Shopping in Copenhagen

A showcase for world-famous Danish design and craftsmanship, Copenhagen seems to have been set up with shoppers in mind. In fact, the city name Copenhagen (København in Danish), actually means the "merchant's harbour," because it was once a major centre of trade. The spirit of those days remains with countless specialty shops in almost every corner of the city. The best buys are such luxury items as amber, crystal, porcelain, silver, and furs. Danish clothing design is now coming into fashion and is considered one of the nation's most important exports. Besides offering a great classic shopping, the Danes are famous for their range of quality designed cloths, furniture, glass-wares, ceramics and jewellery. The inner city has lots of exiting and creative handcrafters and designers with small ateliers. One of the things that make Copenhagen so attractive for shoppers is that you can do the whole thing by foot. Be sure you visit the pedestrian shopping street Strøget and Købmagergade with several small boutiques and the malls as Illum and Magasin. Other great places to shop in Copenhagen are Strædet, Kronprinsensgade, Grønnegade, Ny Østergade, Latin Quarter, Vesterbro and Nørrebro. The two longest shopping streets are Strøget and Købmagergade. Here you will find brands such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Mulberry, Chanel,  Karen Millen, Marc Jacobs, Hennes and Mauritz, Benetton, and many more. You can wander for hours and still find the shopping exciting. You find shopping malls in the heart of the city as in the outskirts of Copenhagen. In the shopping malls you find exclusive boutiques as well as chain shops represented all over Denmark. While the shops and stores offer plenty of temptation and enjoyment, the atmosphere itself is a part of Copenhagen's appeal for shoppers, from the ateliers, jewellery, souvenir, fashion, design stores to different second hand shops. Shopping hours in Copenhagen: Shops & Stores: Monday-Friday: 9.00/9.30/10.00 a.m. - to - 5.30/7.00 p.m. Saturday: 9.00 a.m. - to - 4.00/5.00 p.m. City centre in and around greater Copenhagen: Monday-Friday: 9.00 a.m. - to - 9.00 p.m. Saturday: 9.00 a.m. - to - 5.00 p.m. Small supermarkets, kiosks, bakeries etc. : Open: 10.00 a.m. - to - 4.00 p.m. Bakeries open early every day. Sunday - Shops and malls: The first Sunday in every month – shops and malls are open from 9:00 to 17:00.

 

Street Shopping

Strøget and Strædet

Between Raadhuspladsen and Kongens Nytorv you can walk along Copenhagen's famous pedestrian shopping street called Strøget. The pedestrian street "Strøget" is the world largest and oldest - and is just like a maze of several walking streets that runs from east to west. Strøget is therefore not a name of a specific street, but a connection between the west and east part of Copenhagen. Actually, Stroget is comprised of four streets - Frederiksberggade, Vimmelskaftet, Amagertorv and Ostergade. They are linked by three squares. Strolling down Strøget there are giant exclusive stores to curious speciality shops. Let your eyes wander the shop-window or carry on and discover the large range of different commodities on the inside. If you turn in into Strædet, that goes parallel to Strøget, and explore side streets as well, you will find many specialized stores selling clothes, jewellery, and antiques there, along with cafés and bodegas. The pedestrian street was establish in 1962 and has been a great success - especially for tourists and shoppers. Since then - many streets in the area have been changed into pedestrian streets and linked to the main walking street "Strøget". The pedestrian street system in Copenhagen is slowly expanding and since its development 1962 - many new fashion shops - restaurants - sidewalks cafés - department stores etc. - and there is always some kind of activity day or night in this part of central Copenhagen.

 

Downtown shopping

Vesterbrogade

From the other end of the Town Hall Square - east to west - the grand Vesterbrogade - stretches way down to the Zoo Garden at Valby - with hundreds of big and small shops in all categories - blended in as a perfect mixture that matches the vibrant city atmosphere. It will take more than a half day to walk up and down Vesterbrogade and the joined shopping streets to Valby - and back again to the Town Hall Square. This part of the city is called - Vesterbro - which is the genuine Downtown Area of Copenhagen.

 

Department Stores

Magasin, Illum, Fisketorvet and Field’s

The elegant department stores Magasin and Illum make you feel like you are in the luxury of London or New York. If you're looking for the latest in international fashion and design, the 25,000 sq. metre department store Illum at Østergade (Strøget) with men's and women's clothing, children's, sports, hard- and kitchen ware; and Magasin at Kongens Nytorv with five floors, offering bookshops, supermarket and a extensive range of commodities to browse through. Magasin offers a huge selection of menswear, and the women's wear section takes up three floors. The prices vary, though the best deals are to be had during sales in January and late summer. In the major shopping seasons the malls are incredibly crowded. Fisketorvet Shopping Centre is relatively new (opened in 2000) shopping mall, located near the harbour on the outskirts of the city centre. In Hellerup, not far from Strandvejen in the former Tuborg Harbour, there is Waterfront Shopping mall: 8,000 sq.metres of shopping, entertainment, fitness centres etc. Field’s is another modern mall, one of the largest in Scandinavia, if not the largest one: 115,000 sq.metres, more than 150 shops, located just a few kilometers from the city center close to the Öresund bridge. This massive modern mall has a unique mixture of ambiance, shops and brand names that can’t be found anywhere else in the country, such as Topshop which exclusively resides here. An entire floor is devoted to cafés, restaurants, entertainment and leisure. It is a great place for kids too - with its so called Capella Play area.

 

Flea Markets

Spring and summer (May – September/October) is the season for open air flea markets. Overlooked unique antique, bric-a-brac and just second-hand goods can be found at several bazaars that open at weekends. In the very centre of the city there is the Gammel Strand Flea Market, open during the summer season every Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. On this relatively small market one can buy high-quality antique or vintage household items, china collectibles and Danish porcelain. Every Saturday (7 a.m. - 3 p.m.) during the period between May and October, along the 300 metres long cemetery wall on Nørrebrogade blooms Nørrebro Loppemarked. Antiques, furniture and collectibles such as Royal Copenhagen porcelain are the main features here. On Israels Plads, near the Nørreport S-Train Station, there is another flea market, the oldest one in Copenhagen, full of antiques and objets d’art. At Frederiksberg City Hall flea market there are design clothes to be purchased for bargain prices. Gentofte Flea Market has both clothes and furniture. Lunden flea market is arranged at the Charlottenlund Trotting Track, so between the races, you can indulge yourself with bargain shopping. Arts and crafts market on Kongens Nytorv is organized by the artists' group Kunst i Byen. Open on Saturdays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., May through September. Indoors markets: Det Grå Marked: clothes, furniture, and electronics. Near Buddinge Station; every Sat and Sun 10 a.m. –  4 p.m. Annual markets are arranged also at Copenhagen Forum and Bella Centre.