This may not be the most obvious tourist destination and it does have a limited lifespan, but if you’re in the neighbourhood anyway, I think it’s worth a visit.

The Copenhagen metro system is expanding with a City ring which is supposed to be finished in 2018. One of the larger construction sites is located in Nørrebroparken. The large hole in the ground and the huge white indefinable machines, roaring and doing God knows what inside the enclosed area, is spectacle enough on its own.

The large gate to the construction site is mostly open during the day, so you can see what’s going on. But even when they are closed you can sneak-peak at the progress through several windows in the fence surrounding the site. And that’s another thing to look at: the fence.

It’s more than half a kilometre long and decorated with different kinds of art. Local artist and children from nearby schools and institutions have covered large parts of the fence with different kinds of artwork.

One of the pieces you can see is the remains of the large trees in the park that had to be cut down to make room for the construction site, now changed into art and put on display on the fence.

My own favourite is on the part of the fence facing Nordbanegade where miniature models of local shops and institutions are put up, like Rust and our local bus 5A.

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On the fence | Art & culture | Free
Hillerødgade | Nørrebro
24 hours daily

Assistens Cemetery is a popular spot for sunbathing and picnics, but if you’re not completely comfortable with the idea of baring skin among the tombstones, there is a fine alternative very close by. Behind the cemetery and between Holy Cross Church and The Metropolitan School is Hans Tavsens Park. The park was founded in the early twentieth century in a former part of the cemetery and is Copenhagen’s first public park.

In the park are some beautiful statues such as The Artemis Fountain by Johannes Bjerg.and Michelangelo’s Moses (well, a copy of it, anyway).

The park’s grill can be used free of charge and behind The Metropolitan School there are paved ball courts and climbing walls and a mini golf course. During opening hours you can borrow golf equipment in the playgroup buildings next to the golf course.

At the other end of the park near the church is a playground for smaller children.

Whereas Assistens Cemetery is a very tranquil place, Hans Tavsens Park is quite naturally a lot livelier, but you can easily find a peaceful spot away from the hordes of soccer-playing boys.

You can enter the park through the cemetery, or from Jagtvej via a somewhat humble reddish brown wooden gate, or from Hans Tavsens Gade.

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Hans Tavsens Park | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Hans Tavsens Gade | Nørrebro
Park 24 hours daily | Mini golf Mon – Thu 09:30 – 17:00, Fri 10:00 – 17:00

Copenhagen has an almost brand new opera house. I have an excellent view of it from my office, and in my opinion it looks like a very large hat that someone has placed on the horizon of the city. And though the inside of the building is quite stunning, catching a performance there is definitely in the more expensive category of entertainment.

Luckily it is possible to find offers of fine art such as opera and poetry elsewhere, and – might I add – at a more affordable price. In an abolished church on Møllegade lies Literaturhaus. The place harbours a variety of events from readings by national and international writers, poetry duels, discussions, opera improvisation and stand-up opera – both of which can be rather overwhelming experiences – to electronic ambient and presentations of new releases of classical music.

Listening to, or rather experiencing opera at Literaturhaus is very different from going to an opera, and you don’t even have to be a huge fan of the genre to be impressed and enjoy yourself.

The original reason that I know of this place is less poetic: the owner rents out the church for social events, and my friends and I rented it some years back for a large party.

Prices too are in a completely different league than the big opera house.

Check out the program on Literaturhaus’ website. Unfortunately not all of it is translated into English, but some is.

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LiteraturHaus | Art & culture, Music | Entrance up to DKK 150
Møllegade 7 | Nørrebro | +4533329818
Depends on the event

I first saw them November last year. Back then there were only four of them: two bears, a monkey and a rabbit to be precise. One day they were just there, sitting in a tree.

Last time I counted, the number had grown to more than thirty, and almost every week new stuffed animals arrive to join the party. For the most part it’s good old teddy bears, but dolphins, crocodiles, elephants and a great deal of other plush creatures have come to join in. They have spread from their original tree, and now occupy the whole of two trees.

I pass their hangout every day twice, but I still haven’t been able to catch a glimpse of any of them arriving at the scene. It is quite a mystery what makes them gather in this particular area, where (to be honest) not much else is going on.

Maybe they are there to keep an eye on the skaters on the nearby ramp, or maybe they are looking after the friendly, harmless bunch of unemployed that hangs out drinking beer and having a smoke in a shack on the same spot of green.

Whatever the reason, they are not telling.

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Where teddy bears meet | Art & culture, Relaxing
Prags Boulevard | Amager
24 hours daily

This place is an almost legendary hangout in Copenhagen. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly and even though the majority of the guests are local it is also strangely international, probably due to the fact that many of the staff doesn’t necessarily speak Danish.

The interior is slightly curious. Lamp shades are doll heads and the place is full of stuffed animals that are not looking like you would expect them to. Actually most of them are dressed. And seem to have at bit of a rebel attitude. All the animal dolls are made ​​by the artist Philip V. Jensen

The art exhibited on the walls is for sale and is made by changing artists and replaced a few times a year.

Bankeråt has a wide selection of beer, but personally I can recommend their Irish coffee. My friends and I have carefully and several times sampled the beverage, and there can be no doubt that it is the best in town.

Bankeråt also boasts a varied menu with everything from brunch to sandwiches to lamb stew, and the kitchen is open till 21:30 every day of the week.

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Bankeråt | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks
Ahlefeldtsgade 27-29 | Inner City | +4533936988
Mon – Fri 09:30 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 10:30 – 00:00

Having visited Nørrebro, you shouldn’t leave without a piece of local art. Yes, I know it sounds expensive but it really doesn’t have to be.

As you have probably noticed after reading Spotted By Locals guide to Copenhagen, Jægersborggade has a lot to offer, and this is no exception.

CMYK kld is a small basement store selling posters, graphics and original works all created by Danish illustrators and artists, most of which can only be bought here. Even though the shop is really small, it doubles as a gallery with exhibitions on a regular basis.

Prices range from DKK 90 to DKK 500 depending on the size, and if you buy an A4 print for DKK 90, DKK 40 goes directly to the artist.

You can also buy original works, but that of course is somewhat pricier.

Upon request, the owner of Cmyk, Maya, will frame your newly bought piece of art while you wait. Prices on frames start at DKK 45.

Styles and designs are highly varied, and it would surprise me greatly if someone walked into the store and could not find at least one thing they liked.

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Cmyk kld | Art & culture | A4 print DKK 90
Jægersborggade 51 | Nørrebro | +4521629563
Tue – Fri 12:00 – 17:30, Sat 11:00 – 15:00

Usually it is just a hackneyed figure of speech when we say that a city has a heart. But Nørrebro actually has one. On a pedestal at Aksel Larsens Plads near Nørrebro Parken and directly opposite The Red Square there is a big red iron heart. It is engraved with the words ‘We want to live together’ in many languages. If you look closely at the heart, you will realize that it is made out of pieces of metal from different kinds of weapons.

Nørrebro has had its trouble in the past, and the heart stands as a symbol of the joint effort and desire to live peacefully and respectfully together. All the weapons used to make the sculpture have been either confiscated or submitted voluntarily to the Nørrebro police. The artist himself, Bjørn Nørgaard, was born in Nørrebro not too far from where the heart is located.

There are plenty of benches in the immediate vicinity of The Heart, so sit down and take a little break to enjoy this unusual sculpture.

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Nørrebros Hjerte | Art & culture, Relaxing | Free
Aksel Larsens Plads, Nørrebrogade 209 | Nørrebro
24 hours daily

Walking around in this fabulous store feels a bit like visiting a museum, except you can buy everything on display. And though I have to admit that I have never actually bought anything (yet) on my many browsing visits to this two-storey shop packed with beautiful objects, I strongly recommend a visit – especially if you are interested in classic furniture design from the twentieth century.

You’ll find original design by Danish designers like Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton and Poul Henningsen, but also by designers such as Charles & Ray Eames. In addition to furniture Roxy sells prints, ceramics in various guises, lamps and many other beautiful things.

Back in the 1920s one of the store’s backrooms used to be a pub of sorts –  ’Slyngelstuen’ – where actors from the nearby Nørrebro Theatre and other locals would come to quench their thirst. Among them was the Danish painter and inventor Storm P, who painted a long frieze in the room. The motif of the frieze would later form the basis for a humorous and in Denmark widely popular cartoon, Peter and Ping. The drawings can still be seen on the walls.

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Roxy Klassik | Art & culture, Shopping
Fælledvej 4, Nørrebro | Nørrebro | +4535374142
Mon – Fri 12:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00

On Nørrebrogade, just across the big yellow wall surrounding Assistens Cemetery, there is a colourful shop with a conspicuous sign above the door that says HotKoTyr. It is a pun on haute couture, and in Danish it means hot-cow-bull, which is mildly funny if you’re a Dane and, if nothing else, helps explain the name. If you’re not a Dane, you might just find it a bit silly.

HotKoTyr primarily sells lamps, all kinds of old lamps: lamps from the sixties, old dental lamps, kitschy lamps shaped as gnomes and monkeys with shining eyes, but also really nice vintage lamps. The guy who owns the store fixes them up himself, and in addition to lamps the store is full of old sockets and light switches no longer in trade, posters from the sixties, old models of cartoon characters in plastic and miscellaneous curiosities of even more peculiar sorts. There’s limited amount of room to maneuver in among all the stuff in the shop, so I recommend removing any large backpacks before entering.

HotKoTyr has existed for as long as I can remember and is definitely worth a visit. Even if you’re not in the market for a lamp.

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HotKoTyr | Art & culture, Shopping
Nørrebrogade 76 | Nørrebro | +4535390274
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 18:00, Sat 10:00 – 14:00

This place’s name says it all – it serves as a place to exhibit new contemporary art and houses a nice restaurant and probably some of the city’s best weekend parties.  So said, they seem to offer it all to the hip and urban Copenhageners.

Karriere is situated in the up-and-coming area of Kødbyen in Vesterbro, just a few minutes’ walk from the main railway station. The art is included to the décor -for example, the latest, different kind of lights created by six different artists are in use to create this funky atmosphere. Even the bar is a work of art, with all the mirrors and lights, and they promise that the mirrors in the bathrooms show more than just the viewer.

As a bar and a restaurant they, as many other Copenhagen’s restaurants, try to have their ingredients as ecological as possible. They also make a big part of their juices, marmalades and such themselves. And as a place to party: always a great idea! On Fridays and Saturdays they have a live DJ playing and the atmosphere is guaranteed to be up in the roof. Even though it seems to be a trend to go out in this city after 23:00 or even later, it’s a good idea to be here in time to secure minimum time standing in the line to get in.

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Karriere | Art & culture, Bars, Restaurants (European) | Cocktail DKK 95
flæsketorvet 57-67 | Vesterbro | +4533215509
Thu – Sat 18:00 – 22:00 | Bar Fri – Sat until 04:00