The club and bar scene may be small, but it is perfectly formed for a long weekend’s indulgence

and Copenhagen positively shimmers with pre-club possibilities – not just its sleek and sexy bars but also its unique breed of DJ cafés, which come alive with music and dancing after the kitchen closes. The neighbourhoods to the north and west of the city centre offer good hunting grounds if you just want to bar hop. Try Nørrebro or the area just west of the main train station (along Halmtorvet and Istendade where you’ll find some gems among the porno shops and strip joints). See aok.dk for week-by-week event listings.

Bars, Clubs & Live Music

BANG OG JENSEN

Istedgade 130 / 3325 5318

Tiny, cool and popular with students and twentysomethings relaxing in the big, beaten up sofas, this reliable little place along Istedgade buzzes most nights. A good pit stop for those on their way to Vega/Idealbar further west.

CAFÉ BANKERÅT

Cnr Nansensgade & Ahlefeldtsgade / 3393 6988

Bustling from breakfast to the wee small hours, this café attracts a diverse crowd of shoppers, yummy mummies and clubbers from the local neighbourhood and beyond. The décor is endearingly bizarre (think doll head lamp shades and stuffed fauna sporting clothing and jewellery).

BIBENDUM WINE BAR

Nansensgade 45 / 3333 0774

This cosy little neighbourhood place is one of only a few pioneering wine bars in the city, but is easily one of the best. Close to Nørreport Metro station it is rustic, friendly and almost always buzzing with punters. There’s a small but decent tapas menu too. Closed Sun.

CHARLIE’S BAR

Pilestræde 33 / 3322 2289

This rustic, scruffy little British boozer nestling in an area lined with posh boutiques makes a delightfully anachronistic place to sample the amazing selection of British cask ale and some great whiskies. An unlikely little treasure in the land of pilsner.

COPENHAGEN JAZZHOUSE

Niels Hemmingsens Gade 10 / 3315 4700/ jazzhouse.dk

The best jazz joint in town with reliably good international and local talent Thurs-Sat and some gigs Mon-Weds. When the bands stop the disco gets going until 5am.

COPENHAGEN OPERA HOUSE

Dokøen, Holmen / 3369 6969 / www.kgl-teater.dk

Copenhagen’s spectacular new Dkr2.5bn opera house across the water from Amalienborg Palace offers cutting edge acoustics, a brave and dynamic programme and original art by Per Arnold. Vexing to reach under your own steam so take a taxi (ask for Operaen).

CAFÉ KETCHUP

Pilestræde 19 / 3332 3030 / www.cafeketchup.dk

Eurotrash alert! Too cool for school Café Ketchup now has the stylish models and professional bright young things who populate this area all to itself, following the closure of neighbour Konrad. It’s open from noon to midnight in the week and with a DJ into the small hours Fri & Sat.

HOTEL FOX BAR

Jarmers Plads 3 / 3395 7755 / www.hotelfox.dk

The reception lobby of the super cool new Fox boutique hotel becomes a bar with cocktails, a DJ and a young, hip crowd by night. A great place for a pre-club drink.

KAT

Ny Østergard 14 / 3313 8135

Club of the moment, centrally-located Kat heaves with a mixed crowd of fashionistas, party animals and frenzied ravers. Copenhagen’s almost painfully hip club night ‘All DJs Are Idiots’ plays a mix of electro, rock and hard-edged house. Fri and Sat only. 

LIBRARY BAR

Sofitel Plaza Copenhagen Hotel, Bersntorffsgade 4 / 3314 9262

The British gentlemen’s club style - the wood-panelling, leather sofas, low noise levels – of the Library Bar makes it a good spot for business meetings, light bar snacks and cocktails that pack a punch.

LOPPEN

Christiania / 3257 8422

This excellent, down-to-earth live music venue books a diverse range of acts from rock and jazz to world music and more left field stuff. The club gets going after the live performances and attracts an eclectic (for Copenhagen at least) crowd of crusties and the rather more well heeled. Same location as the quirky restaurant Loppen (see Eat).

NØRREBRO BRYGHUS

Ryesgade 3 / 3530 0530

This sleek steel and polished-concrete basement space houses a good little brew house making its own range of pilsners, stouts and bitters and offers a small slection of single malt whiskies as well.

PUSSY GALORE’S FLYING CIRCUS

Sankt Hans Torv 30, Nørrebro / 3524 5300 / www.pussy-galore.dk

Pussy’s has been at the heart of the trendy Nørrebro nightlife scene for some years and with Rust (see below), the city’s coolest cinema, Empire Bio, just around the corner. Then there’s the classic French Bistro Sebastopol next door and numerous other sextastic bars and cafes in the area. Tables sprawl across the square in summer – perfect for a long cocktail or two.

RUST

Guldbergsgade 8, Nørrebro / 3524 5200 / www.rust.dk

This three-floor club – ‘70s cocktail bar/basement/and main bar - has been a stalwart of the city’s limited club scene for almost a decade and still manages to remain at the leading edge of fashion, attracting top international DJs from Weds to Sat.

CAFÉ SOMMERSKO

Kronprinsensgade 6 / 3314 8189 / www.sommersko.dk

Long since overtaken by younger, cooler bars, this once pioneering ‘style’ bar and bistro is good for a low key beer in kitsch, almost 50s American diner-style surroundings (lots of chrome, mirrors and red leather banquettes).

STENGADE 30

Stengade 18 / 3536 0938

Perhaps Copenhagen’s most consistently good live music venue that also hosts some discerning DJ talent. The best up and coming rock acts play here and when the live sets finish it turns into a lively little dancefloor.

VEGA & IDEAL BAR

Enghavevej 40, Vesterbro  / 3325 7011 / www.vega.dk

Your one stop shop for cool pre-clubbing drinks, consistently good live music (international bands with cred perform here often) and bangin’ choons till the small hours from Weds to Sat. Inside this rambling complex you’ll find the small, stylish Ideal Bar downstairs, attracting a youngish, leftfield, twentysomething crowd and some eclectic, cutting edge DJing (everything from African sounds, Latin and house). Upstairs you’ll find the two live music and clubbing spaces.