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Nightlife
Nightlife in Copenhagen changes fast and starts late – things rarely get going until after midnight on Friday and Saturday night. The city has an ever changing range of clubs, restaurants and bars catering to all tastes – cutting-edge dance music, world-class jazz, or pop. The city also has a surprise up its sleeve in the form of several popular and groovy DJ/bar/restaurant ‘hybrids’ that change mood and function over the course of an evening. There is no one defined nightlife area, although both Nyhavn and Boltens Gaard are popular. Dress codes and admission prices are not strict.
There are late licensing hours in Copenhagen, with cafés typically open until 0100 or 0200, bars until 0200-0500 and clubs until 0500. The minimum age for drinking is 18 years and the price of a beer will set you back Dkk20-30, while something stronger, such as a gin and tonic, will kick in at around Dkk45-50.
Copenhagen This Week (website: www.ctw.dk) and the Wonderful Copenhangen Tourist Information’s online facilities (website: www.visitcopenhagen.dk) both provide further information on nightlife in Copenhagen.
Bars: Café Victor, Ny Østergade 8, is a smart but fast and friendly bistro/bar serving excellent Danish food and proving popular with visiting film stars. The Dubliner, Amagertorv 5, is an Irish restaurant and music pub with nightly live Irish folk and rock music, Irish barmen and a very friendly atmosphere. A wide range of nightlife venues defy conventional categorisation, such as the pioneering modern Scandinavian restaurant, Konrad, Pilestraede 12-14, along with Ultimo, Hovedvagtsgade 8, Ketchup, Pilestræde 19, BarStarten, Kapelvej 1, and the trendy Zoo Bar, Kronprinsensgade 7. In the daytime, these venues may function as cafés or restaurants, however, in the evening, they become restaurants and/or bars. There also is a good chance that by the end of the evening, a DJ will have appeared and have everyone filling the dancefloor. Stereo Bar, Linnésgade 16a, is a much loved pre-club joint, with funky 70s décor. Easy listening predominates but anything goes from, trip-hop, to drum ‘n’ bass, to jazz. Rather more underground is Stengade 30, Stengade 18, Nørrebro, which blends the best of Danish and overseas rock and dance acts.
Casinos: Casino Copenhagen, Amager Boulevard 70 (website: www.radisson.com/copenhagendk_scandinavia), is open daily 1400-0400 for American and French roulette, blackjack and stud poker. A dress code applies and photo ID is required for entrance – entrance is only for those 18 years and older. Admission is Dkk80.
Clubs: The top two clubs, Rust, Guldbergsgade 8, and Vega, Enghavevej 40, have an international reputation and draw the top DJs and live acts. The Vega complex, housed in a magnificent 1950s trade union building in Vesterbro, is one of the most popular nightlife venues, which, after opening in 1996, quickly built a reputation for attracting big names (including David Bowie, Kylie Minogue and Prince). Rivalling Vega and also attracting cutting-edge, big-name acts is Rust, spread over three floors with a cocktail bar, main bar and large dancefloor. Live rock and pop acts are hosted on Thursday, with good value food on offer. There are queues until 0300 at weekends. Park Diskotek, Østerbrogade 79, close to Parken, the national sports stadium, runs a disco ballroom with DJ music in an authentic 1970s atmosphere. The city’s thriving gay scene focuses on Pan Disco, Knabrostræde 3, with three floors of lively music, as well as Sebastian Hyskenstræde 10 and Heaven, Kompagnistræde 18. For pure dance clubs, head for Baron Boltens Gaard and the Zero Nightclub and Lounge, Gothersgade 10b, and Blue Buddha, Gothersgade 8f, which was started as a reaction against the high bar prices in the clubs, offering cheap cocktails and beers within a décor that blends modern European and Asian. If you’re still going when the sun is up, head to Club Blue Note, Studiestræde 31, which opens at 0500 and serves up techno and house until breakfast.
Live music: Vega, Enghavevej 40, is an established and prestigious cultural institution and Denmark’s largest regional venue annually featuring around 250 concerts. The music profile is rock, modern electric, RnB, hip hop, metal and pop. Open air rock and pop concerts are held at the Pavillonen, in Fælledparken, during the summer. The main live music venue in Christiania is Loppen, Bådmandsstræde 43, which has regular rock, jazz and other performances. The Copenhagen Jazz House, Niels Memmingsensgade 10, is the space for jazz, offering top-quality live jazz followed by a relaxed jazz and funk disco. Seedy but hugely atmospheric, is La Fontaine, Kompagnistræde 11, which is open 2000-0600. Copenhagen is one of the major European jazz centres with excellent clubs throughout the city and a festival in July.
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