Top Attractions In Copenhagen

Copenhagen, which stems from Kjøbmandehavn, meaning “merchants’ harbour”, began as a small Viking fishing village in the 10th century. With its harbor and prolific fishing industry, it soon became an important trade center. Fast forward to today, and this sophisticated city is Scandinavia’s largest and the capital of Denmark. It influences design around the world, is home to record breaking restaurants, seemingly countless castles, and is known as the fairy tale city. Read on to learn the top attractions in Copenhagen and how to get there.

Top Attractions In Copenhagen

Nyhaven

You can’t miss Nyhaven, or new harbor, one of the most iconic attractions in Copenhagen. This 17th-18th century waterfront district, lined with colorful houses, was a red-light district until the 1960’s. Today, this lively harbor is lined with cafes, restaurants, and bars, overlooking a canal filled with boats. Socializing here on a sunny day, and enjoying great Danish food and drink is a must-do. Afterwards, hop on one of the many boats tours to sightsee in the canals of Copenhagen.

Amalienborg Palace And Museum

Amalienborg Palace, with 4 identical mansions or palaces facing into its royal square, is one of the homes of the Danish royal family and another of the top attractions in Copenhagen. The 4 buildings are named after select Danish Kings: Christian VII’s Palace, Frederik VIII’s Palace, Christian IX’s Palace, and Christian VIII’s Palace. The latter is also where you’ll find the Amalienborg Museum, showcasing the Palace’s history.

Reigning monarch Queen Margrethe II, who can trace her ancestry back to the Viking Age, uses this as her winter residence. You can walk in the footsteps of royals, see the well-preserved chambers of Kings and Queens, and learn royal history in the museum.

The changing of the guard here, known as The Royal Life Guard, is another of the top attractions in Copenhagen. It occurs daily at noon, with the royal guard marching from their barracks by Rosenborg Castle at 11:30, through the streets of Copenhagen, to Amalienborg Palace Square.

Tip: The changing of the guard is at its most spectacular when the Queen is in residence here.

How To Get To Amalienborg Palace: Amalienborg Palace is located between the city center and the harbor, about a 2-minute walk from the Marmorkirken Street metro stop.

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace, which sits on Slotsholmen island, was the main palace prior to Amalienborg. It’s home to Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister’s Office.

No longer used as a residence, royals use it mainly for official purposes and ceremonies. When not in use, the royal parts of the palace are open to visitors.

How To Get To Christiansborg Palace: Located a 5-minute walk south of Gammel Strand metro station, a 10-15-minute walk southwest of Nyhavn, or a 20-minute walk southwest of Amalienborg Palace.

Rosenborg Castle, The King’s Gardens, & Museum

The gardens, which are actually older than the castle, are usually sprinkled with locals enjoying sunny days.

How To Get To Rosenborg Palace: Although Rosenborg Palace is only about a 15-minute walk from Nyhavn Harbor, you can also take the metro to Nørreport metro station, where it’s a 7-minute walk.

Frederiksborg Castle

Located on the island of Zealand, this beautiful, lakeside palace is the Danish Royal family’s spring and fall residence. It’s also home to the Museum of National History.

How To Get To Frederiksborg Castle: take the train from Nørreport to Hillerød (about 45 minutes). From there, it’s a 15-minute walk.

Kronborg Castle

Kronborg is known as Hamlet’s castle, as it’s Elsinor in the play Hamlet. It’s located in Helsingør. To get here take the train from Nørreport to Helsingør (about 45 minutes). From there, it’s a 10-15 minute walk.

How To Get To Kronborg: To get between Frederiksborg and Kronborg, there is a regular train running between Hillerød and Helsingør.

Other royal residences include Marselisborg Palace, in Aarhus, and Gråsten Palace, in Gråsten, both summer palaces. Neither are open to the public, except the park at Marselisborg (when the royal family is not in residence) and the palace chapel at Gråsten.

Visit Freetown Christiana

Another one of the top attractions in Copenhagen is Freetown Christiana. It’s in Cristianhavn, an artificial island built by King Chrisitian IV in the early 17th century in his quest to become a prominent naval power. In fact, Christianhavn literally means King Christian’s harbor.

A former military quarters, squatters moved in and took over during a housing shortage in the 1970’s. Partly self-governing, the people of Freetown Christiana have their own set of rules, yet still also bound by Danish law.

This autonomous area with its strong hippy vibe, is lots of fun, full of art galleries, boutiques, creatively crafted homes, colorful street art, and many cafes.

There’s also a “Green Light District” on Pusher Street, where cannabis is sold. Although illegal in Copenhagen and Denmark, it’s loosely tolerated in Freetown.

There are three rules in the Green Light area, no photography, due to illegal cannabis, no running, so no one thinks there’s a police raid, and have fun.

See Øresund Bridge From Rundetårn Tower

Øresund Bridge crosses Øresund straight, connecting Denmark and Sweden. At almost 5 miles (8 km) long, it’s Europe’s longest combined road and rail bridge, with a motorway on its top level and rail line on the bottom.

You can rent a car and drive the bridge, but then you need to pay the tolls to get across and back (48 Euro), and you really can’t admire it while driving.

Another option to see this engineering marvel (albeit from a distance), is to climb the 400 steps winding around the outside of Rundetårn tower at the Church of Our Savior in Copenhagen. At 295’ (90 m) you get a panormaic view of Copenhagen and the bridge in the straight. As the steps are outside the tower, this is not for those afraid of heights.

Book your ticket in advance, here. Unfortunately, the site in in Danish, but you can plug it into a google translate site to read the details.

How To Get To The Church of Our Savior: Take the metro from Kongens Nytorv to Christianshavn. The church is a 3-minute walk northeast of the station.

Tivoli Gardens

This amusement park, which opened in 1843, may have inspired Walt Disney, who visited several times before opening Disneyland. Based in beautiful gardens surrounded by a lake and trees, there are amusement park rides, entertainment, and food for all ages. It’s particularly beautiful at night, with its colorful lights.

How To Get To Tivoli Gardens: Tivoli Garden is a 2-minute walk from Copenhagen Central Station.

Kastellet And The Little Mermaid

This bronze sculpture, by Edvard Eriksen, is based on the Hans Christian Anderson tale, The Little Mermaid. Although many boat tours pass by the sculpture, it’s a better view landside.

The Royal Danish Library – The Black Diamond

This national library hosts exhibitions and concerts. The modern architecture is striking on the harborfront.

Danish Food

One of the last things you would expect is that one of the top attractions in Copenhagen is its food. Yet there are 14 Michelin starred restaurants here with a total of 23 stars.

It’s home to Norma, ranked the number 1 restaurant in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2021, and has been since 2010. William Drew, the director of content for the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said Noma had “arguably been the most influential restaurant of its generation, setting new standards in terms of research and ingredient sourcing, dish development and presentation”. Bookings sell out months in advance and sometimes the entire season.

There’s also Geranium, ranked number 2 in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2021, which also sells out months in advance.

If you can’t get into the more famous restaurants here, rest assured that there’s plenty of excellent food in Copenhagen.

If there’s one thing you must try, it’s their open-faced sandwiches, called smørrebrød. This is a light meal of buttered rye bread, artfully crafted with cold cuts, or other meats, cheeses, and a variety of beautiful toppings.

There’s also smushi, a sushi-smørrebrød hybrid, served at the Royal Smushi Cafe on Strøget Street. It’s a tiny smørrebrød with a nod to sushi presentation. Royal serves these bite sized works of art on Royal Copenhagen pottery.

Drink Carlsburg Beer

The Carlsberg brewery is here, but unfortunately closed for major renovations, so you’ll just have to try this Danish pilsner on your own. Check their website here, to see if they note a re-opening date.

Top Museums In Copenhagen

The Designmuseum

Denmark is famous for its design aesthetic and a visit to the Designmuseum to see its history is a great way to appreciate it. This museum showcases industrial design from the Western world and Asia. It’s located north of Amalienborg Palace, a 5-minute walk from the Marmorkirken metro station.

National Museum of Denmark

Inside Prince’s mansion, this 18th century building houses historical artifacts, Danish history, and culture, from the Stone Age to modern times. This museum is a 5-minute walk from the Gammel Strand metro station.

Copenhagen Contemporary

This venue for modern art features both world-renowned artists and new talent. Located in Refshaleøen, there is a bus from Gammel Strand to Refshaleøen station. From there, Copenhagen Contemporary is a 5-minute walk.

Viking Ship Museum

If you want to learn more about Viking ships, the Viking Ship Museum is a must, although its a bit far from Copenhagen center. It’s located in Rosklilde, which is a 35-minute train ride west of Copenhagen. The museum’s focal point are the five, 11th century Viking ships excavated from Roskilde Fjord in the 1960’s. There are also other historic ships and a boatyard.

Want More of Denmark?

To see more of what Denmark has to offer, including top sites, how to get around, safety, scams, money matters, and more, see my Denmark Travel Guide.

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