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Copenhagen Art tour

Description:

Copenhagen's art galleries and museums combine the historical with the contemporary. This 5-day guide allows visitors to explore not only the more established art museums of the Danish capital, but also hunt down some of the more interesting private galleries - as well as the hottest new quarters for artists in the city.

Image: Hans Ole Madsen/ Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Author: Jane Graham

Day 1 - Copenhagen

We recommend any art lover on a budget stay at Danhostel Copenhagen City - Europe's largest design hostel, where functional art and design are put into practice at affordable rates. With both private rooms and larger ones sleeping up to 10, this is also a good option for large groups.
After settling into the hotel, we suggest the Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark's national gallery, as the perfect starting point for your artistic tour of Copenhagen. The gallery has a wealth of art from all periods, and the permanent collections offer free entry. Enjoy lunch in the gallery cafe before walking into the leafy Østerbro neighborhood to check out the Hirschsprung Collection - this museum specializes in the work of Denmark's "Golden Age", a romantic period in the 1800s, and also has a good selection of paintings from the Skagen artistic group. Entry is free on Wednesdays.

As a break from all those museums, check out Bohemian cafe Bankeråt in the artsy Nansensgade area - and its bizarre collection of stuffed animals, all with homemade jackets and waistcoats. Then take the bus down to the edge of Vesterbro/ border with Valby to see what's been going on at the old Carlsberg factory - now transformed into a vibrant artistic district of artists' studios, underground galleries and a large space for modern dance. Ny Carlsbergvej 68, for example, is a vast garage space now being used by no less than five different galleries. But before you dive into the contemporary, don't miss the formidable sculptured elephants on the arched entrance as you come in.

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Danhostel Copenhagen City

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H.C Andersens Boulevard 50
1553 Copenhagen, DK

Phone:

45 3311 8585

Statens Museum for Kunst

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Location:

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Sølvgade 48-50
1307 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3374 8494

Hirschsprung Samling

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Stockholmsgade 20
2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 35 42 0336

Bankeråt

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Ahlefeldtsgade 27-29
1359 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3393 6988

Ny Carlsberg Vej 68

Location:

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Ny Carlsbergvej 68
1760 Copenhagen,

Phone:

3254 4562 (Nils Stærk)

Cafe Elefanten

Location:

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Pasteursvej 20
1778 Copenhagen,

Phone:

8881 0811

Day 2 - Copenhagen

No artistic soul visiting Copenhagen should miss out a tour of Christiania, a unique experiment into free living that - while it may not be what it once was - still continues to exist today. Christiania's gallery is called "Gallopperiet - Stadens Museum for Kunst" and can be found close to the entrance, near to Loppen. Copenhagen's "free state" is also a great place to grab a cheap and tasty vegetarian lunch at the friendly cafe Morgenstedet.

For a complete change of peace, take the S-train out of the city to Klampenborg or Lyngby Stations and then bus 388 to Vilvordevej, for a visit to the country park setting of art museum Ordrupgaard - a mix of the old (a permanent collection of French impressionist paintings and an old country estate) with the new (a completely new annex and contemporary changing exhibitions).
Not far from here is Louisiana - for many, Scandinavia's top museum for modern art and certainly not to be missed. Located right next to the Øresund, the museum's collection spreads right out onto its grounds, with an extensive sculpture park as well as both permanent and changing exhibitions of an international caliber. The museum is open until 10pm on weekdays and offers refreshments in its restaurant/ cafe.
If you're not too exhausted after the train ride back to Copenhagen, check out Vesterbro's Mikkeller bar before calling it a night - the city's coolest and youngest microbrewery offers interesting beers and a laid-back atmosphere, and is located close to the hostel.

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Christiania

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Christiania
1407 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 7022 2442 (Tourist Information)

Morgenstedet

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Bådmandsstræde 43
1407 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

N/A

Malerisamlingen Ordrupgård

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Vilvordevej 110
Charlottenlund
2920 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3964 1183

Louisiana Museum

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Gammel Strandvej 13
3050 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 4919 0719

Mikkeller

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Viktoriagade 8
1655 Copenhagen,

Phone:

31 66 24 44

Day 3 - Copenhagen

Today's tour takes you into the elegant neighborhood of Frederikstaden, an architecturally-designed, Rococo quarter of symmetry and order dating from the 18th-century. First up is the Fotografisk Center, recently relocated from Gammel Strand to Amaliegade (close to the Royal Palace) and a great place to see some cutting-edge photographic exhibitions. We recommend lunch at Mormors, an informal and friendly cafe on parallel street Bredgade. This street is known for its private galleries, expensive antique shops and auction houses, and while you may not be in the market for purchasing any art, it also boasts a number of interesting contemporary art spaces - among them Galleri Christian Dam at no. 20. Around the corner on Esplanaden is Galleri Christina Wilson, a relatively new and exciting name on the gallery scene recently located from Islands Brygge.
After exhausting the private galleries, head down to Nyhavn and Charlottenborg, home not only of the Royal Danish Academy of Art but also an interesting exhibition space for a variety of contemporary group shows.
If you have any time left, two other contemporary art museums can be found nearby: Kunsthallen Nikolaj, where conceptual, multimedia art is framed in the atmospheric setting of an old church, and Kunstforeningen Gammel Strand, an exciting exhibition space located on the canalside that has recently reopened after extensive renovation.

Hungry? You should be. Eat inexpensively at Wokshop Cantina, an informal noodle bar on nearby Adelgade, before enjoying a drink or two in the intellectual atmosphere of neighboring Bo-Bi Bar.

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Fotografisk Center

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Tap E, Carlsberg, Pasteursvej 14, 1st floor
Carlsberg Brewery
1799 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3393 0996

Mormors

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Bredgade 45
1260 Copenhagen,

Phone:

3316 0700

Galleri Christian Dam

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Bredgade 20
1260 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3315 7878

Galleri Christina Wilson

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Esplanaden 8B
1263 Copenhagen, Danmark

Phone:

3254 5206

Charlottenborg Kunsthal

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Nyhavn 2
1051 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3336 9050

Kunsthallen Nikolaj

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Nikolaj Plads 10
1067 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3318 1780

Kunstforeningen Gammel Strand

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Gammel Strand 48
1202 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3336 0260

Wokshop Cantina

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Ny Adelgade 6
1104 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

45 3391 6121

Bo-Bi Bar

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Klareboderne 14
1115 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 3312 5543

Day 4 - Copenhagen

Start the day with a breakfast at retro cafe Granola on lively Værnedamsvej, a wonderfully nostalgic cafe on a lively street, before walking over to the bus stop on Vesterbrogade to take a bus west towards Søndermarken. Hunt out the semi-secret underground entrance to Cisternerne, Copenhagen's unique museum of modern glass art - and be surprised by somewhere very different from your average museum.

The rest of the day is spent on the other side of the Vesterbro district in the up-and-coming neighborhood of Kødbyen - 'Meat City'. Copenhagen's former meat-packing district is fast becoming transformed into an exciting spot for artists, and over the past 18 months, many of the city's most exciting gallerists have moved their premises out here.
After checking out the nieghborhood's private galleries - we suggest street art at V1, photo art at Dask and the multimedia of big name Bo Bjerggaard, tank up at organic restaurant BioMio before embarking upon a night that mixes art & design with cocktails at Karriere Bar, or simple beers with top local DJs at Vesterbro hangout Mesteren&Lærlingen. If you want to meet some local artists, these are the bars to check out.

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Granola

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Værnedamsvej 5
1819 Copenhagen, Danmark

Phone:

3325 0080

Cisternerne, Søndermarken

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Roskildevej 25
2000 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3321 9310

V1 Gallery

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Flæsketorvet 69
1711 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3331 0321

Dask Gallery

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Flæsketorvet 24
1711 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

7070 2434

Galleri Bo Bjerggaard

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Flæsketorvet 85A
1711 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3393 4221

BioMio

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Halmtorvet 19
1700 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

+45 33 31 20 00

Karriere

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Flæsketorvet 57-67
Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3321 5509

Mesteren & Lærlingen

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Flæsketorvet 86
1711 Copenhagen, Denmark

Phone:

3215 2483

Day 5 - Copenhagen

The last day in Copenhagen takes the pace a little slower. After returning to the scene of last night's revellry, Kødbyen, for breakfast at PatePate, chill out in the elegant and calming setting of the Glypototek Museum, which offers free entry on Sundays.

In the afternoon, take the S-Train to Ishøj and check out modern art museum Arken - with its unuusual architecture and a current exhibition that looks at the punk spirit of Danish art during the "Wild Eighties". For dinner, we recommend funky Thai eatery Spicylicious on Vesterbro, a colorful, modern Asian restaurant with reasonable prices.

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