Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is one of Europe's most liveable and likeable capitals — a flat, water-laced city where royal history, world-class design and a famously relaxed quality of life (the much-exported concept of hygge) come together, all best explored by bike like the locals. The picture-postcard heart is Nyhavn, the 17th-century canal lined with brightly painted gabled houses, old wooden ships and waterside cafés, the city's most photographed spot and the departure point for canal cruises. A short walk away, Tivoli Gardens — the historic pleasure garden that opened in 1843 and helped inspire Disneyland — mixes vintage rides, gardens, concerts and fairy-tale lighting in the centre of the city. The royal layer runs through the city: the rococo Amalienborg palace with its changing of the guard, the Renaissance Rosenborg Castle holding the crown jewels in the King's Garden, and Christiansborg Palace, the seat of parliament. But Copenhagen's modern identity is design and food. Danish design — clean, functional, beautiful — fills the Designmuseum, the furniture showrooms and the shops of the long Strøget pedestrian street, while the New Nordic food revolution, led by the world-famous Noma, transformed the city into a global dining destination, from Michelin tables to the open-faced smørrebrød lunches, the legendary hot-dog stands and the street-food halls of Reffen and Torvehallerne. The harbour itself is clean enough to swim in, with popular harbour baths, and the alternative 'freetown' of Christiania, the houseboats of Christianshavn, and the spiralling church tower of Vor Frelsers add character. Day trips reach Hamlet's castle at Kronborg, the Viking ships of Roskilde, the Louisiana modern-art museum on the coast, and — over the Øresund Bridge — Malmö in Sweden. Copenhagen is wonderful in the long days of summer (May to August) for harbour life and outdoor dining, and magical in December for its Christmas markets and Tivoli lights; winters are dark and cold but cosy.