City Secrets | Copenhagen

If you can fit in a side trip to Copenhagen there are amazing fashion designers and design shop gems just waiting to be discovered.  For foodies and cool mingling plus art galleries and cafes, hip bars and new concept restaurants, head to the K?dbyen district. N?rrebro is another hip/alternative area in town or try Bl?g?rdsgade for an abundance of cozy cafes, small galleries and unique design shops that are great for people watching.  Native expert and fashion entrepreneur Gitte Jonsdatter of www.muuse.com gives us her star recommendations.

#1- WOOD WOOD Krystalgade 7, 1172 Copenhagen

Fusing elements of underground trends, artistic themes and quirky high-end fashion, Wood Wood VII offers the latest in men?s and women?s apparel?from fresh takes on basics like denim, dresses and cardigans to more out there styles like shiny two-piece hooded suits that seem suitable for space travel. Carrying their own popular line as well as notable brands such as Comme De Garcons, Peter Jensen, Junya Watanabe, Opening Ceremony, Eley Kishimoto and fashion hero, Bernhard Willhelm, Wood Wood VII is where you?ll find the definitive Copenhagen shopping experience.

#2-  Normann Copenhagen

Normann Copenhagen is a way of living- a mindset challenging conventional design rules by taking traditional materials and putting them into untraditional use. The store has won several prizes as the coolest design store in Copenhagen, and serves as a platform for great parties, fashion events, art exhibitions as well as small happenings.

#3- Stine Goya Norrebrogade 41, 2200, Denmark

Sophisticated yet understated. Stine Goya combines beauty and drama in edgy collections for the daring individual.

#4- Henrik Vibskov Krystalgade 6, Copenhagen K, 1172, Denmark

?The Big Wet Shiny Boobies?, "The Solar Donkey Experiment", "The Slippery Spiral Situation" and ?The Fantabulous Bicycle Music Factory? are just a few titles of shows Henirk Vibskov has produced lately, each title referring to a different but equally mesmerizing world and set of logic.

His last 16 collections have included a women?s wear line designed with his fellow St. Martin?s graduate Maja Brix.

#5- This Issue Blagardsgade 14, 2200, Copenhagen

Behind the graphical designs on the windows displayed you inside an edgy and colorful fashion art world. On the walls, shelves and hanging rods you?ll find everything from markers to jewelry and graphic products, like USB sticks, stickers, figurines, posters, serigraphs, clothing and accessories. Add to this a selection of delicious books and magazines and about everything from innovative artists for graphics, architecture, design, tape and photo and a mini selection of albums on vinyl and CD. Stop by and experience one of the places where you can always find something new and exciting and where the atmosphere is cozy and inviting you to sniff around.

#6- Caf? N Blagardsgade 17, 2200, Copenhagen 

Ginger apple, carrot, orange, and beetroot. You choose which combination you want when you order a juice at Caf? N. For here is food and drink freshly made rather than being drained from cans or plastic tubs, as Is often the case when u go to a caf?. And the difference is glaring when one tastes like a freshly squeezed apple juice, with its sharp and tangy sweetness acts as a vigorous hug.

#7- K?dbyen

Though the Meat District has remained a locus for companies and activities relating to the meat and food industry, these original functions take up much less space, and since the early 2000s, the area has been changing into a new creative cluster with galleries, nightlife and small creative businesses like architecture practices and studios.

Some popular venues to check out include:

• Galleri Bo Bjarreg?rd: a leading commercial art gallery.
• V1 Gallery: Another high-profile commercial art gallery.
• Karriere Bar An arts bar and restaurant featuring a large number of site-specific artworks and hosting various parties and cultural events.
• K?dboderne 18: a night club in a somewhat raw style.
• Vestauranten: A restaurant located in the Brown K?dby, operated by the neighboring DGI-byen.

#8- ILLUMS BOLIGHUS Amagertorv 10, 1160, Copenhagen 

Illums Bolighus has been around forever & is the established high-end home shop. It's amazing and anyone coming to Copenhagen should stop in since it stocks all the famous Danish classics.

#9- HAY Pilestr?de 29, 1112, Copenhagen

Hay's ambition is to encourage Danish Furniture Designer?s return to the innovative greatness of the 1950's and 1960's but in a contemporary context. Hay operates in the field between architecture and fashion bridging the statistics from architecture and the dynamics from fashion. As a supplement to the furniture collection Hay has introduced an accessory and rug collection consisting of cushions, quilts, bedcovers, hangers, etc. for modern homes.