Join us as we head to the Danish capital Copenhagen

Enjoy the first in of our ‘Grand Tour of Simply Scandi places’ as we set down in the Danish capital

Autumn is known as peak hygge time for visiting Copenhagen. Local Laura Hall shares a few of her favourite places in our new Vol 19 Autumn issue – and suggests when to visit to make the most of their autumn charm.

The bustle of the summer tourists fades away, leaving quiet canals and cobbled streets. Cafés and coffee shops glow with the light of candles in the late afternoon and add soft blankets to their outdoor seating. As burnt orange leaves fall from trees and the late summer sun illuminates the colours of the city’s historic buildings, Copenhagen in autumn is a joy.

The city’s museums and art galleries are noticeably less packed, so you can take it all in at whatever pace you like. You might even get a table at one of the city’s hottest restaurants, if you’re lucky. While Copenhagen has a distinct tourist trail to follow, which usually involves a visit to Tivoli Gardens, The Little Mermaid, Nyhavn and Christiania, followed by smørrebrød, you don’t have to follow the herd and do it like that. After all, ticking things off on a sights list is old fashioned these days.

1 Discover Christianshavn for photo opportunities

The colourful houses lining Nyhavn may well be the most photographed part of the city, but just across the bridge over the harbour, past the popular street food site of Broens Gadekokken, you’ll find similar houses without the touristy restaurants and bars. Wandering around the narrow backstreets of Christianshavn is a great way to spend a morning or afternoon.

2 Take a cruise – without the tourists

Instead of taking the low-slung tourist boat from Nyhavn around the city's harbour, take a yellow harbour bus instead. This public ferry, run on green electricity, takes a route from Nordhavn in the north to Sluseholmen in the south and back again, stopping at every major spot along the harbour on the way. As an introduction to Copenhagen’s harbour, it’s a great value option and much more authentic.

3 Go spa like a local

Denmark, as a whole, is defiantly egalitarian: exclusive and premium experiences are seen as a bit snobby. While some of the city’s five-star hotels offer up-to-the-minute spa treatments with LED face masks and the latest techniques, locals tend to prefer places like Sofiebadet. Tucked away on a cobbled side street in charming Christianshavn, Sofiebadet Spa is a former community bath house remade for today with a sauna and steam room, mud therapy room, large bathtubs and herbal face masks.

4 Head to a beach

Copenhagen is a city of many beaches. The best, in my opinion, is Amager Strandpark, a beach park 5km from the city centre with dunes, a smooth promenade beloved by cyclists, skateboarders and inline skaters, and a big sandy beach. There’s even a lagoon where you can kayak and windsurf.

5 Appreciate art in unsual settings

Art and autumn go together so well in this city, whether you’re browsing the luminous Danish Golden Age paintings at SMK or enjoying modern installations at Copenhagen Contemporary. But not all art galleries are created equal. Underneath Sondermarken Park, Copenhagen’s old water reservoir has been transformed into a dimly lit, echoing chamber of contemporary art – The Cisterns. The programming is always made for the setting and leans towards experiential, thought-provoking and unique.

6 Swap smørrebrød for samosas

Conde Nast Traveller named Bar Vitrine on its list of hot openings this year and with good reason. Serving Indian food by former Noma staffer Dhriti Arora and well-chosen wine from Riccardo Marcon, behind high-end wine bars in the city, the 16-seater restaurant sits on a street corner in the Medieval old town. The best – and worst – part of this place is that you can’t book: as a visitor to the city, you’re as likely as anyone else to get a seat. It is worth the queue – do what the locals do and pop your name on the list and grab a drink in a nearby bar while you wait for your table.

7 Listen to some jazz

Ever since a flood of American jazz musicians left America in the 1960s to create their own scene in Copenhagen, this city has loved jazz. Stan Getz lived on the beach a little north of the city, and luminaries including Josephine Baker and Dizzy Gillespie entertained the city’s music fans. This year, an exclusive new jazz club opened in the old town with quite a fanfare – Epicurus jazz bar.

8 Hit the museums after dark

Copenhagen’s galleries are a great place to visit in the daytime – autumn sees a change of exhibitions at all the major galleries, including Louisiana and Glyptoteket – but even better at night. Over the past few years, the out-of-hours art scene has been building. As well as the regular Culture Night – where galleries, museums and cultural spaces are open late with special programming on 10 October – many of the city’s galleries now have special evening events. Check out the informal introductions to art at SMK, the National Gallery (via its SMK Fridays programme), as well as the parties, cocktail nights and gong baths at Copenhagen Contemporary. There are also concerts, talks and much more at Arken, well worth the journey to the outskirts of the city.

9 Visit Helsingør

An hour to the north of Copenhagen along a beautiful coastal rail line lies the town of Helsingør. It is a perfect mini Copenhagen: cobbled streets, coloured houses and lovely cafés. What sets the town apart is the grand turreted and moated castle on the coast – Kronborg Castle, the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

10 Find design in the suburbs

Bring a windproof coat and jump on a train up the coast for a design treat. Iconic Danish designer Arne Jacobsen designed many of the buildings in Bellevue, a northern suburb of the city, including the most picture-perfect lifeguard towers I’ve ever seen. The beach here makes for a lovely walk, and if you continue along the promenade, you come to a distinctive mushroom-shaped petrol station, Oliver’s Garage, also designed by Jacobsen, which serves great ice cream.