Originally Posted by
stut
That's a shame. I agree that the area round the station is, well, probably the least desirable in the city. However, you don't have to go far for it to change. Istedgade is what it is - and if you take it as the red light district (a relatively safe one as these things go) you can relax and enjoy the people watching.
Just round the corner from there is the Kodbyen - the meat-packing district, with all sorts of interesting places to eat and drink.
But it's the heart of Copenhagen that's charming, and the country's love of cosiness. No bright lights inside or out - dimly-lit streets and candle-lit bars and restaurants, plenty roaring fires in the winter. At first glance, it can appear bleak and seedy, but if you get into to, you quickly find yourself hating the obsession we have with floodlighting the world in this country.
There are outstanding galleries, all sorts of bits of waterfront, whether touristy, party-orientated, relaxing, or even swimming for the brave. There's curiosities like the Rundetaarn. There's the lakes, and the restaurants lining it, wonderfully relaxing in the summer. There's the laid-back suburbs, plenty good food to eat (at a more reasonable price than the tourist areas, too). And there's all sorts of trips out to castles, the countryside, and plenty of coast and forest.
Plus, it's a cyclist's paradise. No better way to discover the city than on two wheels.
I love the place. But you do need to get away from the station and Stroget to appreciate it.
Indeed.
If more tourists unfamiliar with the place would do as suggested above and broaden their rounds around the city, fewer people would have a first and lasting impression of Copenhagen not being as good as it really can be. But that also sort of speaks to how it's also understandable how some visitors would come off with the impression that Copenhagen isn't as nice as it can be. That said, I find Malmo rather charming too, even as I know its good and bad sides rather well too.