stays of up to three months. Currency: Danish krone (DKK), currently around DKK8.47 to the UK£. ATMS are widely available around the city. Best viewpoint: As a very flat city, there aren’t many natural viewpoints. So the best (not to mention free) one is from the tower at Christiansborg Palace, located on the tiny urban island of Slotsholmen, from where you can see most of the city. Health issues: None. But health insurance is always wise; see wanderlustinsurance.co.uk. Recommended guidebook: Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and DK all offer pocket guides and Top 10 guides to the walkable Danish capital. Web resources: The official guide to the city is visitcopenhagen.com, which is a great resource for trip planning and attractions. Also try visitdenmark.co.uk for further Denmark travel details. Climate: Expect milder winters than many Nordic cities (around 2ºc) and mild summers (around 17ºc) to match.

■First Day’ s Tour

Begin with a wander down to Nyhavn and the colourful houses and wooden ships that line the canalside. Then grab a coffee and kanelsnegle (cinnamon bun) and get your bearings with a boat ride on the water. Afterwards, pick up an electric bike via the Bycyklen city scheme (bycuklen.dk; DKK30 per hour) and meander the cyclefriendly streets. Check out two of the city’s oldest lanes, Magstraede ( pictured above) and Snaregade, and their jumble of houses; Amalienborg Palace, home to Danish royalty; and Christiana, a city within a city set up in old military barracks by hippies in the 1970s.

For a light Scandi lunch, try Vesterbro’s Mad and Kaffe (madogkaffe.dk), which serves up hipster-friendly fare. Walk it off on Urban Adventures’ three-hour Vice and Vesterbro Tour (urbanadventures.com; £60) at 3pm, which sees you learn about the weirder side of the city and enjoy a Tuborg beer or two in locals’ bar Freddys and sample the microbrews of Mikkeller.

To end the day, head to marketplace Torvehallerne, where stalls sell everything from organic chocolate to locally made crafts. Grab some take-out (recommended is Grod – a porridge bar with lots of savoury options) and head down to see the Little Mermaid statue at Langelinie Pier ( pictured left) at sunset, minus the crowds.

■ Where to Stay

Top end: Newly opened Manon Les Suites (gulds me den hotels. com/m anon-le s-suites; pictured) does hipster-style suites within a stroll of the gourmet eats at Torvehallerne. Not only do the rooms/décor look good (and its coffee is divine and organic) but it focuses on sustainability, from recycled loo-roll to encouraging the refilling of water bottles from the tap. Doubles from DKK1,765PN (£209), including breakfast. Mid-range: For something a little different and not too break-the-bank expensive, there’s the floating Hotel CPH Living (cphliving.com). This 12-room vessel – with heated floors and a roof terrace – lies close to the city centre and has doubles from DKK1,380PN (£164). Budget: For those on a budget, Urban House (urbanhouse.me) is perfect. Located in the up-and-coming Vesterbro district and offering bike rental and a gallery on-site, it has a cheerful mix of dorm beds and private rooms from just Dkk114pppn (£13.50).

■Stay or Go?

Stay – for at least a couple of days. With its flat and very walkable terrain, ample museums and coffee-shop culture, the city is the perfect place for a slow adventure.

Those with itchy feet can grab a train (or bike) and check out the sights an hour away. Its castles are a good start, with Kronborg ( pictured; kongeligeslotte.dk) being the best known – and the model for Elsinore in Shakespeare’s Hamlet – or Frederiksborg (dnm.dk), which is worth a visit for its fine museum and gardens.

For more of a meander, try the fishing town of Dragor (13km to the south), where arts and music now thrive in this farmerfounded enclave. Or head to the Viking Ship Museum (vikingeskibsmuseet.dk) in Roskilde (35km to the west), where you can watch these classic boats being built and even sail on one of them.

For those craving more, strike out 40km east and over the Oresund Bridge to the Swedish city of Malmo. Or there’s always the connecting flight to Greenland…