Torvehallerne

Torvehallerne is the market where Copenhagen shops, snacks and meets for lunch, and the best introduction to the city's food scene under one roof. It stands on Israels Plads, right beside Norreport station, the busiest transport hub in the city, in two modern market halls of glass and steel built on the site of the old vegetable market, with an open-air area of fruit, vegetable and flower stalls between them. Inside, the halls are packed with small specialist stalls and counters, many run by well-known Copenhagen producers and chefs. You can eat smorrebrod, the traditional open sandwiches on dense rye bread topped with herring, roast beef, egg and shrimp or potato, at a counter or take them away; slurp oysters and seafood; eat a bowl of porridge in the morning, a Copenhagen speciality turned into a fashionable breakfast; buy Danish cheese, charcuterie, chocolate and sourdough pastries; and drink excellent coffee from the city's speciality roasters. There are also stalls for Spanish tapas, pasta, Asian street food, fish and meat to take home, and wine and craft beer. It is free to enter and browse, and you pay as you go at each stall, almost always by card, as Copenhagen is close to cashless. Prices are higher than at a supermarket but reasonable for the quality, and a lunch of smorrebrod and a coffee here is one of the best-value good meals in the city. The halls are busiest at lunchtime and on Saturdays, when locals do their weekend shopping, and quieter in the morning and mid-afternoon. Check the opening hours before you go, as they vary by day, and many stalls close earlier than the halls.

The market is part of the story of Copenhagen's food revolution. As New Nordic cooking put the city on the gastronomic map in the 2000s, Copenhageners became passionate about seasonal ingredients, good bread and coffee, and Torvehallerne, opened in 2011, gave them a central place to find all of it. It brought market life back to the old market square and quickly became one of the most popular meeting places in the city, a showcase for small producers, bakers, fishmongers and chefs. It is as much a local market as a visitor attraction, which keeps the standards high.

How to eat well here: walk through both halls first to see everything, then choose. For a classic Danish lunch, order two or three pieces of smorrebrod, which is plenty for one person, and eat them in the traditional order, fish first, then meat, then cheese. For breakfast, try porridge with toppings and a good coffee. Graze your way round with a friend, sharing small dishes from different stalls, and finish with a pastry, a cinnamon swirl or a piece of chocolate. Seats are limited at lunchtime, so be flexible, or take your food to the King's Garden, five minutes away, on a fine day.

Torvehallerne is ideally placed for a morning in the centre. Rosenborg Castle and the King's Garden are a short walk away, the Botanical Garden and the National Gallery are just beyond, and the Round Tower and the Latin Quarter are ten minutes on foot. The lakes, where locals walk and run, are just to the west. If you only have time for one food experience in Copenhagen, make it lunch here. On the way, look at the fruit and flower stalls in the open-air market between the halls, which give the square its everyday, local feel, and pick up a pastry or a bag of Danish liquorice or chocolate to take home. In December, the market is decorated for Christmas and the stalls add seasonal treats, glogg and aebleskiver among them.