Copenhagen/Vestegnen

Vestegnen is a suburban district west of inner Copenhagen, Denmark, mostly build up during the 1970-80s. There is little of general interest to travellers here, but some of Copenhagen's nicest hostels (albeit with a great deal of transportation to Copenhagen's main attractions) and a single top-notch art museum - oh, and 7 km of white beach if you are fortunate enough to run into sunny days.

Get in
Two S-train directions run from the centre of Copenhagen through the district
 * Lines B to Høje Taastrup runs west through Hvidovre, Rødovre, Brøndby, Glostrup, Albertslund and Taastrup every 20 minutes from early morning till late night, and twice as often most of the day.
 * Line A to Hundige runs southwest through Åmarken, Friheden, Avedøre, Brøndby Strand, Vallensbæk and Ishøj every 20 minutes from early morning till late night. Line E to Køge stops at Vallensbæk, Ishøj, Hundige, Greve, Karlslunde and Solrød and also runs every 20 minutes from early morning till late night.

Approaching the district by train from west or south, you will get off at Høje Taastrup Station or Køge Nord Station and continue by S-train.

Get around
The easiest way to get around is by S-train. For destinations between S-train stations or away from the main traffic channels you can take one of the local buses, most of which do not run as frequent as in the central part of the city.

There are taxi stands at almost all S-train stations, but it will quite often be that no taxis are available and you will have to call one. Vest-Taxa (+45 43 45 45 45) is usually the fastest in the western suburbs and Taxa Selandia (+45 70 10 66 66) in the far southwestern suburbs. Taxa 4x35 (+45 35 35 35 35) is a good option closest to the central part of the city, but further away some waiting time can be expected.

See




Do

 * Football:
 * Hvidovre IF were promoted in 2023 so they also play in SuperLiga. Their home ground (capacity 12,000) is just north of Friheden station.



Beaches
There are several good beaches along the coast, such as Brøndby, Ishøj & Vallensbæk strand. The whole area is dubbed Køge Bugt Strandpark, and covers 7 km of white beaches, sand dunes, meadows and lakes. It is very popular on warm summer days, but there are usually plenty of space if you look around. Facilities include jetties, toilets and several Kiosks dishing out popular ice creams. During late June to early August there are lifeguards present. Access by any station along the A and E S-train lines between Brøndby-Strand and Greve stations.

Theaters and concert halls
Expect bands mainly to be Danish bands, and theatrical performances in the Danish language, since none of these venues are really geared for tourists.

Buy
When city planners turned this area of former villages and farmland into unending suburbia (a transformation they now much regret), they turned to their North American counterparts for inspiration, and erected some huge impersonal shopping centers, complete with the usual, characterless chain stores, which leaves the shopping in Vestegnen a bit to be desired. You can find these shopping centers opposite almost every S-train station in the district. The largest of these malls are the aptly named City2, a short walk away from Høje Taastrup station, with 110 stores and a large cinema complex over 100,000 m², and Rødovre Centrum a bit off the main public transport corridors, also with 110 stores.

Eat
Except for Arti'kok you can safely disregard these listings if you are not staying in the district, as there are much better restaurants nearer the city centre.



Drink
Expect to drink with local alcoholics and kids who think Adidas trunk pants are the coolest thing since flavored Vodka. In other words, not really worth it unless you can not be bothered to go all the way into the city centre.

Sleep
Many hotels located here claims to be near the city centre, for the most part they are outright lying, and the only reason to sleep at these suburban hotels is if you have business or family relations in the area. One exception is the budget listings which are actually good options.

Stay safe
Vestegnen is generally safe, but since it is mostly known for its ghetto-areas, with a high percentage of residents with low income, low education and an immigration-background, crime (more specific robberies and muggings, and rarely gang-wars) can occur more often than in Copenhagen, so be aware of your surroundings and stay out of the ghetto-areas, especially at night. If a group of people is trying to provoke you, ignore them and don't provoke back. If you spot such a group or see something odd, you don't feel comfortable with, staying out of business and walk slowly and quiet away.

In the town Brøndby, do not wear anything that sympathizes with "F.C. Copenhagen", since fans of Brøndby IF are likely to get provoked. But as long as you stay out of the ghetto-areas, characterized with high residential, similar-looking building-complexes, you would find the atmosphere quite peaceful and friendly.

Connect
The best options for internet access is the various public libraries in the area: