Copenhagen’s Best Book Cafes

Retreating into a bookshop or a cafe is the perfect way to warm up on a rainy day – and if you can find both in the same building, it’s even better! Although English-language bookshops aren’t that common in Copenhagen, we’ve hunted down five different spots where your cappucino comes with something to read.

1. Paludan. One of Copenhagen’s oldest bookstores, Paludan has existed for more than a century. A favorite with students, it can be found in the heart of the city’s Latin Quarter next door to the University Library. The cafe serves both hot and cold drinks as well as sandwiches and cakes.
2. Arnold Busck. Part of a national chain, this vast and extensive bookshop boasts a great English selection as well as a Baresso coffee shop on its first floor, with a grand view of the nearby Round Tower.
3. Underwood Ink. The city’s newest and most Bohemian book cafe can be found off the main drag in deepest Nørrebro, where the beat generation is alive and well. Enjoy bar drinks, tapas or coffee along with books in various languages, as well as poetry evenings.
4. The Laundromat Cafe. While not strictly a bookshop, the bar of this funky Nørrebro cafe is actually a bookshelf filled with thousands of paperbacks, some of which are in English- and all there for the browsing. Just remember to put them back when you leave.
5. Cafe Retro. This incredibly cosy, volunteer-run cafe has a rack of international books left by generous visitors. You can take one if you like – just do the reciprocal thing and fill the space with one you’ve already finished.

Top photo courtesy of Laundromat Cafe Nørrebro.