Reffen is one of the newest tourist attractions in the city of Copenhagen. It is located in the former industrial Island of Refshaleøen, which used to be a shipyard until 1996.
Reffen covers around 6000 square meters of land and it is home to workshops, creative artisans and food vendors from 18 different nationalities.
In 22 of December 2017, the very popular Copenhagen Street Food in Papirøen closed and gave way to the development of a new multi-functional structure in that very same spot. Some of the food vendors in Papirøen moved across the channel, and some moved to Reffen in May of 2018.
This summer, I visited Reffen for the first time. I have to be honest, in the beginning I was a little skeptical. I wasn’t sure that it could capture the same characteristics as the old Copenhagen Street Food on Papirøen. But, then I saw that not only it is stepping in as a good replacement, but it exceeds it in many respects.
Comparing Reffen to Papirøen, you’ll see that it has much more to offer. One of the problems with the popularity of old Papirøen’s food court was that it was really hard to find a spot to seat however, there are plenty of seating options both indoors and outdoors in Reffen.
In Reffen you also have a wide choice of activities, from recreational areas such as the skate park to enjoying the exhibitions by the workshops and the creative shops.
The abundance of space helps Reffen not only to be home to some creative workshops, but it is also hosting spaces for breweries such as Mikkeller, where you can have a freshly brewed beer from one of Copenhagen’s finest breweries, while you are enjoying a view of Copenhagen.
Reffen can attract people of all tastes and backgrounds. There are a range of food varieties for everyone to choose from, numerous activities and recreational areas for people of all ages and lots of workshops to go to. In short, it is an amazing urban/social gathering space with a very distinctive characteristic, and it is about to get better. Reffen’s vision is to become the first street food market that produces its own organic ingredients. If I had to say one negative thing about Reffen, it would be its distance from the city center however, there are busses and harbor buses going to the island every 30 minutes.
