The Copenhagen Things Nobody Puts in a Guide

I was born here. These are the things I know that I did not learn from a guide.

The free swimming beyond the famous spots: the Kastrup Søbad (Kastrup Strandpark, Amager) is a wooden sea bathing facility on the coast of Amager that is empty on weekdays and has the sea rather than the harbour. Go in the morning in summer. The Sluseholmen Havnebad in Sydhavn is the third option that most guides don’t mention.

The Assistens Cemetery in Nørrebro functions as a park on warm days. Locals lay out blankets between the graves. This is entirely normal in Copenhagen. Kierkegaard’s grave is there and easy to find. The atmosphere is one of the most specifically Copenhagener things I know.

The Arken Museum (arken.dk — Skovvej 100, Ishøj) is thirty minutes by S-tog from the city centre and consistently undervisited. The collection is contemporary international, the building by Søren Robert Lund is itself worth the trip. Go in winter when everyone overlooks it in favour of the Louisiana.

The bike route along the harbour from Christianshavn to Amager Strand takes about twenty-five minutes and is one of the better cycling experiences in the city — waterfront, flat, the city on one side and the sea opening up on the other. It connects to the beach. Take it on a clear morning.