Beautiful by Design

We slide through the water in an open-top tour boat beneath a blue sky and the northern sun that saturates Copenhagen in rich, warm colors. We turn into a back canal and quietly motor past old sailing boats and Parisian-type péniches (river barges), now converted into chic homes and restaurants.

THE CITY OF COPENHAGEN, Denmark, is beautiful. Superb design is as much a part of Denmark as food and fashion are of France. Witness the Royal Library’s extension, a black granite-and-glass monolith with walls that lean over the canal, reflecting sun and water. And the Copenhagen Opera House, which thrusts its cantilevered roof over the water like an airplane’s soaring wing. Then there are the elegant copper-domed and copper-steepled churches and royal palaces and the chiming of bells that echo across the water.

Yet nothing says modern, hip Copenhagen design better than our hotel—the minimalist boutique hotel Front. Here, though, hip doesn’t come with attitude. When I asked two handsome young hotel staffers what my wife and I should plan to see during our two-day visit, they could not have been more helpful, and offered what is turning out to be a perfect list of suggestions.

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We admire exquisite silver creations at the Georg Jensen Museum; the wonderful ancient and modern art collection and cafe at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek; delicate porcelain at the Royal Copenhagen Collection—a museum within a store housed in a handsome building erected in 1616; and sleek contemporary wares at the Dansk Design Center. Our last stop is the Illums Bolighus, the best store in which to shop for everything that is Danish design. We are charmed as we walk along busy pedestrian streets, stop in crowded sidewalk cafes, and stroll through tranquil Rosenborg Castle Gardens, commonly known as King’s Gardens.

But what is it about Copenhagen that is so seductive, my wife and I later wonder as we enjoy fine Carlsberg draft beer. We’re at a sidewalk cafe in Nyhavn, the picturesque harbor area popular with locals and tourists alike, and once home to Hans Christian Andersen. With its wide cobblestone towpaths, boat-lined canal and buildings in a rainbow palette, Nyhavn is the scene for all-day, all-night gatherings along its docks and in its cafes.

The lively sounds follow us as we stroll back to our hotel, taking in our sublime surroundings and wishing we could stay just one more day.

—Roger Toll