Has anyone been? If so do you have any recommendations of where to go and what do? Four (maybe five) blokes going. Not a stag do and although we will be having a good drink, we don't want to spend all day in the pub.
Never been but heard a lot of good things, apart from the fact that it's ludicrously expensive. Danes go shopping to Sweden as it's cheaper there, which should tell you a lot! My friend was there and she said that for a short stay, the combined tickets both for transport and museum entry are a must. Iit may sound obvious, but in London the entry passes rarely save you much, but apparently in Copenhagen they do. She might have mentioned a pass which gives you both transport and museum entry, if my mind isn't playing tricks on me.
Yes, I'm pretty sure the Copenhagen city pass doesn't cover the pubs. And then there's Noma of course, if you want to spend 600 euros to eat moss.
Think we're planning on nipping over to Malmo too. Thanks for the info - will look into these tickets.
Day trip to malmo & do plenty of research on happy hour (every bar does them just about) & its not much different in price to Leeds if you do
Its not crazy dear, that's norway. Lovely friendly city. Theres also the free state of cristiana which is well worth a visit. Id recommend hiring a city bike as very cycle friendly city plus the city bikes have satnav on them, they're cheap and electric assisted
From what we could glean when were living in Oslo for a couple of months, Norwegians go on booze cruises to Denmark, Danes to Sweden and Swedes to Finland. The Finns go to Estonia. The Estonians don't really need to go anywhere as their booze is cheap enough, though there was a case of an Estonian-Russian criminal gang who were caught pumping bootleg vodka under the border from Russia to Estonia using some old war bunkers and an elaborate series of hose pipes (true story).
Not been to Copenhagen yet so can't help on that score... but for future reference, Riga and Tallinn in the Baltics are well worth venturing to. Very good value, friendly yet unassuming people and a mix of Skandi meets Soviet. Rome next weekend then a week in Thailand the week after and Porto in April. Never thought I'd say this but i'm looking forward to May where I've got sod all planned!
Always fancied Riga or Tallinn then I went on a stag do to Bratislava, which was about as lively as Barnsley on a Tuesday morning. Since then I've always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to the former communist capital cities - aside from the obvious like Prague and Kraków (not a capital I know!) Are there plenty of bars in Tallinn and - more importantly- is anyone in them?!
I was sceptical like you, I thought they'd be highly soviet, but they are more Skandi in nature and are really against Russians (partly because of the Soviet Russification attempts). Tallinn is medieval and the old town very small. Lots of museums (including the 23rd floor of a hotel which was used by the kgb to spy on visitors in the hotel), a very good food movement and a new beer scene that's not shabby. Eye wateringly pretty (and cold) in winter with a layer of snow, and there was a seaboat museum on the Baltic sea which was perhaps the best museum refurb ive seen anywhere, though the Vasa Museum in Stockholm isn't far off. Then last week I went to Riga and was surprised just how grand it is. I thought it might be dour, but they are Unesco listed for Art Nouveau buildings which is the largest concentration in Europe. Some great seasonal local food and i'd argue maybe even better beer and more adventurous with flavours (had a blackcurrant and juiper saison at about 7.5% which was delicious). Beer and food pretty reasonable price wise too. There are rundown areas and it can be gritty in parts but I tend to like that kind of faded charm and see all of a place, not just the staged parts, but Riga especially has a lot going for it. Some medieval, some old wooden houses, museums, a park through the fringe of the old town and a lot more shopping than I thought. Some bars were busy (more central), ones we hiked a bit out of the centre weren't, and consider it was Jan/Feb we went, so not prime tourist visiting times. If you want somewhere lively with bars galore, Belgium. All day every day. And i'd probably suggest Mechelen. Vismarkt and the main square have lots of bars and if you drop on in September, there is a free festival in the main square. Can sit in a bar, eat, drink and listen to the festival. I went last year and the bands were Starsailor and Basement Jaxx. So not shabby at all. We quickly booked Riga off the back of visiting Tallinn mid Jan. I think it won't be long before we visit Vilnius in Lithuania from how much we enjoyed Riga. And if you like cycling, or visit in summer, there are beaches close by and forests galore. I've been to Budapest, Krakow, Prague, Berlin, and Riga and Tallinn are much higher up in how i'd rank them. I'd say Budapest was my favourite city break til I visited Rome. Aside from Rome, its a close call between Tallinn and Riga now, largely because of their sad history with Germany and Russia, the incredible architecture, their shyly friendly spirit and the food and drink they've latched onto. Some very cool emerging bars and just loads to do. And if you get fed up, jump on a ferry to Helsinki or Stockholm, or a train to St Petersburg or Moscow. If you do book, let me know, I've notes of where we ate and drank and some needed a bit of hunting down.
6 of us are off in May. Let me know if you find any gems. Definitely going to get the train to Malmo just so I can say I went to a different country for a pint
You may need a passport to get into Sweden, we went to Malmo while in Denmark but were warned about that. Better off checking to be sure.
You're going before us - I was just getting in there early!! I look forward to your detailed review with plenty of recommendations