Copenhagen travel guide: three days by the harbour
Copenhagen is a city built around water. Gabled houses in ochre, rust and blue lean over the Nyhavn canal, tour boats duck under low bridges, and green copper spires rise above a flat, quiet centre where the bicycle sets the pace. On long summer evenings people settle along the quays with a drink until the light finally goes. This guide shows how many days to give the city, a route for three of them, what to do when it rains and where to stay.
Getting your bearings: islands, canals and the old town
The old town, Indre By, is small and flat, and you can cross it on foot in well under an hour. Its spine is Strøget, the long pedestrian street that runs from City Hall Square to Kongens Nytorv. Nyhavn opens off Kongens Nytorv. North of it lies Frederiksstaden, the grid of 18th-century streets around Amalienborg, and beyond that the waterfront leads past the Kastellet fortress to the Little Mermaid. Rosenborg and its garden sit on the north-western edge of the old town, close to Nørreport station.
South of Strøget, the island of Slotsholmen carries Christiansborg, the seat of the Danish parliament. A bridge from there takes you across the harbour to Christianshavn, a canal quarter with Vor Frelsers Kirke and its corkscrew spire. On the western edge of the centre, Tivoli and the Glyptoteket face each other beside the main railway station, København H, with the Vesterbro district behind it.
The metro runs around the clock and links most of these places; Nørreport, Kongens Nytorv and Christianshavn are the stations you will use most. Many visitors simply walk.
How many days to spend in Copenhagen
- Two days cover the royal centre: Rosenborg, the changing of the guard at Amalienborg, Nyhavn with a canal tour, Christiansborg, and an evening in Tivoli when the gardens are open.
- Three days let you slow down. Add Christianshavn and the climb up Vor Frelsers Kirke, a morning along the ramparts of Kastellet and an afternoon at the Glyptoteket.
- Four days or more leave room for a day out of town by train, to the Viking ships in Roskilde or to Kronborg in Helsingør.
Copenhagen in three days
Day one: kings, guards and the Nyhavn canal
Begin at Rosenborg with the first time slot, when the castle opens at 10 am, and leave the Treasury for the end of the visit. If the King is in residence, the Royal Guard leaves its barracks beside the castle at 11.27 am and marches through the streets to Amalienborg; you can follow it and arrive for the changing of the guard at 12 pm. From the palace square it is a short walk to Nyhavn for lunch and a canal tour from the quay. Spend the late afternoon in the lanes off Strøget and finish on top of the Round Tower as the roofs of the old town turn gold.
Day two: Slotsholmen, Christianshavn and Tivoli
Give the morning to Christiansborg: the reception rooms upstairs, the medieval ruins below. Thorvaldsens Museum stands next door if you still have energy for sculpture. Cross the harbour to Christianshavn for lunch beside its canals, then climb the spire of Vor Frelsers Kirke while the light is good; the tower closes in strong wind and rain, so swap the two halves of the day if the forecast says the afternoon will turn. In the evening take the metro back to the centre for Tivoli, which is at its best after dark.
Day three: ramparts, the Little Mermaid and art
Walk the grass ramparts of Kastellet early, before the crowds reach the Little Mermaid on the shore just beyond. On the way back, SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, is a good stop for Danish and European painting. In the afternoon cross town to the Glyptoteket, opposite Tivoli, for antique sculpture and French painting. Both museums close on Mondays, so put this day elsewhere in the week if needed. End with dinner in Vesterbro, a few minutes away.
What to do when it rains in Copenhagen
Rain falls on seven to twelve days in every month of the year here, so plan on at least one grey day. The good news is that the best interiors lie close together, and none of them is far from a metro station. Leave Vor Frelsers Kirke, Kastellet and the canal tour for a dry day.
- Morning: Rosenborg or Christiansborg. Both are indoors from start to finish, and at Christiansborg the ruins keep you below ground for part of the visit.
- Afternoon: the Glyptoteket, where the glass-roofed Winter Garden and its café make the best shelter in town, or SMK, which stays open until 8 pm on Wednesdays.
- Evening: the Glyptoteket again on a Thursday, when it is open until 9 pm, or Tivoli's restaurants and indoor halls when the gardens are in season.
- Any time: the Round Tower, whose spiral ramp climbs indoors almost to the top.
Where to stay in Copenhagen
- Indre By, the old town
- You can walk to almost every sight in this guide, and Kongens Nytorv and Nørreport put the metro at your door. Expect to pay for the location, and note that the streets around Strøget stay lively late on weekends.
- Vesterbro, behind the central station
- The most practical base for day trips and the airport, since the trains to Roskilde, Helsingør and Malmö all leave from København H. Tivoli is across the road, and the streets behind the station are full of cafés, bars and restaurants.
- Christianshavn
- Canals, houseboats and quieter evenings, one metro stop from Kongens Nytorv. The M2 line from Christianshavn runs straight to the airport, which makes arrival and departure easy.
- Østerbro
- A residential district of tree-lined streets north of the centre, close to Kastellet and the waterfront. Østerport station has the metro, S-trains and the coastal trains to Helsingør, but the evening scene is calmer than in the centre.