Are big cities in the summer just a chaos of tourists and crowds, annoying both visitors and residents? It probably depends on where you look. In this post, I’ve captured the tranquility of Copenhagen, even in the peak tourist season.
The crowds in the capital are concentrated in relatively few areas. The rest of the city breathes effortlessly. There is space for reflection and immersion, something I have tried to illustrate through the composition of the images. Only a few people are visible in the pictures. There are no cars, buses, or trucks. No construction cranes, scaffolding, or discarded fast-food wrappers. Just clean lines and simple compositions.
In the media, we see images of the consequences of tourism in cities like Venice and Barcelona. We see the downside of tourism. When I observe Copenhagen during my weekly walks, I see a city in balance, a city where tourists blend into an environment that neither dilutes their experience of the city nor makes everyday life unbearable for its residents. Yes, mobility is challenged during peak times, especially on bike paths, but one can take comfort in the fact that tourists have successfully been encouraged to navigate the city on two wheels.
In recent years, we have seen a stream of tourists heading north to escape the increasing tourism pressures and severe heatwaves in Southern Europe. I love Copenhagen, especially in the summer. My craving for travel and photography in foreign latitudes is insatiable, but in the summer, it is Copenhagen that draws me the most.
