How Copenhagen has just raised its city break game

Our first day sees us embark upon some of the city’s top attractions, starting with lunch at a traditional, streetside Danish cafe and a visit to Our Saviour’s Church viewpoint. While the winding, external staircase is enough to make the smorrebrod I have just devoured churn in my stomach, the views are spectacular. From the summit we are able to see for miles – there’s a pleasing lack of skyscrapers, substituted instead by green spaces, canals and a glistening harbour.

Back safely on the ground, the city streets are peaceful, accompanied only by the occasional tinkering of bicycle bells and the chatter of locals picking up their children from school (one of the benefits of travelling in August when term time resumes – weekdays are rather quiet). With August temperatures averaging around 21ºC, these are ideal sightseeing conditions, with none of the uncomfortable stickiness often associated with European summer city breaks.

The following day sees us take a boat trip along the Nyhavn Canal and Copenhagen’s harbour, led by the tours and activities group, Stromma. Departing from Nyhavn, the canal tour takes visitors along Copenhagen’s harbour, a contemporary, newly developed waterfront that juxtaposes the picturesque, colourful 17th-century townhouses of Nyhavn. With unrivalled views of Amalienborg Castle and the Little Mermaid sculpture, the tour offers a way of seeing the city that can’t be experienced elsewhere. Sitting in an open-air boat under the glow of the summer sun, there really is no better way to experience the slower-paced lifestyle of Copenhagen than from the water.

After two days of carefully observing (and swerving) the erratic haste of Copenhagen’s cyclists, we decide it’s time to get our own bikes. Just outside our hotel is a station for the bike rental hire scheme Donkey Republic. We purchase bikes on a 24-hour deal, costing 129DKK (£14.82) each. Despite a rather apprehensive start we soon settle into the groove, spending the day cycling along the city’s cycle paths, and parking up to explore areas we’ve not yet discovered.

Pausing for lunchtime drinks at Copenhagen’s waterfront street food district, The Bridge Street Kitchen, cycling through the gardens of Amalienborg Castle and rounding off the day with an evening at Tivoli Gardens, this is undeniably a trip highlight. Not only does it enable us to expand our reach, but it gives us a very local viewpoint.

And that is what makes our time in Copenhagen so restorative – seeing locals swimming in the harbour, the swarm of commuters cycling to work in the morning and friends enjoying alfresco dinners in the trendy Meatpacking District. It’s easy to see why Copenhagen is renowned for its laid-back, happy and healthy lifestyle and offers a breath of fresh air from other more demanding city breaks.

Book it: EasyJet offers city breaks to Copenhagen from £332pp, for a three-night stay at the Annex Copenhagen, located between the Meatpacking and Vesterbro districts, with flights from Manchester, departing 7 October. easyjet.com/en/holidays