Jens from Dusseldorf in Germany is standing on the upper level of the Illum department store holding a porcelain cup at arm’s length. “This costs 90 Danish kronen, which converts to around 10 pounds. Really not bad. Especially since I’ve never seen a cup like this back home,” he says delighted. His friends David and Thomas, a couple also from the vicinity of Dusseldorf have just joined us. In their shopping trolley is Danish shortbread and a ceramic container. Jens is busily ticking off must-buy presents on his Christmas shopping list. His mom is getting a set of drying cloths, but he still needs to find a classically Danish woollen cap for his best friend. “We also came to Copenhagen to do our Christmas shopping in 2007. The presents we took home were very well received. Some items like gold and silver jewellery as well as glass and ceramic ware is significantly cheaper here than back home. The markets also offer many items that you would never see at home,” reports shopping expert Jens.

Copenhagen is a shopping paradise during the Festive Season. Many of the shops in the old city as well as the Strøget pedestrian shopping street stay open until 20:00 on week nights as well as Saturday evening during December. In the last week before Christmas many shops push that another notch higher and stay open until 22:00. On the town square you will also find the largest Christmas tree in all of Denmark – an enormous colourful pine tree. The charming and typical yuletide atmosphere attracts many visitors to the city. Foodies also flock to the city to tuck into its culinary delicacies. Everywhere you go you can enjoy Gløgg, warm red wine with some extra kick courtesy of Aquavit and spices, Ris á l’amande, Christmasey Danish rice pudding with cherry sauce and a lucky almond, or the strong, dark Julebryg Christmas beer.

Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s world famous entertainment park, also transforms itself into a festive open air museum. Half a million lights ensure a hyggelige atmosphere – a popular Danish term which translates roughly to “relaxed” and “quaint”. The Tivoli restaurants offer a special Festive Season menu and a number of nostalgic rides operate during this time. Dozens of little wooden huts are erected and alongside one another and are brimful with kitchy tat, but there is also plenty stylish craftwork on offer here. Other Christmas markets can be found along the romantic and utterly picturesque Nyhavnund harbour canal where you are guaranteed to find some stylish pressies for Christmas eve.

Along with an extensive Christmas shopping trip the gay trio from Dusseldorf have set themselves an impressive list of gay restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs to explore. “Copenhagen is a very liberal city as we already established during the 2009 Outgames. The straight people really deal very well with it all,” explains David. “Gay couples can easily hold hands in public while strolling through the pedestrian zone without anybody making snide comments,” seconds his partner Thomas. Copenhagen’s liberal values can be likened to that of Stockholm and Amsterdam. Denmark was one of the very first countries to legalise gay partnerships in 1989, which has had a definite effect on how tolerant the public is. An integrated gay and lesbian community is really nothing new in the Danish capital.

For years the Danish tourism office has actively campaigned to win the favour of gay and lesbian travellers by promising a “vibrant gay scene”. This is best experienced, for example, in Oscar, a gay café just around the corner from the town hall. For years it has been a favourite chilled-out hangout for the city’s gay and lesbian community – during the day leans more towards the intellectual side, but at night it is decidedly popular with all sorts and during the Christmas season it’s more than just a little hyggelig. The same goes for Denmark’s oldest gay establishment, Centralhjørnet, situated in the city’s Latin Quarter, where the largest smattering of city’s gay establishments are based. Situated on a corner this bar opened its doors some 80 years ago already and is still a cornerstone of Copenhagen’s gay scene. Here the word quaint is given a whole new meaning during the Festive Season with an Advent wreath dangling above the bar, countless Christmas angels hanging from the walls and a cosy atmosphere thanks to the candle light. Very hyggelig indeed.