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Local designer Yobe names men’s and women’s frames after glamorous, made-up personalities. Pentagonal lenses are Dorothy’s trademark; Debbie’s are round. This appeared in the May 2015 issue

An old shoemaker’s workshop hidden above a tiny café has been transformed into what Copenhageners call the world’s smallest hotel—a 12-square-meter room outfitted in vintage-inspired decor and the highest quality gadgets. It feels like a hideaway from reality, on the border of two of Copenhagen’s coolest, undiscovered-by-tourists neighborhoods. With a Royal Eden bed, hidden flat-screen TV, iPhone with stereo dock, and free Wi-Fi, Central Hotel & Café has thought of every requisite modern convenience. The 1950s-style decor even feels straight out of a movie—not surprising, actually, since one of the owners previously worked as a set designer.

Downstairs, the café feels like your own, even if just for a day, with its sounds and smells wafting up through the windows and vents. Open the flower-framed window to get a better smell, and arrange to have your coffee delivered to your door, or simply head downstairs to order in the café.

Built as an aristocratic country manor in 1746, Kokkedal Castle was a private residence for much of its existence, hosting salons and parties for Copenhagen’s elite. Restored and opened as a hotel in 2011, the castle is now one of Denmark’s most luxurious stays, set on acres of sprawling parkland along the Danish coast, just 30 minutes north of Copenhagen. With its manicured gardens, afternoon tea on the terrace, and 18th-century–inspired decor, it feels like that friend’s country estate you’ve just been waiting for an invitation to—if, that is, your friend has an excellent restaurant in the original cellars, specializing in Danish and French country cuisine, and a world-class holistic spa ready to cater to your every whim.

To top it all off, thanks to the castle’s location, both Copenhagen and the region’s myriad other sights are within an hour or two’s reach, either by train or by car.

The Copenhagen Admiral Hotel began its life as an 18th-century warehouse on the Copenhagen waterfront, before being turned into a maritime-themed hotel in the 1970s. With the royal family’s Amalienborg Palace on one side, the lively and picturesque Nyhavn canal on the other, and the Copenhagen Opera House across the water, the hotel couldn’t be better placed for feeling like you’re in the heart of Copenhagen’s sights. Historic tall ships regularly dock out front, and, when the sun comes out, locals and guests alike spill onto the waterfront patio for a Carlsberg beer.

Inside, the hotel feels quintessentially Scandinavian, with exposed beams and a blue-green color palette. The acclaimed SALT restaurant puts a modern spin on traditional Scandinavian cuisine with inspiration from local, raw produce and French cuisine.

Work your way from Excelsior’s top floors (slinky Chloé dresses, Balmain leather jackets) to the main floor (watches, speakers, a sea of colorful iPad cases), then down to the subterranean floors for the impressive wine shop and restaurants.

The largest and most storied of the Sydney Harbour islands, Cockatoo was once an Aboriginal fishing ground, a naval shipyard, a girls’ reform school, and a gruesome prison. Today, it offers fascinating walking tours, a casual café, and a number of events such as the Biennale of Sydney. When most visitors line up in the evening to catch the ferry home, those staying on the island are just setting off on a leisurely sunset stroll. They can watch the city light up from what feels like another world and then retreat to their campsite, canvas “glamping” tent, heritage home, or modern apartment until they wake up to birds and boats the next morning.

Every year, the guys behind Hanoi‘s Club for the Appreciation of Music and Art (CAMA) bring some of the finest left-field musical talent from the region to the city’s American Club for a one-day shindig. The event usually takes place in May.

Straight from the Pony’s mouth: PONY is Kadeau’s cheeky ”little brother” residing in the small, homely premises of Vesterbrogade 135, where Kadeau Copenhagen used to be. The idea behind PONY is a more simple approach to the good dining experience, revolving around a small selection of à la carte dishes and a daily four course menu known as the “Pony Kick”. The food is based on seasonal and local produce and is in that sense new Nordic, as it is at Kadeau. But it is also bistro in style, and at PONY we proudly cook using produce from both Bornholm and the rest of our delicious Danish backyard.

This natural soup-n-burger joint lies far from the tourist hordes, on a quiet residential street in the San Frediano neighbourhood. The kitchen and takeaway operation (open lunch and dinner) stands on one side of the road while opposite there is a pared-down modern restaurant (open for dinner only) with a tiny courtyard. Organic vegetables and herbs and locally produced beef go into tasty, seasonal soups (creamy cauliflower with truffle or earthy lentil and kale) and juicy burgers and there are gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options too. Don’t miss the delicious desserts such as the rich flourless chocolate cake. The drinks list features excellent organic wines from the owner’s estate, craft beers and organic fizzy drinks.

I’d like to believe that had my public library been as stunning as the Black Diamond in Copenhagen, I would have spent more time studying at the library and less time doing whatever one does when one is supposed to be doing their reading. But the reality is that I probably would have spent most of the time staring out at the water and at the handsome people who wander through its naturally lit halls. The Black Diamond is the newer annex to The Danish Royal Library. It gets its name from the black granite, tinted windows and trapezoidal design (isosceles I think; perhaps I would be more sure had I worked harder on that geometry homework). When you turn the corner, it peers out like a large warship: dark, massive, and slightly foreboding. But the people and bicycles scattered about near the library’s entrance bely the need for concern. At the library’s entrance there is a cafe perfect for you to steady yourself with coffee, pastries, and more people watching. The library holds an art exhibit, concerts, The National Museum of Photography, The Museum of Danish Cartoon Art, as well as its own collection. But the pièce de résistance is the atrium that overlooks the harbor. Take the escalator up a few floors and turn and seize the view. But don’t gasp too loudly: there are people probably trying to do their geometry homework.

Building on the success of AOC, the minds behind one of Copenhagen‘s only 2-star Michelin Restaurants have opened a second restaurant. Søren Selin, co-owner and chef de cuisine at AOC, has overall responsibility for the menus while the resident chef at no. 2 is Nikolaj Køster. Despite being the younger sibling to AOC, Restaurant No. 2 is far from just a clone. It has its own special areas of focus and specialization In their own words at No. 2 you’ll find, “Here you will find the same uncompromising approach to raw ingredients, the same combination of flavours praised by the reviewers and a wine list composed with the same attention to detail as the one that has won AOC several awards. All in a more relaxed and laid-back ambiance.”

You can’t visit Florence without indulging in ice cream once at the very least, but it’s not so easy to find the real deal. Carapina, gelateria of choice for cognoscenti (but often overlooked by tourists), is located a stone’s throw from the Ponte Vecchio, brain child of Simone Bonin who is widely acknowledged to be one of the best ice cream makers in Italy. Sixteen flavors are available at any one time and produced in small batches each day from top-notch local, strictly seasonal ingredients. Classics include pistachio, ‘real’ yoghurt and the bitterest of bitter chocolate but there are more unusual flavors too like the sweet/salty gorgonzola, Parmigiano reggiano or creamy mozzarella di bufala.

Copenhagen’s grandest hotel, and one of its oldest, the d’Angleterre originally opened in 1755 as a restaurant, the brainchild of Jean Marchal and Maria Coppy, who met and fell in love while working at the royal court. The current building, on Kongens Nytorv, across from the Royal Danish Theatre, was renovated and reopened in the 1870s and has hosted royalty, foreign dignitaries, luminaries, and celebrities throughout the years. The hotel reopened in 2013 after extensive renovations, restored to its original glory and luxury, with each room decked out in elegant Danish design intended to give the feeling of a stately private residence worthy of royalty. Antiques and historic works of art like a portrait of Queen Victoria by Winterhalter demonstrate the hotel’s dedication to its heritage, while modern touches like a Warhol portrait of Queen Margrethe II and the latest modern technology in all rooms keep it contemporary and accessible.

The insistence on luxury is also apparent in the eateries: a Michelin-starred restaurant and a champagne bar are both as popular with locals as with guests

Located in Park City‘s renovated Masonic Hall on historic Main Street, the Riverhorse caters to a high-end fine-dining crowd. Seth Adams, the executive chef and co-owner who drives the seasonally appropriate creative menu, has brought home prestigious awards, including a few that were firsts in the state of Utah. While the Riverhorse has a great selection of wine, it does allow patrons to bring in their own bottles for a $25 corkage fee. The restaurant is family friendly, with healthy selections on the kids’ menu. Dress is “mountain casual,” and reservations are strongly encouraged.

Located in converted historic townhouses amid the winding streets of Copenhagen’s lively Latin Quarter, Hotel SP34 opened in early 2014 as an homage to the neighborhood and to mid-century Danish design. Each room is outfitted in clean-lined furnishings and muted tones, all meant to evoke Sankt Peders Stræde, the historic street on which the hotel sits, and give guests the feeling of living in their own Danish home, in a true Danish neighborhood. In the lobby—home to a stylish bar and lounge that serves coffee, beer (including the hotel’s own Brøchner Organic Lager), and wine throughout the day—the first thing guests see is a bicycle, a tribute both to Copenhageners’ favorite mode of transportation and to the renowned Sögreni bike shop down the street. The hotel contributes to the neighborhood’s vibrant nightlife scene with two restaurants and four bars, as well as the longtime favorite Din Nye Van café and music venue; being at the heart of it all only adds to that Copenhagen-local experience.