Things to do in Copenhagen: palaces, harbour, towers
Most of Copenhagen's sights fit into a walk of a few kilometres, and several of them cost nothing: Nyhavn, Kastellet and the Little Mermaid are open to everyone. The royal palaces and the main museums let visitors under 18 in free, which makes the city easier on a family budget than its prices suggest. In summer book Rosenborg and the climb up Vor Frelsers Kirke ahead; almost everything else can be decided on the day.
1Nyhavn
Photo: Carsten Ruthemann / Pexels, Pexels License
A short canal harbour off Kongens Nytorv, lined with brightly painted 17th-century houses. Sailors once filled its taverns; today the ground floors are cafés and restaurants. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three of the houses, at Nos. 20, 67 and 18.
Time
30 min to 1 h, longer with a canal tour
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Early morning for a quiet quay, a summer evening for the bustle, December for the Christmas market
Getting there
Metro M1, M2 or M3 Kongens Nytorv, then a short walk
Tip: Canal tours leave from the quay itself and are the easiest way to see the harbour, Christianshavn and the royal waterfront without walking. At the quayside tables you pay mostly for the view; on a fine evening many locals simply buy a drink and sit by the water. More on Nyhavn from the city's tourist office.
A pleasure garden in the middle of the city since 1843, with rides old and new, flower beds, a lake, theatre and concert stages, a food hall and a Japanese pagoda. The lights come on at dusk.
Time
3 to 5 h
Setting
Both
Best time
From late afternoon into the evening
Getting there
Beside København H, the central station; Metro M3 or M4 København H or Rådhuspladsen
Tip: Tivoli opens only in seasons, so check the season dates before you plan an evening around it. Entry and rides are sold separately, and a ride pass makes sense only if you mean to ride a lot; admiring the gardens needs just an entry ticket. A Copenhagen Card covers entry. Come in time to see the gardens in daylight and stay for the lights.
The summer season runs from late March to late September, Halloween from early October into early November and the Christmas season from mid-November to early January. Between seasons the gardens are closed, the longest break being from early January to mid-March.
The Renaissance castle of Christian IV stands in Kongens Have, the King's Garden. Its rooms keep the furniture and portraits of the kings who lived here, and the Treasury below holds the Danish crown jewels.
Time
1 h to 1 h 30 min
Setting
Both
Best time
The first time slot of the day
Getting there
200 metres from Nørreport station: metro, S-trains, regional trains and buses
Tip: The castle is small, so tickets are sold for ten-minute time slots, and in peak season every slot sells out. Buy online for DKK 140 rather than DKK 150 at the door, and walk straight past the ticket queue. Copenhagen Card holders cannot book a slot and must queue at the desk, which can mean a wait in summer. Backpacks are not allowed and handbags may measure at most 15 × 23 × 15 cm; the lockers are free. There is no lift. If you plan to see Christiansborg and the Amalienborg Museum too, the Royal Palace Pass for DKK 245 online covers all three within 72 hours. Details on the castle's visitor page.
From early November to 23 December open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 4 pm, closed on Mondays; longer hours in other seasons. Under 18 free.
Four identical palaces frame an octagonal square with an equestrian statue of Frederik V from 1771. King Frederik X lives in one of them. Another houses the Amalienborg Museum, with the private rooms of the kings and queens of the last 150 years.
Time
45 min to 1 h 30 min
Setting
Both
Best time
Shortly before noon, for the changing of the guard
Getting there
Metro M3 Marmorkirken
Tip: The guard changes every day at 12 pm. When the King is in residence, the guard sets out from its barracks on Gothersgade at 11.27 am and marches through the streets, often with a band, and the royal house's page explains the variations. On the square, keep to the areas set aside for spectators, stay 1.5 metres from the buildings and do not sit on the steps. The museum costs DKK 125 online and DKK 135 at the door, and the Gala Hall upstairs can be seen on most days. More on Amalienborg.
The Danish parliament shares this palace on Slotsholmen with the royal reception rooms. Visitors see the Throne Room, from whose balcony Frederik X was proclaimed king in 2024, the Great Hall with Bjørn Nørgaard's tapestries of a thousand years of Danish history, and the ruins of the castles that stood here before, the oldest built by Bishop Absalon in 1167.
Time
1 to 2 h
Setting
Both
Best time
A weekday morning, after checking the palace calendar
Getting there
Metro M3 Gammel Strand
Tip: The palace is still in use for state visits and royal audiences, and the reception rooms close on those days, so check the opening hours on the day. Do not skip the ruins: the walls of the medieval castles lie right under the present building. A guided tour of the reception rooms adds DKK 30 to the ticket and explains the tapestries scene by scene. Thorvaldsens Museum, next door, makes a good pairing; see the museum's own page. Tickets on the palace site.
A ticket for all visitor areas costs DKK 215 online and DKK 225 at the door. Visitors under 18 enter free but still need a ticket. The Royal Stables open in the afternoon only, 1.30 pm to 4 pm. Included in the Royal Palace Pass and the Copenhagen Card.
A 17th-century observatory tower in the old town. Instead of stairs a broad brick ramp spirals up inside, and the platform at the top looks across the roofs and spires of Indre By.
Time
30 min to 1 h
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Late afternoon for the light over the roofs; a clear Monday or Tuesday evening in winter for the telescope
Getting there
Købmagergade, a few minutes from Nørreport station
Tip: The climb is gentle and suits children and anyone who dislikes steep stairs. From October to March the observatory at the top opens on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 6 pm, and on a clear night you can look through the telescope. The Copenhagen Card does not cover the tower. See the tower's visitor information.
Adults DKK 60, under 18 free. From October to March open from 10 am, until 9 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and until 6 pm on other days; from April to September daily until 8 pm.
Edvard Eriksen's bronze of Andersen's mermaid, unveiled in 1913 as a gift to the city from the brewer Carl Jacobsen. The ballerina Ellen Price inspired the face. She sits on a rock just off the Langelinie promenade.
Time
15 to 30 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Early morning, before the crowds
Getting there
15 minutes on foot from Østerport station
Tip: The statue is close to the shore and quickly seen, so do not make a separate trip for it. Pair it with the ramparts of Kastellet close by, or see it from the water on a canal tour. Visit Copenhagen tells her story.
A star-shaped fortress built between 1662 and 1665, with five bastions and grassy ramparts 1750 metres round. It is still a working barracks, and rows of long red buildings line the inner streets.
Time
30 min to 1 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A dry morning
Getting there
Close to Østerport station
Tip: Walk the full circuit on top of the ramparts: the moat is on one side, the barracks on the other, and the harbour opens up on the eastern side. The fortress is free and the walk is flat, so it makes an easy hour with children. From the ramparts it is a short walk down to the Little Mermaid. The Danish defence ministry's Kastellet page is in Danish.
Free. The grounds open at 6 am and close at 8 pm in the winter half of the year and at 10 pm in summer.
Photo: Travel with Lenses / Pexels, Pexels License
The art collection of Carl Jacobsen, the brewer who also gave the city the Little Mermaid, open since 1897. More than 10,000 works range from Egyptian, Greek and Roman sculpture to Danish and French art of the 19th century, around a Winter Garden under a glass dome.
Time
1 h 30 min to 2 h 30 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
A rainy afternoon, or a Thursday evening
Getting there
Opposite Tivoli, five minutes from København H
Tip: Start in the Winter Garden, then choose one wing: the ancient sculpture or the French paintings, which fill an afternoon each. The café under the palms is the place to wait out a shower. The museum is closed on Mondays and is included in the Copenhagen Card. Planning details on the museum's site.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am to 5 pm, on Thursdays until 9 pm. Adults DKK 135 online, DKK 150 at the door; under 18 free.
The parish church of Christianshavn, consecrated in 1696. Its spire, finished in 1752 to a design by Lauritz de Thurah, is wrapped in an outside staircase that winds up to a gilded top. A carillon of 48 bells plays across the neighbourhood every day.
Time
45 min to 1 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A clear, calm day
Getting there
Metro M1 or M2 Christianshavn, a few minutes away; bus 2A stops by the church
Tip: There are 400 steps. Most climb through narrow wooden passages inside the tower, and the last 150 spiral up the outside of the spire to a height of 86 metres, narrowing as they go. The tower closes in rain, snow or strong wind, so look at the forecast before you set out and book online for a fixed time. The Copenhagen Card covers the climb. Tickets and closures on the church's English page.
Open daily 9 am to 8 pm, last entry 30 minutes before closing; closed all January and on 24 and 25 December. Adults DKK 70, children DKK 20.
