Cool Kids Are Into Art: A Copenhagen Guide
A Curated Guide to my fav Art Spots in Copenhagen
I lived in Copenhagen for a while and it’s still one of the cities I associate most strongly with a truly intelligent mix of art, design and everyday life.
Here’s my personal insider route through the city, where art blends into how cafés are designed, which books are stocked, and how museums frame views.
1. Louisiana Museum
This is non-negotiable.
Located just outside the city, Louisiana is one of the most refined museum experiences both architecturally and curatorially. The building opens directly onto the sea, and exhibitions flow through glass corridors and sculpture gardens.
It’s the kind of place where art, landscape and design culture feel completely inseparable. My favourite room has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the water, where sculptures almost come alive.
2. Beau Marché Café à Vins
Beau Marché is technically a café, wine bar and interior design shop all in one, but it feels more like stepping into someone’s very good taste. The owners have French roots, and it shows in the round café tables spilling onto the street, the wicker chairs, the floor-to-ceiling wine bottles, and that effortlessly casual elegance the French do so well.
The food choice is small but delicious, but what you’re really here for is the atmosphere, the hidden courtyard, the rustic tables, and the sense that you’ve found something slightly off the beaten path even though you’re in the middle of town.
3. Ruby Atelier
Ruby Atelier hosts carefully curated vintage furniture alongside contemporary art. The space challenges the traditional gallery experience by treating furniture and art as part of the same visual conversation, as in the case of Pierre Jeanneret’s chairs placed next to abstract paintings.
4. Copenhagen Contemporary
CC is where the city shows its most ambitious, large-scale contemporary art in an old shipyard area.
The permanent highlight is James Turrell’s Aftershock, a Ganzfeld installation created specifically for CC, a sensory space filled with intense coloured light that creates complete disorientation where boundaries dissolve. After years as a beloved temporary installation, CC purchased it permanently in 2024.
5. Louise Roe & The Roe bar
Louise Roe is both a designer and a testament to Danish aesthetic sensibility, through clean lines, natural materials and pieces that feel contemporary without trying too hard.
The Roe Bar, connected to the showroom space, continues this philosophy: it’s about creating an environment where good design is simply the baseline. Food and coffee are top-notch.
6. Storm & Naked concept stores
Two concept stores close to one another, encapsulating an ever-evolving selection of clothing, accessories, books and objects, such as my favourite cups and flower vases by Niko June.
The spaces themselves are minimal, almost gallery-like, letting the pieces take the spotlight.
7. HAY house
The HAY House flagship takes up multiple floors and functions as a showroom. You’ll find furniture, textiles, lighting and kitchen objects, all embodying that particular Danish ability to make functionality beautiful without making it precious. My favourite objects are the funky candles with their holders.
8. Apotek 57
Within Frama’s design there is a beautifully curated café and bakery shop.
It’s one of the most popular spots in terms of both food quality and crowd. Expect a queue at peak hours, as it’s walk-in only.
9. Soho House Copenhagen
Soho House Copenhagen is always a safe choice in terms of setting and atmosphere.
One particular evening I recall was when a local artist was painting live during aperitivo and into the night, with the space functioning simultaneously as a social venue, bar and impromptu studio. There is always something fun going on.
10. New Mags
New Mags has a highly curated selection of books on art, design, fashion, watches, architecture, and visual culture, presented in a space that treats books as the design objects they are. The space itself is minimal and considered, letting the books do the talking. It’s the kind of place where you go in for one book and leave with three, not because of aggressive merchandising but because the curation is that good.
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