Copenhagen

Crisscrossed by canals and with a skyline of gabled rooftops and needle-thin church spires, Copenhagen remains the photogenic face of Denmark. But short breaks to Copenhagen are a chance to peek beneath the historic veneer to find there's much more to the city than first meets the eye.

The Danish capital is home to the world's longest pedestrianised shopping street - Strøget (which aptly translates as 'to stroll'). You'll get the most from short breaks to Copenhagen if you take frequent shopping pit-stops at one of the many pavement cafés, and indulge in a Danish pastry or three.

The city's collection of designer bars, chic restaurants and clubs is favoured beyond the Danish border. The popularity of city breaks to Copenhagen is most evident on weekends, as the population swells with beautiful people making the pilgrimage across the Øresund Bridge from Sweden.

Most of the capital's history clusters round Slotsholmen, a small island dominated by Christiansborg Palace, which has been the parliamentary seat and home to the royal family for the past 800 years.

You may not quite believe it until you see it, but short breaks to Copenhagen are also an opportunity to discover Scandinavian counter-culture. Hop across the canal to Christianshavn, walk through the gates of the Free City of Christiania and you enter a different world. Bohemians moved into the empty army barracks in the early 1970s, and have been living by their own rules ever since. No cars, no taxes, but plenty of alternative and interesting bars and cafés to explore.

Bankrolled by the city's most famous export, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (New Carlsberg Foundation) proves there's nothing like a drink to get the creative juices flowing. Carl Jacobsen, founder of the famous brewery, managed to amass one of the greatest collections of art in Europe, covering everything from Etruscan pots to the Impressionists.

Nearby, Tivoli Gardens has been Copenhagen's playground since 1843, a place to relax with open-air theatres, live classical and jazz music, restaurants, and a fair. Lit up at night with thousands of Chinese lanterns, it provides a sophisticated fairytale ending to city breaks to Copenhagen.