One of my favorite things about Copenhagen was how visually engaging it was. Buildings, artwork, and plants all work together to create a mesmerizing city that keeps you wanting to meander further and further no matter how tired you feel.

Buildings

Although most of the buildings at the center of Copenhagen are similar in that they are five stories tall and create strong ‘edges’ along the street, they are also all very unique. Compared to other cities I have seen, buildings here have a variety of different facades. Different colors and textures keep things interesting as pedestrians and people on bikes wander past on their daily outings.

The colorful buildings lining the canal at Nyhavn in Copenhagen.

Two neighboring apartment buildings with different facades in Nordhavn, Copenhagen.

Similar five-story buildings with different facades lining a street in Copenhagen.

Artwork

Murals and other forms of art are another prominent feature of the city. I saw a plenty of graffiti-style murals along streets, on the sides of buildings, and decorating various parks and playgrounds that I visited.

A colorful mural on a wall bordering the sidewalk in downtown Copenhagen.

Painted rodents seem to seek entrance into the building they decorate.

An imaginative mural completely covering the face of a building bordering BaNana Park.

An ominous mural, also on a building bordering BaNana Park.

Beautiful Plants

I was frequently surprised during my journeys through the city to suddenly find flowering plants in unexpected places. In downtown areas I have visited and lived in the United States, the most plant life I have remembered seeing are weeds sprouting determinedly from cracks in the sidewalk. In Copenhagen, however, I discovered what looked like hollyhocks and roses sprouting vibrantly from where they appeared to have been carefully planted in tiny bits of dirt carved out from the cobblestone sidewalks. The brightly colored flowers always made me smile, and I usually took at least a short break to ogle them. I appreciated the reminder to take a minute to enjoy the scenery.

A voluminous flowering plant seems to burst enthusiastically from a sidewalk in downtown Copenhagen.

A colorful community of hollyhocks thrives alongside a road in Copenhagen.