The Sweet Life

From bicycles to boats and castles, Copenhagen offers a multitude of attractions says Diane Peacock

- Diane Peacock

I wouldn’t describe Copenhagen as bustling. Busy, yes, but words like free-flowing, laid-back and orderly are more apt. The capital city, its situated on Sealand, the largest island in Denmark, and is home to over two million people. What gives it its charm are the bridges and canals that link it to a smaller island, Amager.

Our first stop was La Glace. Established in 1870, it’s the oldest confectionary and coffee shop in the city. The Danes, we discovered, are known for their fondness of sweet things and this café offered the best: layered cakes (lagkage) filled with whipped cream, Othellolagkage, which are filled with custard and topped with chocolate icing, Georginelagkage, smothered with strawberries, and Sportkage, a decadent combination of hazelnut praline nougat and caramelised choux pastry. As locals say, the only sporty thing about this cake is that you need to work out at the gym after eating it.

We stayed at Hotel SKT. Annæ, a cosy establishment in Frederiksstad in the centre of the city, around the corner from Nyhavn Harbour, a historic canal dating back to the 17th-century.

Quaint colourful houses overlook this picturesque waterfront. Restaurants, sidewalk cafés and food outlets offer fare for every taste and the promenades that stretch to Copenhagen harbour make this the place to be, especially in summer.