Copenhagen › Places and landmarks
Nyhavn
The 17th-century harbour of coloured houses, wooden ships and café terraces.
Nyhavn, the new harbour, was dug in the 1670s by Swedish prisoners of war to bring ships into the heart of the city. Its north side is a row of brightly painted townhouses from the 17th and 18th centuries, once full of sailors’ pubs.
Hans Christian Andersen lived at numbers 20, 67 and 18. Today old wooden ships lie along the quay, and the terraces fill as soon as the sun comes out.
More in Copenhagen
Kongens NytorvThe King’s New Square, with the Royal Danish Theatre and a bronze king on horseback.
ChristiansborgThe palace on Slotsholmen that holds the parliament, the prime minister’s office and the supreme court.
BørsenChristian IV’s stock exchange of 1640, with a spire of four dragons’ tails, burned in 2024.
Round TowerChristian IV’s observatory of 1642, climbed by a spiral ramp instead of stairs.
StrøgetOne of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe, from the City Hall Square to Kongens Nytorv.
City Hall SquareThe square in front of Copenhagen’s red-brick city hall, with its 105-metre tower.
TivoliOne of the oldest amusement parks in the world, opened in 1843 in the middle of the city.
AmalienborgFour identical rococo palaces round an octagonal square, home of the Danish royal family.
The Little MermaidEdvard Eriksen’s statue of Andersen’s mermaid on a rock by the harbour, beyond this small map.
Bikes and cargo bikesMore than half of Copenhageners bike to work or school, many on cargo bikes with the children in front.
SmørrebrødOpen sandwiches on dark rye bread, piled with herring, roast beef or shrimps.