Ro's Recz

This is my own personal list of my 15 favorite cities in the world to visit. I have ranked them in 10 categories on a scale of 1-10: local cuisine, non-local food, public transportation, safety, scenery/beauty, history, price, cleanliness, tourist friendly, and walkability.

These are my own personal opinions, and I am sure that many people would disagree with the rankings. These are only cities that I have personally visited, so if your city is not on here, that may just mean I have not been yet.

History Monuments (how the city’s historical monuments are): 9/10

Copenhagen has some really cool sites to see; for example, there is an amusement park called Tivoli Gardens, which is the second oldest amusement park in the world. It is super fun to both visit and go on a couple of rides, and it is convenient because it is right in the city. There is also Nyhavn, which is probably the place you see in all the pictures of Copenhagen (and you can take a canal cruise there if you like that type of thing). Finally, there is the Little Mermaid Statue. Personally, I do not know why this is such a big deal, and I would not recommend going to visit it unless you run out of things to do. However, it is sure to be on every list of must-do things in Copenhagen.

Local Cuisine (how good the cities local cuisine/food was): 5/10

The local food in Copenhagen is not very good in my opinion, to put it lightly. A lot of the famous dishes involve some sort of fish, and usually that fish is herring. It is biased, but personally herring is one of my least favorite fishes. It has such a strong fishy taste, and I just could not eat it more than once when I visited. The only saving grace is that Copenhagen does have some of the best fine-dining restaurants; however, the prices are extraordinarily high. Two of the restaurants in Copenhagen, Noma and Geranium, are rated #2 and #5 in the world by The 50 Best Restaurants list. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to eat at Geranium, and it was an incredible experience.

Scenery/Beauty (how pretty/cool the sites and nature were to look at): 10/10

Copenhagen is a great city. There is a lot of water, nature, and both old and new buildings. Copenhagen is really cold, so you will probably be freezing when walking around; however, getting to see the city is a nice consolation prize. Also, there is a museum called the Danish Architecture Center, which is both beautifully designed and a great place to visit. Regardless of whether you enjoy architecture or not, it should still be on your visit list!

Non-Local Food (how good food from other places was): 7/10

The non-local food in Copenhagen is not great either, but it is better than the local Danish food. While there, I had Chinese, Cambodian, and a couple of other cuisines. They were all fine, but the food is not the highlight of visiting Copenhagen.

Public Transportation (whether they had trains, subways, buses, etc. and how accessible they were): 10/10

The public transportation in Copenhagen is extremely good. They operate on an honor society for their subway, which I found a little strange. However, the subway is extremely well maintained, and it is one of the cleanest subways I have ever seen. Also, they are very punctual, and it is very convenient to take around the city.

Safety (how safe I feel the city is): 10/10

Safety is not an issue in Copenhagen. Luckily, Denmark is one of the safest countries in the world, and crime is very low there. So if visiting Copenhagen, you should not be concerned about your safety.

Price (how expensive it was to visit the city, not including airfare (lower score means more expensive, higher score means good value)): 5/10

Copenhagen is a very expensive city to visit. It is a great city to live in because the government greatly subsidizes education, housing, and many other basic necessities for citizens. However, this can mean that costs get passed onto tourists. This is one reason hotels, dining out, and transportation can be very costly in Copenhagen. Definitely not an ideal city for those on a budget!

Cleanliness (how clean the city was in general): 10/10

Copenhagen is an exceptionally clean city. From what I remember, there was almost no trash on the ground, and all of the buildings/facilities were in great shape. If cleanliness is high on your priority list, it definitely will not be an issue in Copenhagen.

Tourist Friendly (how accessible and accommodating the city is for tourists (mainly English speakers)): 10/10

Danish people are very nice, and I really enjoyed talking with the local shop-owners. Most people also speak very good English, so it will not be an issue getting around. Overall, a very enjoyable city for tourists to visit!

Walkability (how easy it is to walk around the city): 10/10

I would say that Copenhagen is one of the best biking cities that I have ever seen. They have biking paths all over the city, and there are not as many cars since most people bike. This means that oftentimes streets are not too crowded, and that it is also a great for pedestrians. In addition to having plenty of walking space, it is also flat, which makes it easy to walk long distances.

Conclusion: Copenhagen is my 2nd favorite European city that I have ever been to (more on my 1st favorite coming up later). I had a great time in the city, and I came away really impressed with the people and the culture. There is no one standout trait about Copenhagen, it just has a bunch of good qualities that make it a great city. Apart from the local Danish food, there was nothing that I disliked about the city. I have never been to any other Scandinavian countries, but I want to go to more after seeing how Copenhagen was.

Total Score (Combined Score of all the categories): 86/100