Copenhagen: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: leave cash at home because contactless cards work everywhere in Danish kroner, look both ways before stepping across a raised cycle track, book popular lunch and dinner tables a week or two ahead, and use the 24-hour Metro and yellow harbour buses whenever your feet get tired.

How the city is laid out: Indre By, the Lakes and the Bridge Quarters

Central Copenhagen is compact and flat. The medieval and royal core, Indre By (Inner City), sits between the main harbour channel on the east and a curving chain of three rectangular artificial lakes (Søerne) on the west. Across the harbour channel to the south-east lies the 17th-century canal island of Christianshavn. Wrapping around the outer bank of the Lakes are the 19th-century "bridge quarters" (Brokvartererne), running clockwise from south-west to north-east: Vesterbro, Frederiksberg, Nørrebro and Østerbro.

Danish kroner (DKK), contactless cards and tipping

Denmark is a member of the European Union and the Schengen Area, but it uses the Danish krone (DKK) rather than the euro. You rarely need physical banknotes or coins: sourdough bakeries, hotdog carts (pølsevogne), museum cloakrooms, public toilets and Metro ticket machines all accept contactless Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Service charges are included by law in all Danish restaurant and bar bills; locals only round up a small amount if service was exceptional.

Respecting the cycle lanes and lunch hours

Copenhageners commute by bicycle twelve months of the year on raised asphalt tracks that sit between the pavement and the car lanes. Never step off a bus or pause on the kerb with your camera in the cycle track, and learn the basic hand signals in our cycling guide before hiring a bike. Keep in mind that traditional smørrebrød lunch restaurants serve only between midday and mid-afternoon and require advance reservations.