When even Michelle Obama says she needed counselling after her daughters flew the nest, you know there’s a problem. Although, Michelle, your fledglings are supposed to leave home one day, so it’s not surprising Malia and Sasha finally wanted to spread their wings.
I propose a different tactic to the former first lady in a post-nest world. What you need to do is book a holiday with your grown-up children. Ah, you say, they haven’t got time. They are too busy hustling in their twenties. They are still at the shallow end of the employment pool and their bosses won’t appreciate them bunking off.
Generation Z don’t have much holiday to spare, but you, Michelle, as a boomer have more money. The answer is a weekend break — cheaper than therapy and more fun for both of you. What most twentysomething daughters want is 48 hours away with no emails, good food, a hotel bathrobe and a bit of culture or shopping thrown in.
Which is why I found myself on the first plane out of Heathrow to Copenhagen on a Friday morning in June with my 23-year-old daughter. She had left the office at 9pm on Thursday night and had to be back on Monday by 8.30am.
What you need to know
Both of us know that Denmark means Lego, hygge and Arne Jacobsen’s Egg chairs, 52 Michelin-starred restaurants, and the headquarters for Ozempic, which may be why they can still fit into their Ganni jeans. They are always ranked as one of the happiest nations in Europe. It sounded ideal.
Arriving in Copenhagen at 8am, we jumped on a train into the city and within an hour of landing we were at the luxurious Hotel Nimb eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Alice Thompson in Copenhagen
A hotel in an amusement park
The hotel director, Maria Oldenbjerg, walked in looking phenomenal in a lace dress and biker boots. She loved the idea of our holiday. “My mother and I have done a long weekend together every year for the past three decades,” she said. “She’s 75 now and we still pack our matching bikinis every summer.” My daughter looked mildly alarmed that she may have signed up to our mini-breaks for life.
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The Hotel Nimb is inside the second oldest amusement park in the world, the Tivoli Gardens, built in 1843. But the Tivoli isn’t a childish Disneyland, it’s a fairytale for all ages. Entrance for hotel guests is free, otherwise it’s £23 for adults. At night the Tivoli’s trees are illuminated by 120,000 bulbs, while by day peacocks strut across the lawns under the chestnut trees and carousel. Almost every room at the Nimb has a balcony overlooking the wooden rollercoaster where, in unpretentious Scandi style, Queen Margrethe II celebrated her golden jubilee in 2022.
The Nimb Hotel is inside the Tivoli Gardens
ALAMY
The Tivoli and the Hotel Nimb are at the epicentre of Copenhagen cool. The hotel lent us bikes and as we were about to set off we saw a young woman pedalling hard up the hill, towing her mother in a cart.
“Absolutely not,” said my daughter. She lowered my bike seat for me and we began our first tour of the city, cycling past the Little Mermaid statue on the Langelinie promenade by the water and back towards the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum, where we stopped to enjoy the impressionists, including Renoir, Gauguin and Degas (£16 online; glyptoteket.com).
No one in Copenhagen uses an electric bike, and we didn’t see a single woman jogging in Lycra. They were all cycling in billowing blue shirts, shorts and black boots. Nor was anyone over or underweight, everyone looked lightly tanned and healthy as they pedalled their way to fitness.
• 17 of the best hotels in Copenhagen
A ‘fast food’ revelation
For our first lunch we clattered over the cobbles heading past Christiansborg Palace, stopping for gorgeous open sandwiches at Slotskaelderen hos Gitte Kik, a very traditional restaurant that dates back to 1910. The choice was bewildering: dozens of different toppings, including herring, prawns, salmon, beef and eggs in various combinations on dark rye bread for less than £10. This is Denmark’s fast food, and it makes Pret a Manger feel desperate and dated (slotskaelderen.dk).
We jumped on and off our bikes (nobody locks them here) whenever we passed another Scandi boutique in Vesterbro, which has the best clothes shopping. We cycled along the canal past the pastel-coloured 17th-century houses in Nyhavn district, where Hans Christian Andersen used to live. Then we stopped for coffee at a pavement café overlooking glass and steel offices before downing cocktails in the Meatpacking District, a favourite hipster haunt.
La Banchina, a free lido
VISIT DENMARK / © ROLANDS VARSBERGS
On Saturday we cycled to the harbour to swim in the sea, our bike baskets filled with towels. Wild swimming is not just a trend in Denmark; everyone takes a dip when the temperature rises. After perusing the flea market in the former industrial shipyard of Refshaleoen, we grabbed a coffee and sat on the steps down to the water in glorious sunshine at La Banchina, a free lido with a restaurant, café and sauna on site.
Locals lay basking beside us in the heat drinking organic wine, occasionally standing up to flop into the freezing water. Children did flips off the jetty while their older siblings flicked through arty novels. Grandparents slipped off to the sauna, before emerging, slightly pink, to wallow in the shallows (sauna £95-110 weekday/weekend for 105 minutes for up to eight people; labanchina.dk).
• 11 of the best affordable hotels in Copenhagen for under £200
After braving the icy harbour water, we did a tour of the shops in central Copenhagen, trying on matching pyjamas in the Danish brand Tekla, popping in and out of vintage shops, then down to the chic Varnedamsvej Street in search of the perfect effortless white T-shirt that seemed to be the unofficial uniform of Copenhagen girls.
A last day full of art and pastries
On Sunday we jumped on the train and headed 25 miles north of the capital to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (the estate’s first owner named it after his three wives, who were all called Louise). Danish families spend their weekends wandering among its galleries and sculpture park, which has Moores, Calders and Serras set among tulip trees running down to the sea (£17; louisiana.dk). We ate the buns we’d brought along from Juno, the bakery back in Copenhagen (pastries from £4; junothebakery.com).
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art is 25 miles north of Copenhagen
ALAMY
Back at the hotel, we popped into the spa to soothe our muscles after two days of cycling and walking, then headed up to the pool on the roof for a swim before leaving to catch the plane.
The Danish know how to do fun on a budget and they don’t need to talk about finding a work/life balance; it appears effortless. By the end of the weekend my daughter and I felt smugly Scandi, calm, relaxed and very happy. My only worry is that she might want to return to live here full-time, and then I would see her even less.
Alice Thomson was a guest of Nimb Hotel, which has room-only doubles from £400 (nimb.dk). Fly to Copenhagen
What’s new in Copenhagen
More tips and what to see, do and eat. By Siobhan Grogan
Where to eat
The city that gave the world Noma is not short of places to eat, and there’s always something new. While it’s not cheap, Danish foodies are raving about Udtryk, which opened in May in a courtyard on Teglgardstraede and which received its first Michelin star just five weeks later for its small-plate Japanese and Nordic fine-dining fusion (15-course tasting menu £218pp; norrlyst.dk).
Babel is a more budget-friendly option and opened last summer on Norrebrogade, serving natural wines and a handful of hearty Thai dishes such as jungle curry or fermented pork ribs (mains from £12; instagram.com/babel.cph). Tiny Amator also arrived last year in a 50 sq m space in the quiet Osterbro district, specialising in veggie-forward meals and signature omelettes alongside a chef-chosen vinyl soundtrack (mains from £12; instagram@amatorcph). Or, serving a twist on classic Japanese, Cantonese and Thai dishes, trendy Jade in the central Stormgade neighbourhood has quirky highlights including Japanese fried chicken or a Thai take on Indian butter chicken (seven-course tasting menu £58; jadecph.dk).
What to do
A new installation, the Sound of Copenhagen — Noise, Voices and Silence, opened at Kobenhavns Museum in May and runs until January. The project focuses on the capital’s ever-changing soundscape, featuring the sounds of 19th-century steamships, church bells and street hawkers (£13; cphmuseum.kk.dk).
At the international art centre Copenhagen Contemporary, a solo exhibition from the Kuwaiti-Puerto Rican artist Alia Fard considers the past and present identity of the Gulf, using large-scale sculpture and film. It runs until April (£17; copenhagencontemporary.org).
The Sound of Copenhagen installation opened at Kobenhavns Museum in May
ALAMY
To explore further afield, use the city’s first light rail line, which opened in late October and will eventually connect Copenhagen to smaller surrounding towns (from £3; dinletbane.dk). Before that happens next summer, hop off at the first stop, Ishoj Strand Arken, to visit the ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, which has an exhibition of knitted sculptures by Kenneth Rasmussen until April (£17; arken.dk).
Where to stay
Hotel Petra is the sleekest new stay in town, opened in June by the Danish furniture brand &Tradition in a restored 1940s building next to King’s Garden. The 40 individually styled rooms have curved solid wood furniture, wool carpets and a chic palette of creams and oatmeal, while a stylish central restaurant serves Danish classics and handcrafted cocktails (room-only doubles from £122; hotel-petra.com)
1 Hotel has Scandi-cool design
The eco-conscious US group 1 Hotel has its first outpost in continental Europe in Copenhagen’s Latin Quarter, with a 24-hour gym, a buzzy lobby bar and a Bamford Wellness Spa due to follow next year, plus a Scandi-cool design with reclaimed materials, natural textiles and in-room plants and filter taps (room-only doubles from £207; 1hotels.com).
