Growing up in Copenhagen, Bjarke Ingels dreamt of becoming a cartoonist. “But there was no cartoon academy,” he told CBS in 2016. “So I enrolled in the Royal Danish Art Academy School of Architecture.” It was a happy accident—Ingels loved his courses. When he graduated in 1998, he moved to Rotterdam to work for the Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Rem Koolhaas. Eight years later, he founded the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), which, he envisioned, would blend innovative and sleek design with sustainability.

It worked. Big has since completed over 60 projects across the globe, including a waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen, a skyscraper in Manhattan, and three villas on Japan’s remote Sagishima Island. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal named Ingels the “Innovator of the Year” for architecture. Five years later, Time magazine included him on its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Here, the star architect shares his go-to restaurants, museums, and more in his native city.

Bobe

Bo Bech’s restaurant in Gråbrødretorv—a small, hidden historic square in the middle of the city—showcases his talents as a great chef and host. (restaurantbobe.com)

Rosforth & Rosforth

A veritable treasure chest for wine drinkers, Rosforth & Rosforth is located under Knippelsbro, a bridge connecting central Copenhagen to the Christianshavn neighborhood. Hosted by the owners, it inspires conversations as rich as the tastings. (rosforth.dk)

La Banchina

A small wine bar with vegan and fish-based food options, as well as an on-site, solar-heated sauna and a dock from which to plunge into the naturally cold water of Copenhagen’s harbor. (labanchina.dk)

KANAL CAFEEN

An old-school Danish restaurant specializing in Smørrebrød, or open-faced sandwiches that have been served the same way for a century. (kanalcafeen.dk)

Dragør

An entirely yellow fisherman’s village hidden behind the airport. Dragør is a pocket of time untouched by the rest of the world. (visitdragor.com)

V1 Gallery

A gallery representing Danish and American artists, including HuskMitNavn and Geoff McFetridge, located in the beautiful Meatpacking District—one of the few Danish examples of International Modernism. (v1gallery.com)

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Louisiana, one of the world’s most beautiful modern art museums, is well worth the one-hour train ride from central Copenhagen. Built over six decades by the same architects, Jørgen Bo and Wilhelm Wohlert, each extension is a paragraph in the history of modern Danish architecture. (louisiana.dk)

Bagsværd Church

One of the few structures the architect Jørn Utzon built in his native Denmark. With a modest budget, he designed an exterior that looks like an industrial mill and an interior crowned by an elegantly folded concrete ceiling. (bagsvaerdkirke.dk)

Grundtvig’s Church

A tour de force in tectonic consistency, this neo-gothic church was built over three decades by a single crew of masons. Made with one kind of yellow brick, the floor, walls, pillars, and vaults were all laid by hand by the same team that aged alongside the structure they constructed. (visitcopenhagen.com)

Fantask

A mecca for graphic novel aficionados, Fantask is well-stocked with rarities and antique treasures. (fantask.dk)