First off, Lonely Planet’s Copenhagen guidebook is great. Includes a a couple of nifty walking tours and solid recommendations for food, nightlife, etc. Also, the information desk at the airport gives away free maps of the city. Grab one before heading downtown.

Bring your walking shoes. It’s a great town for wandering around — you can pretty much walk from one end of the city to another. Also, free bicycles are available throughout the city center.

What to see? The city is full of interesting Scandinavian style architecture and pretty parks. Stroll down Stroget, the “world’s longest pedestrian mall.” Check out the harbor at Nyhavn (boat tours available). Wander through the park to Kastellet, a 17th century citadel, head to Christiana to check out Pusher Street and the hippie-like commune there, climb the steps at Vor Frelsers Kirke (the last 150 steps of the 95m tower are located on the outside of the building).

Do be sure to go to Louisiana modern art museum located in Humlebaek (about 45 mins. away from Copenhagen via train). It’s full of great pieces and the neat setting includes an outdoor sculpture garden overlooking the ocean. It’s a must see. Also, I missed out on the Danish Design Museum but it seems like a great stop for anyone interested in Scandinavian design. The whole city is fascinating from a design standpoint, actually.

For food, check out the hipster hangout Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus for a delicious dinner that’s relatively affordable. Sebastopol next door also draws a crowd for drinks and food. Rust, a nearby club, features house/techno upstairs and hip hop below — it’s a good place to get your groove on and watch Danes dance to Biggie and Snoop.

Anything negative? Well the weak dollar makes the city quite expensive right now. Sightwise, Tivoli (amusement park) is a bit touristy but features concerts on weekends and an “authentic” viking restaurant — the house specialty there is a spear of four hunks of meat served with cider and some sort of mullet/oat mixtue. The famed little mermaid (statue on the water) ain’t really all that much to see. Rosenborg slot castle is neat to see from the outside but fairly boring inside. That said, I think it’s probably tough to go to Copenhagen and not have a great time.

Pictures to be developed and posted soon. I’ll let you know.