Refshaleøen – creative vibes in Copenhagen’s industrial wasteland.
Refshaleøen and B & W’s old shipyard has long been Copenhagen’s best kept secret. The old industrial area is located on the outskirts of the city in an area that today is characterized by impressive industrial architecture and due idyll. Visiting Refshaleøen is like entering a time capsule where time has been frozen since thousands of shipyard workers built ships for the oceans. Now it is only the imposing buildings that remind us of the maritime industry, which was once one of the city’s largest workplaces.
However, the area is far from extincted today – you can find one of the wildest indoor playgrounds for adults inside Copenhagen Paintball Arena, you can find the coolest accommodations for youngsters, a children’s theatre, the art gallery Copenhagen Contemporary, stationary outdoor hot tubs, an urban farm and a panoramic sauna, besides a big amount of exquisite eateries.
Since the sustainable urban farm restaurant Amass opened on Refshaleøen nearly ten years ago, many other chefs have followed. Today the food scene out there is flourishing with the extravaganza Michelin restaurant Alchemist, the street food market of Reffen, Mikkeller´s microbrewery, a distillery, one of the best bakeries in town and the coziest cafés you can ever dream of: Just to mention some of the activities. Beside all these projects, several set designers, architects and artists have their studios out here. The many small creative businesses contribute to a unique atmosphere.
On our guided tour around Refshaleøen, we will tell the stories of today’s entrepreneurs, about the former shipbuilding and working culture. And we will visit a handful of the above mentioned places for small bites and beverages. The route and sites we drop by can differ – depending on which time and weekday the tour takes place.
The trip can easily be combined with a lunch or dinner. And it´s easy to get to Refshaleøen from downtown on one of the newly introduced carbon neutral harbour busses.
