Where to stay in Copenhagen: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

Nyhavn is the picture on every Copenhagen fridge magnet, and it earns it. Tall townhouses in ochre, rust and blue line the old canal, wooden boats creak at their moorings and the quayside fills with people the moment the sun shows up. At its head is Kongens Nytorv, the grand King’s Square, with the Royal Theatre on one side and Strøget, the long pedestrian shopping street, setting off from another.

The hotels here are the city's most atmospheric. A grand dame presides over the square; down by the water, 18th-century warehouses have been turned into hotels with thick timber beams and a maritime feel; and in the cobbled lanes just behind the canal there's a polished boutique hideaway. Amalienborg Palace and the royal gardens are a stroll away.

Indre By, the inner city, is the tangle of streets between City Hall Square and Kongens Nytorv. Strøget threads through the middle, but the best bits are just off it: quiet squares, the Round Tower with its spiral ramp, the Købmagergade shops and Christiansborg Palace across the canal.

Hotels here suit people who like to walk out of the door and straight into it. Choose from a playful design hotel between the Round Tower and Købmagergade, an upscale boutique steps from Strøget, and an elegant five-star a short walk from the shops. Nyhavn, Tivoli and the harbour are all ten minutes or so on foot.

If you only have a weekend, stay here. Trains from the airport pull into Central Station in around 15 minutes, Tivoli Gardens is right next door, and City Hall Square, where Strøget begins, is a couple of minutes further. Tivoli is the heart of it: a 19th-century amusement park of wooden rollercoasters, lanterns and flower beds that is every bit as charming for adults as for children.

Hotels range from a grand conversion beside the station with a heated rooftop pool to an early-20th-century landmark on City Hall Square itself. One opulent hotel sits inside Tivoli, with a spa and a seasonal outdoor pool. Families and first-timers should start their search here.

Vesterbro starts right behind Central Station and gets cooler with every block. This used to be Copenhagen's red-light district; today it's all natural wine bars, coffee roasters and vintage shops, with the old Meatpacking District, Kødbyen, at its centre. The white-tiled butchers' halls now house some of the city's best restaurants and its liveliest late-night bars.

It's also where the hotel bargains are, by Copenhagen standards at least. Friendly boutique hotels sit a few hundred metres from the station, about five minutes from Tivoli, and feel a good deal more personal than the big chains. Pick Vesterbro if your idea of sightseeing is mostly eating.

Cross the harbour and the city slows down. Christianshavn is a 17th-century quarter of canals, houseboats and cobbled quays that looks more Dutch than Danish. The Opera House is a short walk away, and water buses and the metro whisk you back to the centre in minutes.

A large five-star on Strandgade faces the harbour, with Nyhavn within walking distance, and many of its rooms look over the water. On Paper Island, just across from Nyhavn, a newer hotel takes its cue from a Scandinavian island summer house. Further along the waterfront, a design hotel stands on its own artificial island, within walking distance of Tivoli.

Nørreport is the busiest station in Denmark, and the neighbourhood around it is one of Copenhagen's most liveable. Torvehallerne, the glass-roofed food market, is where locals queue for open sandwiches and coffee, and a few streets west a chain of long, rectangular lakes is ringed by joggers and people pushing prams.

Stay in the Nansensgade quarter and you get cobbled side streets, neighbourhood wine bars and a hotel with one of the best spas in the city. There is also a stylish boutique hotel set above the station bustle. The old town is a short walk south.

Copenhagen Airport sits on the island of Amager, remarkably close to the city, so staying out here isn't the exile it would be elsewhere. One hotel is a three-minute walk from the terminal; another is a few hundred metres from Amager Strand, the city's long sandy beach, and has its own swimming pool.

Inland, Ørestad is a district of bold modern architecture built around the Bella Center conference venue, with sleek high-rise hotels a short walk from the train and metro. It's efficient rather than charming. Choose it for a conference, an early flight or a lower price, and ride into town for the hygge.