victorian Pharmacy - Royal Pharmaceutical Society

t r av e l C O P e n H A G e n
Sceneic Ancient rituals and modern style
Sightseeing Old buildings and new power sources
While Jacobsen’s
Radisson Royal may
still reign supreme
in the city centre
it now finds itself
competing for
travellers’ patronage
with a number of
more recent hotels
Visit now and you are just as likely to be
telling your friends back home about the
wonderful restaurant scene, super-cool bars, hitech
design museums and countless interesting
modern buildings blending perfectly with the
historic ones.
Old world charm
While Jacobsen’s Radisson Royal may still
reign supreme in the city centre it now finds
itself competing for travellers’ patronage with
a number of more recent hotels, including the
three-star Copenhagen Strand, the four-star
Copenhagen Airport Hilton and the five-star
Copenhagen Marriott as well as the Skt.
Petri which has taken over the former Daells
department store in the centre of Copenhagen.
And this is before you take account of the
hotels undergoing major renovation and the
others either planned or under construction
across in Sweden in the Malmo area. It is
developments such as these which are the
main motivation for the two cities in different
countries, for years strictly competitors, to
use the opening of the bridge as an excuse
to market themselves together, a relationship
which seems to be working remarkably well.
The idea is that, with the airport and the
train serving both, it really does not matter
which of the two you stay in as you can now
visit both very easily.
The reality, however, is not so
straightforward. Even though transportation
between Copenhagen and Malmo is quick
and easy, Copenhagen is still the best place
to make your base, unless you are on a
very tight budget indeed, in which case you
may be better off opting for the Swedish
side where hotels, restaurants and all the
other essentials of life for visitors tend to be
cheaper than in Copenhagen.
In fairness Malmo does have an undeniable
old world charm and some passable nightlife,
but Copenhagen is the place where it all really
happens both during the day and after hours.
It is also a very easy city to get around. In the
city itself taxis are plentiful and can be found
at major hotels as well as in main tourist areas
as well as cruising the streets and if you fancy
an excursion further afield there is a good
network of buses and trains.
And forget much of what you may have
heard about the blandness of Danish food,
the offerings in the city’s restaurants, though
far from inexpensive, are inspired now more
by the French than the more traditional
smorgasbord, though you will still find an
excellent choice of fish and dairy products
plus, of course, meatballs.
Open sandwiches
If you want to splash out on a real gourmet
treat head for the Kommanddanten restaurant
in Adelgade Street, particularly famed for its
traditional herrings and other fish. If you are
a meat lover try Grabrodre Torv 21 where
specialities include roast pork served with red
cabbage or meatballs with new potatoes.
If on the other hand you really do yearn for
Danish open sandwiches, or smorrebrod, at
lunchtime, Ida Davidsen has a choice so large
that the menu is about six feet long.
And after all that you can take a stroll
through the quaint old Tivoli gardens, one of
Europe’s original amusement parks, across
the road from both Copenhagen’s Central rail
station and the Radisson SAS Royal hotel,
which still pulls in the crowds after more than
a century. n
l You can book rooms at the Radisson
on 00800 33333333 or via the company’s
website,www.radissonsas.com.
More information on Copenhagen is
available at www.visitcopenhagen.com.
42 Pharmacy Professional | July 2010
July 2010 | Pharmacy Professional
43