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The best bars and nightlife in Copenhagen

Pull up a tall chair and get to know the well-stocked marble bar at Ruby
Pull up a tall chair and get to know the well-stocked marble bar at Ruby

Classical concerts, sophisticated cocktail bars, and kitsch cabaret – take your pick. The Copenhagen nightlife scene delivers on all these fronts and many more, from swinging seats and Asian-inspired cocktails at a sushi skybar to a Mad Man-esque lounge that's big on akvavit and snaps, Telegraph Travel Expert Suzanne King has the answers. Bear in mind that many places close on Monday nights, but things gradually liven up as the week goes on and by the time you get to the weekend, everywhere is in party mode with bars and clubs open well into the early hours.

City centre

Brønnum

This cocktail bar is refreshingly easy to find compared to many of the city’s hidden-away options; Brønnum sits next to the Royal Theatre, its name displayed in glowing red lights across a façade that’s a riot of stone cherubs, mermaids and swags of fruit. Inside, there’s an equally ornate bar, created from antique Spanish wood panelling, and a sumptuous feel, with velvets, chandeliers, and rooms that get progressively darker and cosier the further in you go. In the early evening, the window seats are the ones to go for – pull up a stool, order a champagne cocktail and posh nibbles, and smile at the 70s disco soundtrack as you watch the passers-by.

Contact: 00 45 88 44 04 04; bronnumcph.dk
Opening times: See website
Prices: ££
Getting in: Smart casual dress code; bookings recommended at weekends when it’s open to over 25s only (the rest of the week it’s over 18)

Brønnum
The courtyard at cocktail bar Brønnum is adorned with chandeliers

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Ruby

Ruby’s discreetly marked entrance leads into an elegant salon with huge gilded mirrors and a well-stocked marble bar running along the far wall. Beyond lies a clubbier space (Regency-striped wallpaper and wing-back chairs), the courtyard and a cosy downstairs room that opens at weekends. The bartenders know their stuff and if you can’t decide what to choose from the seasonally changing menu, they’ll hunker down and talk all things cocktail for a while before whizzing away to shake you up something just right. It’s welcoming and cossetting, and once ensconced in your chosen corner you won’t want to leave any time soon.

Contact: 00 45 33 93 12 03; rby.dk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 4pm-2am; Sun, 6pm-2am
Prices: ££
Getting in: Smart casual dress code (no sports wear); booking always recommended; restricted to over 25s at weekends; the rest of the week it’s over 21s

Ruby
Expect a seasonally changing menu at Ruby; pictured here is a cherry twist on the traditional whisky sour

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Wallmans

If you need a break from tasteful cocktail bars, you could always try this: a little slice of Vegas adrift in the Danish capital. Step inside the circular 19th-century building – originally designed for circuses – to enjoy a four-course dinner served throughout a four-hour all-singing, all-dancing, all-plate-spinning extravaganza. The performers double up as waiters – one minute they’re up there dangling from the chandeliers, the next they’re serving up your soup or putting on little sideshows by the table. Each season (late August to mid-June) brings a new show, but it’s always performed in English.

Contact: 00 45 3316 3700; wallmans.dk
Opening times: Doors open 5.30pm, show starts 6.30pm, after-show nightclub opens at 10.45pm and closing time depends on how lively the dancefloor is.
Prices: ££
Getting in: Reservations only; smart dress code

Wallmans
At Wallmans, your dinner is accompanied by a four-hour all-singing, all-dancing, all-plate-spinning extravaganza

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Vesterbro

Skybar Sticks 'n' Sushi

The fabulous views from this 12th-floor skybar, on top of the Tivoli Hotel, make it a popular spot for evening drinks, especially at weekends. It has another little added attraction up its sleeve as well – three tiers of swing seats suspended on long ropes from the ceiling behind the bar. Order a Yuzu Zoo (gin, yuzu and honey) and sway gently to and fro as you sip and admire the sunset through the double-height windows. Just ignore those who turned up late and are clearly coveting your seat; you got there first and it’s still your turn.

Contact: 00 45 88 32 95 95; sushi.dk
Opening times: Sun-Wed, 12pm-12am; Thu, 12pm-1am; Fri-Sat, 12pm-2am
Prices: ££
Getting in: Reservations recommended, and essential at weekends

Sticks 'n' Sushi - Credit: Martin Dyrløv Madsen
Chill in a swing on the 12th-floor skybar of Sticks 'n' Sushi with a cocktail in hand Credit: Martin Dyrløv Madsen

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Duck and Cover

This well-loved Vesterbro bar is on a high right now, having carried away trophies for both best Danish cocktail bar and best cocktail menu at the Bartenders Choice Awards for 2017. Head down the steps into the cosy basement room and you will find Mad Men-style surroundings with retro wood and leather furniture, potted plants and moody lighting – owner Kasper Riewe Henriksen wanted to recreate the look of a 1950s/1960s Danish living room). Pick something from theunusual cocktail list that’s big on local ingredients; akvavit and snaps are their core base spirits – but if you just want a basic G&T or a beer, they’ll happily oblige. 

Contact: 00 45 28 12 42 90; duckandcoverbar.dk
Opening times: See website
Prices: ££
Getting in: Walk-ins are welcome but reservations recommended at weekends

Duck and Cover
Akvavit and snaps are the core base spirits at Vesterbro bar Duck and Cover

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Lidkoeb

Ask a Vesterbro local to recommend a bar and it’s a fair bet they’ll point you towards Lidkoeb, which is hidden away in a courtyard off the main drag. Its ground floor bar is pure Scandi-chic, with all pale woods, white walls and industrial-style lamps, warmed up by caramel-coloured leather seating, shaggy fleeces and an open fire. Smiley check-shirted bar staff serve up a mix of unfamiliar cocktails, including a Hyggelig Martini made with akvavit and grapefruit bitters. At weekends two upper floors come into play, with the top-floor whisky bar (brick walls, beamed ceiling and vintage leather sofas), earning full marks for cosiness.

Contact:00 45 33 11 20 10; lidkoeb.dk
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 4pm-2am; Sun, 8pm-2am
Prices: ££
Getting in: Reserve a table if you can; although you're not able to after 10pm on Thursdays or after 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays

Lidkoeb
The top-floor whisky bar at Lidkoeb earns full marks for cosiness

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Nørrebro

Brus

Trendy Jæggersborggade tends to snaffle the Nørrebro limelight, but nearby Guldbergsgade has just as much going for it – including this handsome bar/brewery/restaurant/shop, a former factory given a stylish makeover. The interiors are done up in acres of natural oak, with shiny metals and matte monochrome paints, and the 30-odd specials chalked up behind the bar provide plenty of choice for craft beers and pre-mixed cocktails. With lots of outdoor tables, Bæst directly opposite (see restaurants) and a cinema right next door, it’s the kind of place you could easily come for brunch and find yourself hanging around all day.

Contact: 00 45 75 22 22 00; tapperietbrus.dk
Opening times: See website
Prices: £-££

Brus
Brus carefully combines bar, brewery, restaurant and shop to create a chilled out place to hang out all day

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Dronning Louises Bro

The broad 19th-century bridge that links the city centre to Nørrebro isn’t just a means of crossing the lakes – on summer evenings it acts as a kind of outdoor club for broke young things whose budgets might not run to club entrance tickets but who still want to party. They bring their own beers and music, and make their own entertainment, generally mingling and merry-making throughout the long summer nights, while the passing cyclists and cars carry on regardless. If you want to join in, head there early evening and grab some cold beers from the nearby supermarket on Nørrebrogade or a coffee from one of the local vendor stalls.

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Ørestad

DR Koncerthuset

It’s not just the entertainment that’s the draw at many of Copenhagen’s cultural venues – it’s the buildings themselves. Case in point: this Jean Nouvel-designed concert hall that looks like a giant blue cube from the outside and houses several performance spaces within. In the main auditorium, the central stage is surrounded by angular seating blocks, all clad in pale wood, with soft lighting giving the whole place a soothing golden glow. It’s the ideal setting for enjoying a performance by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, which is based here, but DR Koncerthuset also hosts an eclectic range of other acts, from John Cleese and Jimmy Carr to D’Angelo and Ben Harper.

Contact: 00 45 35 20 62 62; drkoncerthuset.dk
Opening times: See website for concert dates
Prices: £-£££
Getting in: Buy tickets in advance

DR Koncerthuset
See the Danish National Symphony Orchestra play at the DR Koncerthuset

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Refshaleøen

Halvandet

As the crow flies, it’s just a couple of miles from the city centre to Refshaleøen, but it feels like a whole other world that's far from the usual tourist beat. That’s especially the case once you’ve ensconced yourself on one of the day beds, deckchairs or sunloungers at this huge beach bar and settled in to soak up the sunset and the views back towards town. Beers and cocktails are served from a thatched bar and the soundtrack runs the range from chill-out tunes to full-on pumping dance music, via Thursday night concerts from Danish pop bands.

Contact: 00 45 70 27 02 96; halvandet.dk
Opening times: Daily, Easter to autumn; exact hours vary
Prices: £-££
Getting in: Bookings possible for groups of four or more with a deposit, which can then be used for drinks and food on the day

Halvandet
Soak up the sunset views from beach bar Halvandet