Christiania: Copenhagen's Freetown

'Take the Pineapple Express to Copenhagen's hippie community'

Walk 30 min from Nyhavn, Copenhagen's main tourist street with the story book coloured buildings, fancy fish restaurants and moored boats and you'll find yourself leaving Copenhagen and entering the free town of Christiania.

A self sustaining community with its own laws and flag, it was set up in the 1970s by squatters and people on the periphery of the mainstream social order who declared it as an independent town free from Danish Law.

Go to the town today and you'll see cafes offering organic and ethically sourced food made from homegrown produce, colourful wall murals, ramshackle architecture and a very well equipped hardware store. There are also some art galleries and curiosity shops.

The local pastime

However, the freetown has become famous for its very open policy to the selling and smoking of cannabis. Walking through the main tourist drag of the town named "Pusher Street", countless varieties of the drug are available to buy.

The dealers sell from brightly coloured shacks and carry out their transactions through a narrow slit in the front of the structure. Those selling also cover their faces, which understandably, does create a small amount of unease amongst tourists.

Contrary to the town's open policy on cannabis, selling this substance is not currently legal under Danish law and that applies to Christiania as well. Over the years there have been clashes between Danish police and those selling cannabis from these shacks.

One man, who did not want to be named, explained why the dealers cover their faces despite there being such a lenient policy towards "soft drugs" within the town:

"The dealers cover their faces because the police have caught some of them selling cannabis using drone cameras. That's why you aren't allowed to take photographs inside the town. They are scared of getting caught."

Despite reported instances of police drones, it would seem that the authorities are willing to turn a blind eye who what goes on here. During the day there seemed to be no police or authority presence at all, despite the very open sale of cannabis.

Aside from the fact that there is noticeable illegal activity, the town itself is worth a visit. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves and was in good spirits (not really a mystery why...). Musicians, families and young people sat on the banks of the river, bathing in the sun and enjoying the company of friends.

You don't need to partake in the local pastime to have a good time in Christiania though, there's a friendly atmosphere and it's really unlike anywhere else in the world. There's a list of rules to abide by painted very clearly on the wall on Pusher Street. To enjoy the town, it's best to abide by their rules.