A local's Copenhagen

Tim Anderson, a 33-year-old Canadian journalist, has been living in Copenhagen since 2000. He moved to the city to study at Copenhagen Business School and now works as a journalist for a bank. He is also the author of the blog The Copenhagen Report where he writes about life in Copenhagen.

Capacity to surprise

In a recent interview with CNN Travel, Tim gives his take on Copenhagen and explains why it is the world's best city to live in.

Cykelby - For somebody who puts a high value on surrounding themselves with friends and colleagues who generally have a very outward, international perspective, desires a high degree of organization in both their business and personal life, likes being close to the sea, prefers biking to driving, and perhaps has one or two children but still wants to live in the city, then the high ranking of Copenhagen makes perfect sense.

- The city has an enormous capacity to surprise. Copenhagen stages exceptional annual music festivals, such as the Distortion Festival, and excellent independent film festivals, public events like free cinema in the park in the summer, and so on, Tim says to CNN Travel.

Buzzing nightlife

Despite finding the city a bit too cold and cloudy and the shopping hours too short, he enjoys the city's nightlife at weekends.

- Copenhagen is buzzing until the early hours of the morning. You can get a drink at plenty of places until 5 a.m. and even then there are a few after-hours places to go to. Not that I would necessarily recommend the after-hours experience!

Tim continues about what kind of person Copenhagen would be:

"...they would be the coolest person in the place. London or Paris (as people) would certainly think they were coolest and they would most certainly try to act it. But that moment when they were standing outside trying to hail a cab to get home (probably around midnight or 1 a.m.), as Copenhagen cycled by them with friends on the way to the next watering hole -- well, the façade of London or Paris as 'coolest' would be revealed for what it is.

Copenhagen on a budget

Copenhagen is renowned for being an expensive city, but in the interview with CNN Travel, Tim explains how easily - with a little creativity - you can explore Copenhagen on a budget:

- It's easy to cover Copenhagen on foot (if you don't want to rent a bike). The famous Danish open-faced sandwiches ("smørrebrød") are cheap and widely available [...] you can always buy a cheap cold beer or two from a supermarket when you get tired of walking, then sit in Nyhavn alongside the tourists drinking expensive beers, or in a park.

Islands brygge - badedyr - There are plenty of interesting sites to see without opening your wallet. My recommendations would be Christiania, the swimming area at Islands Brygge (where you can take a dip in the cool, clean salt-water of the Copenhagen channel), or rent a bike and head north along the coast towards the beaches in Klampenborg and beyond, while looking at the magnificent houses along the way.

- And for the cost of a cheap public transport ticket you can ride the harbor boat-bus around the entire channel and see the same sites as the tourist boats (and even hop off and on along the way), Tim says.

Read the full story "Copenhagen: A local's view" at CNN Travel.

Read Tim Anderson's blog The Copenhagen Report.



Newsarchive News and Events Copenhagen rated world's best life quality Paris Hilton's Copenhagen A local's Copenhagen Christmas in Copenhagen Tourist > News > News and Events > A local's Copenhagen A local's Copenhagen Tim Anderson, a 33-year-old Canadian journalist, has been living in Copenhagen since 2000. He moved to the city to study at Copenhagen Business School and now works as a journalist for a bank. He is also the author of the blog The Copenhagen Report where he writes about life in Copenhagen. Capacity to surprise In a recent interview with CNN Travel, Tim gives his take on Copenhagen and explains why it is the world's best city to live in. - For somebody who puts a high value on surrounding themselves with friends and colleagues who generally have a very outward, international perspective, desires a high degree of organization in both their business and personal life, likes being close to the sea, prefers biking to driving, and perhaps has one or two children but still wants to live in the city, then the high ranking of Copenhagen makes perfect sense. - The city has an enormous capacity to surprise. Copenhagen stages exceptional annual music festivals, such as the Distortion Festival, and excellent independent film festivals, public events like free cinema in the park in the summer, and so on, Tim says to CNN Travel. Buzzing nightlife Despite finding the city a bit too cold and cloudy and the shopping hours too short, he enjoys the city's nightlife at weekends. - Copenhagen is buzzing until the early hours of the morning. You can get a drink at plenty of places until 5 a.m. and even then there are a few after-hours places to go to. Not that I would necessarily recommend the after-hours experience! Tim continues about what kind of person Copenhagen would be: "...they would be the coolest person in the place. London or Paris (as people) would certainly think they were coolest and they would most certainly try to act it. But that moment when they were standing outside trying to hail a cab to get home (probably around midnight or 1 a.m.), as Copenhagen cycled by them with friends on the way to the next watering hole -- well, the façade of London or Paris as 'coolest' would be revealed for what it is. Copenhagen on a budget Copenhagen is renowned for being an expensive city, but in the interview with CNN Travel, Tim explains how easily - with a little creativity - you can explore Copenhagen on a budget: - It's easy to cover Copenhagen on foot (if you don't want to rent a bike). The famous Danish open-faced sandwiches ("smørrebrød") are cheap and widely available [...] you can always buy a cheap cold beer or two from a supermarket when you get tired of walking, then sit in Nyhavn alongside the tourists drinking expensive beers, or in a park. - There are plenty of interesting sites to see without opening your wallet. My recommendations would be Christiania, the swimming area at Islands Brygge (where you can take a dip in the cool, clean salt-water of the Copenhagen channel), or rent a bike and head north along the coast towards the beaches in Klampenborg and beyond, while looking at the magnificent houses along the way. - And for the cost of a cheap public transport ticket you can ride the harbor boat-bus around the entire channel and see the same sites as the tourist boats (and even hop off and on along the way), Tim says. Read the full story "Copenhagen: A local's view" at CNN Travel. Read Tim Anderson's blog The Copenhagen Report.