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Located in an old building (so old that Det Danske Spiritus Kompagni, one of Denmark’s leading spirits distrubutors, formed in the townhouse in 1882) in an even older part of town, Ruby is a thoroughly Copenhagen cocktail bar. The featured drink menu changes with the seasons and incorporates ingredients like lovage and fennel seed. Champagne, beer and wine round out the list, along with non-alcoholic drinks as enticing and creative as their boozy counterparts.

French classics all day, with a focus on seasonality and sustainability—and a view of Tivoli Gardens. Located in the beautiful and bustling Hotel Nimb, this is the place for the escargot or steak-frites with a side of history: The entrance to the hotel is the original 1909 Moorish façade. The Brasserie serves breakfast, brunch (overvactioned? Green juice served here), lunch, and dinner and has a children’s menu. If you’re visiting in the warmer months, grab a table on the balcony on for the Friday Rock dinners, a menu that starts with bubbles and serves dinner while musical acts perform in the garden below.

The singularly best way to see the Tivoli Gardens is to spend the night at Hotel Nimb and enjoy the modern Danish design along with the view. (Tivoli, if you aren’t familiar with it, is basically what would happen if you put a beautiful and tasteful amusement park inside New York’s Central Park.) Originally a bazaar and restaurant, Hotel Nimb has called the amusement park and gardens in the center of Copenhagen home since 1909. Behind the original Moorish-style exterior, the hotel is home to a half-dozen places to eat and drink, a wellness center and hammam, and Denmark’s first rooftop pool. If you don’t spend the night, hit up one of the rooftop terrace’s events after dark or grab a drink at the hotel bar. The old-school Danish charm and modern Scandinavian design are the exact recipe for highbrow hygge. Note you’re in Denmark now and sustainability is king: The hotel gets its power from a wind farm and serves organic food throughout its restaurants.

Another incredible furniture and design emporium in a city celebrated for its aesthetic, Illums Bolighus stocks everything you could possibly need to create a modern Scandinavian-style home. Furniture, bed linens, lamps, window treatments, bathrobes—visiting this emporium is like walking through an edit of the best home collections from Denmark's design heavyweights. Literally impossible to leave empty-handed.

This glass-enclosed market has some sixty stalls manned by butchers, florists, bakers, and vegetable sellers alongside several restaurants, and coffee counters. (All of Copenhagen's best chefs buy their produce here.) Wander through the market to sample the assortment of—ridiculously decadent—Danish specialty's like snaps (herb infused spirits) and, at Christmastime, risengrod (a thick rice pudding topped with butter, cinnamon, and sugar). If you happen to be in Copenhagen during the summer months, stop by Hija de Sachez, a taqueria run by former Noma alum Rosio Sanchez. It's as authentic as it comes in this part of the world. (They're open seasonally April-October.)

Run by couple Sara Wreschner and David Andersen, this French-inflected cafe brings a taste of the high-end coffee bars common to Europe's more continental cities to Copenhagen.

An ice-cream-meets-espresso bar, Det Vide Hus manages to stay busy round-the-clock: locals flock to this under-the-radar spot to grab their morning coffee, and later in the day for a sweet fix. Snag a spot at one of the wicker tables outside for some good people-watching.

A hybrid café, boutique, and creative studio, Atelier September is tucked into the cool, design-forward Gothersgade neighborhood. Here, Frederik Bille Brahe runs the cafe part of the operation, where he pours coffee and features a light food menu (boiled eggs, avocado toast). In the back of the space, designers Jonas and Annette Trampedach pull together an enviable mix of contemporary furniture, sixties Italian design, lights, and ceramics, as well as pieces from their own collection.

Upon meeting at Art College in Denmark, designers Ditte Reckweg and Jelena Schou Nordentoft bonded over their shared love of ceramics, glass, and craftsmanship. The duo named their joint venture Stilleben, after the German art genre that describes the depiction of inanimate objects. The space itself is made up of pastel-hued walls and minimalist shelving—the perfect backdrop to display Reckweg and Nordentoft's hand-selected treasures—everything from Japanese tea pots to Danish textiles. The shelves are also stocked with their own branded prints, ceramics, and tableware.

Best described as Nordic-Japanese fusion, Admiralgade breaks Copenhagen's carb-loading breakfast tradition with a full Japanese spread (pickled fish, rice, miso soup). Open all day, the kitchen formally closes at 10 pm, but in the laid-back spirit of the city, the cooks rustle up sensational late-night snacks for the barflies. Aside from the food, the decor is another reason to make a reservation. The building dates as far back as 1796 but the interior is all washed stone walls, mismatched chairs, and bleached wood. Owned by the same people as the always full Ved Standen 10 wine bar, the wine list does not disappoint with a stellar selection available by the glass.