Last weekend I had something of a staycation when two of my closest friends came to the city to celebrate my birthday with me. We had planned a trip to Paris as a belated celebration but with my accident earlier in the year, it seemed better to come here than risk not having the weekend at all.

As my apartment is not big enough to host them, and to also make it more of a girls’ weekend, we decided to rent an Airbnb in the city. The place we chose was perfect with views over Kongens Have from four balconies running the length of the apartment.

Copenhagen is thought of as being an expensive city but our weekend proved you can do it on a budget and still enjoy what the city has to offer.

I wanted to show my city off to them but still enjoy plenty of gossiping and relaxation. On the Friday night, which was also Kulturnatten, we headed down to Nyhavn and enjoyed a delicious antipasti and pizza meal in Gorms. I wanted the weekend to be fairly budget friendly so this was a good choice. The restaurant was very cosy, which was particularly welcome as the temperatures had plunged. We left it a bit late to enjoy Kulturnatten but walked back across Kongens Have and oohed and ahed at the illuminated statues.On Saturday, after a leisurely breakfast of real Danish pastries and buck’s fizz, we spent a few happy hours in Royal Copenhagen and Illums Bolighus, where my friends joked about how much like tourists they looked with groaning arms full of Danish design pieces and spoils from the Christmas shop. I was delighted to see how much they loved Danish design.The rest of the day was eaten up, literally, by a lunch of smørrebrød (I make no apologies for taking them to Nyhavn for this), a trip to the top of the tower at Christiansborg,  a pop in to Søstrene Grene (which delighted them in comparison to similar shops in the UK), and a wander around Torvehallerne.The evening came around far to quickly. We had a table booked at Manfred’s in Nørrebro, a place I have been wanting to try for a while as I was curious about their seven course meal. Each dish is a mystery until it arrives. It was an enjoyable experience with some surprising dishes – my favourite being the roast onions and least the mackerel. The organic wines and ciders we tried were unusual, and whilst I am not sure I would choose them again, a great experience. I would sum the evening up as an experience and I would definitely recommend trying it out.

We ended the weekend with brunch here and a harbour cruise, which I had free tickets for. We didn’t pack masses into the weekend but there was more than enough to give them a snapshot of this beautiful city, without breaking the bank (if you ignore the shopping spree). All our meals came in under 400kr each including alcohol and most of the sightseeing was also free. The apartment was less than 1400kr each for the two nights.