This is my guide to Sydhavnen/South Harbour. To us this place is the perfect mix of nature and city vibe – it feels like living in a small town in the middle of the nature even if we are only 3 km. from the very centre of Copenhagen and everything can be reached by foot or bike.
In this post I will share all my local favorite places with you – enjoy!
South Harbour - an upcoming area in Copenhagen
Sydhavnen is a less trodden path in Copenhagen and a neighbourhood that mixes nature, an architectural boom and authentic harbour-side living on the edge of the city.
Only a few kilometers from Tivoli and the Central Station.
In this guide you find my local tips on what to see, where to get the best coffee and a great price winning meal. We have lived here for almost 5 years now and are loving the area even more every day.
If you visit Copenhagen I hope you will take your time to vist this lovely area and enjoy the urban vibe in Sydhavnen as much as we do.
The Area
Head south along the Copenhagen harbour and you’ll find yourself in the “new” Sydhavnen, one of the new, upcoming neighbourhoods on the Copenhagen map. This former fishing area is experiencing an architectural boom and should be your go-to-place for waterside experiences off the beaten track – and for visiting the city’s fluffy ambassadors.
The “new” Sydhavnen consists of several “holme” (Engholmene, Sluseholmen, Teglholmen) – we live in the area Teglholmen.
The “old” Sydhavnen is an amazing and cosy part of Copenhagen as well and I highly recommend you to vist both part of Sydhavnen and discover the area.
In the old part of the town I particular love the area around Borgbjergsvej, Vestre Kirkegård and Karens Minde Culture house
STEP INTO NATURE IN SOUTH HARBOUR
Even if you are only few kilometers from the heart of the city centre you are also very close to nature. The area is right next to the green area AMAGER FÆLLED and Amager Naturpark which has a lot of animal life. Pass the canal by the lock nearby (click on link) and you are in the middle of the nature. Also you can enjoy animal life and nature at the very popular area SYDHAVNSTIPPEN where you will can say hello to Alpacas and lambs.
TIP – best nature walking path to the center of Copenhagen
If you go to the top of the hill right after the lock you can enjoy the view and let the installations guide you through the circles (picture below). This place is also great for watching the sunset over Copenhagen.
If you follow the walking path along the water it will lead you to another very urban and hip area ISLANDS BRYGGE which is worth a visit with lots of life, bars, cafes. It’s only 500 m from the central place of Copenhagen and Tivoli, so I recommend you to take this stroll if you like to walk your way back to the city center.
The pier on the picture above can be seen from our house – straight opposite nearby the iconic building Metropolis.
If you follow the path (on the Amager-side of the canal) all the way to the centre, you will pass by a lot of lovely places like this (bring your swimming suit and jump in if you like!)
Best restaurants, bars and cafees in South Harbour
There are a lot of lovely places and hidden gems in this area – below you find some of my favorites.
Since the ares is developing very fast, new places are opening all the time, so I might have missed a few, but these are all some of my go-to places.
Sydhavnen Bars & Restaurants
RUFINO Winebar – Teglholmens Østkaj 30, 2450 København
SYDHAVNENS VINBAR – Borgbjergsvej 52, 2450 København (bar and bottle shop and great food)
BJØRN & DELFINI – amazing food at Engholmene
PAULI – price winning restaurant in Borgbergsvej
KLASE Engholmene – winebar. Amazing outdoor spot with great wine.
Sydhavnen Cafees
Yum Yoga and Cafe – one of the best locations for all day sun – you can even drop in for yoga classes her as well
Nachbar – bakery, cafe and great coffee. I love to work from here every now and then.
Riccos coffee- great coffee and nice decor. Also a great place for remote working.
Wild Horse – my new favorite place in Borgbjergsvej 1 – great coffee and amazing yoghurt
South Habour cafe – very close to Sydhavn Station you find the cosy cafe with great Marroccan food and room for both outside and inside seating.
Kahyt and Kaffe – a MUST visit. Urban vibe and nice people and often there they have live music. The owner Peter is a childhood friend of Jørgen.
Cafe SLUSEN – a hidden gem and also a MUST Visit – see below
THE LOCK " SLUSEN" - A HIDDEN GEM
Slusen is a lock in the South Harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark. It regulates water levels and inhibits unfavourable currents in the Copenhagen Harbour, occupying both sides of the narrow strait between Zealand and Amager. It lends its name to the adjacent Sluseholmen neighbourhood which is right next to Teglholmen.
In this area you will find a lot of house boats, people fishing, small fishermen houses and the one of the coolest cafes in Copenhagen – CAFE SLUSEN. It has the best view over the Harbour and outside seating. It’s very popular and especially during the summers its often very crowed, but the vibe is amazing. Pick a canned fish to go with ali oli and sourdough bread…soooo goood!
YOU REALLY HAVE TO GO THERE! (The images above are taken from the cafe).
HOW TO GET TO SOUTH HARBOUR
BY METRO
The easiest way is to grab the M4 Metro towards København Syd. From the central station it is only two stops to Enghave Brygge which is nearby our house.
THE HARBOUR BUSSES
Every 30. minutes the harbour bus leaves directly to and from Teglholmen which is the last stop on the route. This is a great possiblity of exploring Copenhagen from the seaside.
GO FOR SWIM & SAUNA EXPERIENCE IN SYDHAVNEN
Wanna live like the locals? Then you need to dip in the crystal clear water of Copenhagen Harbour.
During summer the harbour pools are open (with lifeguards), but you can swim all year around almost everywhere in this area – it is rather unique for a capital to have water in the harbour clean enough to swim in – you can even fish from the Harbour (I think you need some kind of license to do it, though)
We are swimming right outside the house, but you can visit the free swimming zones everywhere in the area.
Actually you are only allowed to swim the official marked areas, but people are dipping everywhere. Just make sure not to swim in areas with lots of boats, or bring a SUP to serve as your platform.
Read about the Harbour pools here
SAUNA & SAUNAGUS - AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE
Saunagus is aromatherapy in a sauna, where a gusmaster works with essential oils on the hot stones and swings the scent of the oils and the heat around the sauna with a towel, so that a pleasant relaxed atmosphere is created.
In the old part of Sydhavnen (in the cosy little local harbour) you find Just Sauna, where you can drop in for Saunagus almost every day – check out their scedule on the website. We went there for the first time yesterday and it was a great experience. 4 rounds of gus and dipping the sea in between…so good.
Or you can try the floating sauna PlatformCPH.
THE PERFECT SPOT FOR SUNRISE
To me as a sunrise and sunset LOVER – this location is perfect – only 3 km. from Copenhagen city centre and still in the middle of amazing nature. There are a hundred of amazing sunrise spots and almost every morning I enjoy the colors of sunrise – the below pictures are taken outside our house at different times of the year. Not every day is this colorfull though 🙂
RENT A KAYAK & BOAT IN SYDHAVNEN
Exploring the area from and on the water is the number number 1 activity here.
Stand-up paddle, kayaking, sailing, swimming and fishing.
There a several places to rent sup-boards and kayaks – so maybe next time you should enjoy the ares and the canals out here from the water.
Become your own captain and rent a boat with Go-boat
OTHER GREAT SIGHTS IN THE AREA
- The very popular walk Amarminoen can be stated from her
- Visit our former Minister of State Anker Jørgensens’ statue in Borgbjergsvej
- Enjoy the audio walk in Vestre Kirkegård where a lot of Danish celebrities are buried. Primarily politicians.
I hope you enjoyed this guide – and pls. share your insider tip to this area in comments….
Go follow me on Instagram if you like to follow my everyday life here in Sydhavnen.
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