Copenhagen & Malmo

One of our style spies recently went to London’s Icebar. As a result, she was a bit blasé about visiting Copenhagen’s - the fool? This bar, one of Hotel 27’s three drinking dens, puts the UK’s version to shame. As soon as you see the spotless royal blue capes with their sexy white fur trim, you know you’re in for a special (if spine-chillingly cold) treat.

After coughing up the 150 DK entrance fee (just under £18, including one drink) and snuggling into your thermal cape, you’ll be escorted into the ‘air-lock’, where you can watch footage of the Icehotel. This is a real hotel in northern Sweden, carved out of ice taken from the Torne River and sculpted by artists. It’s also the Big Daddy of the five Icebars scattered around the world. Like the hotel, the Icebar is actually an ice kingdom: ice walls, ice pillars, ice carvings, ice tables, ice bar, ice caverns with peep holes, ice chairs and sofas with reindeer pelts to warm your buttocks (members of PETA need not apply). Even your cocktails come in blocks of ice like gigantic hollowed-out ice cubes. Our city spies recommend the signature Absolut 27, a passion fruit, vanilla sugar and orange juice creation. Drink quickly to avoid frostbite. Then order another.

Every six months, the Ice bar’s interior is re-designed by artists from the Icehotel. When our spies visited, the theme was ‘the wildlife around the Torne River’. During summer, the bar gets very popular, and opens from 10am-2am, with 45 minute sessions inside. It’s best to book before you go by visiting Hotel 27’s website, or emailing icebar@hotel27.dk. If the cold gets too much, head to Hotel 27’s Honey Ryder cocktail lounge. Who needs radiators when you can warm up on the sofas, next to a sizzling hot local?