Arriving in Copenhagen via Copenhagen Airport sets you up perfectly, with surrounding cities and experiences a short drive away. Copenhagen is the Danish capital and one of the most livable cities anywhere, built around harbors, canals, and bike lanes that carry more commuters than the roads. It is cozy in winter, bright in summer, and quietly stylish year-round, with a food scene that reshaped fine dining and a harbor clean enough to swim in.

Copenhagen highlights: - Photograph the colored townhouses of Nyhavn, then take a canal boat tour - Ride the old rides and eat under the lights at Tivoli Gardens - Rent a bike and cross the harbor bridges like a local - Swim in the harbor baths at Islands Brygge on a warm day - Eat smorrebrod open sandwiches at lunch and street food at Reffen in the evening - See the crown jewels at Rosenborg Castle - Walk through the free-spirited streets of Christiania - Shop and snack your way through Torvehallerne market - Visit the Little Mermaid and the star-shaped Kastellet fortress nearby

Copenhagen sits at the edge of Denmark with Sweden a bridge away. Malmo is about 35 minutes across the Oresund Bridge, and Lund and its cathedral are a little beyond. North along the coast, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art looks out over the sea about 40 minutes away, and Kronborg Castle in Helsingor, the setting for Hamlet, is 50 minutes. Roskilde, with its Viking Ship Museum and royal tombs, is about half an hour west. Hygge is not a marketing term here but a way of life, best practiced with a cinnamon snail and a candle.