Best Hotels in Copenhagen Denmark: Nyhavn, Little Mermaid & New Nordic Cuisine (2026)
Hotel d'Angleterre, the 1755 grande dame on Kongens Nytorv, and Nimb Hotel's 1909 Moorish-inspired palace inside Tivoli Gardens — where to stay in Copenhagen for Nyhavn, New Nordic dining and the world's most bikeable capital.
Copenhagen: Harbour City of Nyhavn, Tivoli and New Nordic Cooking
Copenhagen wears its charms close together: a compact harbour capital where the gabled townhouses of Nyhavn — the “new harbour” canal dug in the early 1670s, its quaysides painted red, ochre and blue — sit ten minutes’ walk from the royal palace at Amalienborg and from Strøget, one of Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping streets. Hans Christian Andersen lived at three different addresses on Nyhavn while writing his fairy tales, and his Little Mermaid — the modest bronze by Edvard Eriksen, unveiled on the harbour promenade in 1913 and commissioned by Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen — remains the city’s improbable icon. Tivoli Gardens, opened in 1843 beside what is now the central station, is among the oldest amusement parks in the world and still the city’s evening heart, its lakes and pleasure gardens lit by thousands of lamps; Walt Disney visited and took notes. Modern Copenhagen’s fame is culinary: René Redzepi’s Noma, repeatedly named the world’s best restaurant, made the city the capital of New Nordic cuisine, and a deep bench of Michelin-starred kitchens — Geranium among them, with three stars — now runs alongside the everyday glories of smørrebrød (open-faced rye sandwiches) and proper Danish pastry. Add the world’s most serious bicycle culture, the free town of Christiania, and the Danish talent for hygge — candlelit cosiness as a way of life — and you have Scandinavia’s most complete city break. Even Lego is Danish, born in Billund in 1932, with its flagship store on Strøget.
The Copenhagen Hotels
Hotel d’Angleterre Copenhagen — Kongens Nytorv 1755 Luxury Suite
Price: €400–2,500/night | Location: Kongens Nytorv 34, 1050 Copenhagen, Denmark
Hotel d’Angleterre is Copenhagen’s grande dame, receiving guests on Kongens Nytorv since 1755, its white neoclassical facade facing the Royal Danish Theatre across the square with Nyhavn’s coloured houses beginning just around the corner. Royals, statesmen and stars have made it the city’s default prestige address for over two and a half centuries. Inside are some of Scandinavia’s most polished suites, the Michelin-starred restaurant Marchal, the Balthazar champagne bar, and a full spa with a pool — a rarity in central Copenhagen. In winter the facade’s illuminated Christmas display is a city attraction in its own right.
Nimb Hotel Copenhagen — Tivoli Gardens Moorish Luxury Suite
Price: €500–3,000/night | Location: Bernstorffsgade 5, 1577 Copenhagen, Denmark
The Nimb is one of Europe’s most unusual luxury hotels: a Moorish-inspired palace of 1909, all arches and minaret-like flourishes, standing inside Tivoli Gardens itself. Its small collection of individually designed rooms and suites — antiques, fireplaces, deep freestanding tubs — mostly looks straight out over Tivoli’s lake, gardens and vintage rides, which after closing time become a private illuminated view. Guests get their own entrance into the park, and the house’s bars and restaurants, led by the grand double-height Nimb Bar, are destinations for Copenhageners as much as visitors. The central station and Vesterbro’s restaurant streets are steps away.
Beyond the Hotels
Kronborg, Louisiana and the Harbour
Two of Denmark’s best excursions line the coast railway north of the city. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art at Humlebæk, about 35 minutes by train, sets Giacometti, Warhol and world-class temporary shows in a garden of sculpture sloping to the Øresund shore — many rate it Europe’s most beautiful art museum. Continue to Helsingør for Kronborg Castle, the UNESCO-listed Renaissance fortress that Shakespeare made Hamlet’s Elsinore, guarding the strait where Sweden lies four kilometres across the water. Back in town, swim like a local at the Islands Brygge harbour baths in summer — the inner harbour is clean enough to bathe in — and take a canal boat from Nyhavn for the classic waterline tour past the opera house and the Little Mermaid.
FAQ
When is the best time to visit Copenhagen? May–August, when daylight stretches late into the evening, harbour baths and pavement cafes open, and Tivoli and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival (July) are in full swing. The dark months have their compensations: Tivoli’s Halloween and Christmas seasons are spectacular, and hygge was invented for exactly this weather.
Is Copenhagen expensive? Yes — among Europe’s priciest capitals for hotels and restaurants — but manageable with local habits: smørrebrød lunches, bakery breakfasts, free sights like Nyhavn, the changing of the guard at Amalienborg and Christiania, and a Copenhagen Card if you plan several museums and the coast trains.
What is the best way to get around Copenhagen? By bicycle, like the locals — the city’s segregated cycle lanes are the world’s benchmark and rentals are everywhere. Otherwise the driverless metro runs around the clock, and the airport is a remarkable 15 minutes from the centre by metro or train.
Do I need to book New Nordic restaurants in advance? For the famous names, yes — top tables such as Geranium or Noma’s successors release seats months ahead and fill within hours. For the broader scene, a few days’ notice usually suffices, and no booking at all is needed for the smørrebrød classics and food halls like Torvehallerne.