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What to do in Copenhagen? Why should I visit it?
ONE OF THE HAPPIEST CITIES IN THE WORLD
Copenhagen in Denmark is one of the places with the highest quality of life according to the United Nations Happiness Index, second only to cities in Finland and Norway. It has a health programme designed to promote health in everyday life: the city is designed for cycling, offers nutritious lunches in public institutions and has smoking cessation programmes. The Danes even have a word for happiness and quality of life: hygge. This concept boils down to being able to enjoy the good things in life with the people you love.
The Danes can pay up to 60% of their income in taxes. But despite this, they have been better at converting wealth into well-being. They invest in quality of life. If they pay less tax they could afford a bigger car, but that won't bring them happiness.
Education from kindergarten to university is free. Health care and access to hospitals is also free.
Copenhagen is one of the first cities to remove all covid restrictions and welcome back the "old normal".
It is one of the world's highest testing countries per capita, and by far the highest. It is also one of the countries with the highest vaccination figures. Denmark still has one of the lowest mortality rates in Europe. As of Tuesday, 1 February, Danes are no longer obliged to wear a face mask in public places.
The Danish capital wants to become the world's first zero carbon footprint capital by 2025. It wants to position itself as the 'greenest' and 'smartest' city on the planet.
Authorities and scientists argue that this challenging goal can be achieved through an energy transition that changes its energy supply sources, modernisation and retrofitting of buildings, sensible waste management and thoughtful public infrastructure and an environmentally friendly mobility system.
50% of the population uses bicycles as a means of transport and it is considered one of the most sustainable cities in the world. The city is perfectly designed for cycling. The shape of its streets also allows it, as they are flatter, which makes it easier to get around by bicycle.
It is a partially self-governed neighbourhood of about 1,000 inhabitants, created in 1971 on military land abandoned by the Danish army. This neighbourhood community, which declares itself independent from the Danish state, covers an area of about 34 hectares.
Christiania is notorious for allowing the consumption and sale of soft drugs (on the main street, known as Pusher Street). It is therefore known as the "green district".
It is Denmark's tourist attraction par excellence. This colourful late 17th century harbour is one of the most visited places in the country.
It was one of the most unsafe areas of the city until the early 1960s, as it was a fishing port where sailors unloaded their goods to distribute them, for example, at Kongens Nytorv market. It was an area of bars and prostitutes.
In the early 1960s, it was decided to change its face, move the prostitution area (which is legal in Denmark) and fill it with restaurants and cafés, which today offer typical Danish food at exorbitant prices. Locals would rather buy a hot dog and sit by the canal and soak up the sun than spend all their money in these tourist-filled restaurants.
It is believed that sailors painted these houses in colours, so that they would be recognisable from afar when they returned home after months at sea. Others say that the colours were used so that the men, sometimes very drunk in the local bars, could return home and recognise their own facade.
At number 6 Nyhavn you can see the house where the "Danish girl" Lili Elbe lived, together with his wife Gerda Wegner.
Danish cuisine still contains elements that date back to the pre-industrial period, i.e. before 1860, to the time when the household economy was based on the larder, stocked with products such as beer and rye bread and salted and smoked pork.
The home is of tremendous importance to the Danes. A lot is invested in spacious, high-quality houses with large windows, and almost all meals are usually eaten at home. There are three main meals in Denmark: breakfast and dinner are usually eaten at home, while lunch, for practical reasons, is usually eaten outside, and is usually brought in from home.
The main meal is dinner and usually consists of a single course on weekdays. The American custom of eating alone has not yet caught on in Denmark, except at breakfast. Danish families make an effort to gather around a home-cooked dinner.
Fresh produce and dishes that were once the preserve of the upper class have become commonplace due to industrialisation. This is the case, for example, with mushrooms, chicken, caviar, smoked salmon and duck, as well as mayonnaise and other cold sauces.
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