All about green living in Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a city that mixes a green mindset with ingenuity and fun. For instance, if you clean up the harbour to make the water super clean, why wouldn’t you build a floating swimming pool for locals and visitors to enjoy in all seasons?
A green mind provides so many cool opportunities
You probably already know, that cycling in Copenhagen is a big thing. Actually, we're the bike capital of the world. Not to brag, but how the city is built for cycling, as the harbour has been repurposed for swimming and bathing, how parks, gardens and little green oases are sprinkled all over the city, says a lot about how life plays out here.
Live the high life? Why not?
There are so many fun things to do around the harbour and the canals of Copenhagen. Swimming, sailing, enjoying a glass of wine with your feet dangling from the dock.
3 green ways to enjoy Copenhagen harbour
Take a swim, have a delicious meal, sweat it out in a sauna, dive back in, borough a kayak and help pick plastic out of the water. There's too much fun to be had, not to go and experience Copenhagen harbour.
With a harbour clean enough to swim in it, public harbour baths are something that just needed to happen. And they are very popular among both locals and visitors.
One of the most visited is located at Islands Brygge, right across the bridge from the city centre.
The simple café and restaurant in Copenhagen’s rustic Refshaleøen in Copenhagen takes harbour front hygge to new heights. All-year-round.
La Banchina offers great food and wine, perfect sunsets and an obvious opportunity to jump in the clean harbour.
Borrow a kayak for free and help keep Copenhagen’s waters clean, while you explore the harbour.
The deal is that you collect what trash you might stumble upon in the harbour, weigh it when returning and post a pic on social media.
Do like the locals, get around by bike
Just about 50% of all Copenhageners commute to work or their studies by bike? The city is built for it. We've got bike lanes all over the place and several bridges have been built in the harbour area to connect the city and encourage people to pedal across town.
Cycling around in the city is not only a great way to get from A to B, it's also fun, exciting and friendly to the environment.
From bike culture to city exploration
If you got the legs for it, you could spend entire days exploring Copenhagen by bike. If you're not used to biking in an urban environment, it might seem a little daunting, but fear not. Below you can dig into more about Copenhagen's bicycle culture.
You'd know by now that Copenhagen is all about those bikes. More than half of the population rides a bike every day! Because riding a bike around Copenhagen is not only the fastest way to get around but also the most fun way. Here are some reasons you'll love it too.
Life in Copenhagen is lived in the saddle of a bicycle. Everybody does it. Bicycling that is. In Copenhagen, we bike whether there is sun, rain or snow. We bike to work, to school, to bring the kids to kindergarten, to shop for groceries and to social gatherings.
See the route of the Tour de France Grand Départ and get inspired to jump in the saddle yourself. The route takes the world's best riders (and you) by some amazing sights here in the world's best bike city.
CopenHill
Fancy going skiing in Copenhagen, a city where the snow seldom falls very deep?
A futuristic, unparalleled ski slope and a recreational hill on top of a resource handling centre are spectacular and innovative in the true sense of the words. That’s CopenHill. Fun and ingenuity epitomised.
The artificial skiing slope and the recreational hiking area opened in the fall of 2019, built on top of the new waste management centre. This sounds like something out of a sci-fi fantasy but is a reality since the power plant opened in 2017.
Have a glass of wine in the grass
As a modern city, Copenhagen acknowledges and cherishes the importance of nature in and around the city. Wherever you are, you're never more than a short bike ride away from some form of a green oasis. So take a break, sit on the grass and have a sandwich or a little something to quench your thirst.
Copenhagen offers so many types of urban green spots, from the exotic to the completely uncultivated to the historically significant.
Green diversity
Urban green spots, uncultivated nature and historically significant cemeteries (pay H.C. Andersen a visit). Copenhagen offers it all, any day of the week.
Vestamager offers wide expanses, where sun, light, and damp, salty earth are vital elements for the plants and animals that live on this littoral meadow. 1200 cows, deers, and horses make sure that the woods do not spread. Vestamager is also an important habitat for insects, toads, etc.
Botanical Garden is located in the centre of Copenhagen. The garden covers an area of 10 hectares and is particularly noted for its extensive complex of historical glasshouses dating from 1874. The garden is open to the public.
Burial ground, green oasis, cultural treasury. Welcome to Denmark's best known cemetery, Assistens in Copenhagen, the final resting place of famous Danes, like fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
How to get to Copenhagen
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Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup, is located just eight kilometres from the centre of Copenhagen. With its 60.000 daily passengers, it's the largest airport in Scandinavia. Due to its location, you're only 13-35 minutes away from the city centre, depending on the means of transportation.
Getting a good night's sleep is an important part of your holiday. Book one of our recommended hotels in Copenhagen, and you will be guaranteed the best base and service during your stay.