Copenhagen, for us, is just about the perfect city. As much as we love Italy beyond reason, the cool Danish capital, is the perfect place for a short break. It’s a city that can be easily broken down into areas, so makes exploring it really easy. On our last trip, we stayed in the Vesterbro neighbourhood, and from here, we did get to see a lot of the city. Transport around Copenhagen is excellent – obviously if you’re a local, bikes are king, but they can easily be hired if you’re just visiting. Public transport is reliable, and the Metro, s-trains and buses (including waterbuses) can all be accessed with the same ticket. But, mostly we used our feet and covered a great deal of ground.
As well as being super stylish and effortlessly cool, Copenhagen is a foodie paradise. And, with really affordable options – one being the amazing Torvehallerne Food Hall – you will be well fed and watered throughout your visit. Opened in its present form in 2011, and with over sixty stalls, it’s right in the centre of the city, very close to the busy Nørreport Street and the beautiful rectangular lakes (Peblinge, Sankt Jørgens and Sortedams), and is the perfect place to stroll, pick up some tasty treats and have a bite to eat. With local produce, farm-to-table dining, Danish specialities and global cuisine, this food market is more of an experience, and one that really should be on everyone’s “must visit” list. As well as being able to eat inside the hall – most of the food outlets have seating, although they can be at a premium – you can enjoy the outdoor seating where there are benches and tables around the flower and fruit market and in the square behind.
Like everything in Copenhagen, this food hall just screams style. All outlets are independent and all are presented beautifully – from the ways the goods are displayed, to the logos and branding, to the colour palette choices through to the presentation of either the food or the packaging. Attention to detail is in evidence everywhere. This place really delivers and is a fabulous day out. As well as plenty of foodie retail opportunities – fabulous if you are self-catering in Copenhagen – the options for grazing are just wonderful. We chose one of the outlets which prepared and cooked the most divine fresh pasta and sauces, accompanied of course, by delicious Italian white wine.
Whatever you desire, you will be able to source in this incredible food market – coffees to go, fresh coffee beans, pizzas, pasta, fresh spices, meats, cheeses, olives, pastries (Danish, of course, being the most popular), breads, fresh juices, tapas, oysters, open sandwiches, organic products, herbal products. The list is endless!
Outside the glass food hall, are many stalls selling fresh flowers and plants and fruit and vegetables. The floral choices are just staggering and I know if I lived in Copenhagen, I’d have fresh flowers every single day!
We totally love Copenhagen. Although it obviously can be very expensive, we found that you can do the city on your budget. We’re not Noma type people, so we didn’t have this kind of dilemma when it came to eating out and it’s another reason why places like Torvehallerne are such great choices, and why I could just not recommend this food hall enough.