Attractions in Copenhagen
Carlsberg Brewery Visit
100, Vesterfælledvej
45 33 27 13 14
Bus 6 from Rådhuspladsen
Free 90 minute tours are offered Mon-Fri at 11am and 2pm.
Visitors are escorted through the brew houses and along the production line. Each tour ends with guests sampling the products. The factory produces 3 million bottles of beer a day.
The Little Mermaid
Langelinie on the harbor
Bus 1,6, or 9.
A life-size statue inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's story, The Little Mermaid, one of the world's most famous fairy tales. The statue was sculpted by Edward Eriksen and rests on rocks just off the shore. In 1964 and in 1998, the mermaid's head was stolen. The original mold still exists, and it is possible to recast the bronze and restore missing body parts. In the latest assault, this was not necessary. The missing head turned up at a local TV station, delivered by a masked figure. The mermaid is without question one of the most photographed women in Copenhagen.
Arbejdemuseet (The Workers Museum)
Rømersgade 22
33-93-25-75
July 1-Nov 1 daily 10am-6pm. Off-season Tues-Sun 10am-6pm
Bus: 5, 7, 14, 16, 17, 24, 43, or 84
Admission charged.
This museum traces the working class of Denmark from their struggles beginning around 1850 up to the present day. It's not just about the labor movement, however; it recreates various times and eras. For example, there is a reconstruction of a Danish street in the 1800s, complete with a tram. There's also the re-creation of an apartment that was once inhabited by a worker in a brewery, along with his wife and eight children. The furnishings and artifacts are authentic. The museum is a tribute to the working class, depicting the struggle of laborers to make a living and provide for their families. The museum also has a 19th-century-style restaurant serving old-fashioned Danish specialties and a '50s-style coffee shop.
Amalienborg (Amalia's Castle)
Amalienborg Castle
33/12-21-86
Dkr 40. Jan.-Apr. and Nov.-Dec., Tues.-Sun. 11-4; May-Oct., daily 10-4.
The four identical Rococo buildings occupying this square have housed the royals since 1784. The Christian VIII palace across from the queen's residence houses the Amalienborg Museum, which displays the second division of the Royal Collection (the first is at Rosenborg Slot). In the square's center is a magnificent equestrian statue of King Frederik V, which reputedly cost as much as all the buildings combined.
Changing of the Guard (At Noon)
Amalienborg
Every day at noon, the Royal Guard and band march from Rosenborg Slot through the city for the changing of the guard. At noon on Queen Margrethe's birthday, April 16, crowds of Danes gather to cheer their monarch, who stands and waves from her balcony. On Amalienborg's harbor side are the trees, gardens, and fountains of Amalienhaven.
Christiania
Prinsesseg. and Badsmandsstr.
An anarchists' commune founded in 1971, when students occupied army barracks, it is now a peaceful community of nonconformists who run a number of businesses, including a bike shop, bakery, rock club, and communal bathhouse.
Christiansborg Slot (Christiansborg Castle)
33/92-64-94
Admission charged.
May-Sept., daily 9:30-3:30, Oct.-Apr., Tues., Thurs, and weekends 9:30-3.
Bordered by canals on three sides, this massive granite castle is where the queen officially receives guests. From 1441 until the fire of 1795, it was used as the royal residence. Even though the first two castles on the site were burned, Christiansborg remains an impressive Baroque compound. The castle's best known feature during the Middle Ages was the Blå Tårn (Blue Tower) which was used to house prisoners of note. One of the best known was Eleonore Christine, daughter of Christian IV, who was suspected of being part of her husband's treason plot.
The present-day copper roofed structure with its neo-baroque granite and concrete façade, looks more like a town hall than a castle. Its central tower is the tallest in Denmark at 358 feet.
Christiansborg
33/92-64-91.
Free, open to the public
Sun. 12-4.
While the castle was being rebuilt at the turn of the century, the Nationalmuseet excavated the ruins beneath it. This dark, subterranean maze contains fascinating models and architectural relics.
Folketinget (Parliament House)
33/37-55-00
Admission free
May-Sept., Mon.-Sat., tours hourly (except noon) 10-4; Oct.-Apr., Tues., Thurs., and Sat., tours hourly (except noon) 10-4.
Kongelige Repræsantationlokaler (Royal Reception Chambers)
33/92-64-92.
Admission charged: guided tours only.
May-Sept., English tours daily at 11, 1 and 3; Oct.-Dec. and Feb.-Apr., Tues., Thurs., Sat. and Sun., tours at 11 and 3
You'll be asked to remove shoes or boots and put on slippers furnished by the Museum, to protect the floors.
Højesteret (Supreme Court)
Call first to double-check the opening hours, which vary.
The governmental buildings are on the site of the city's first fortress which was commissioned by Bishop Absalon in 1167. The guards at the entrance are knowledgeable and willing to answer questions.
Den Kongelige Afstøbningssamling (The Royal Cast Collection)
Vestindisk Pakhus
Toldbodgade 40
33-91-21-26
Bus: 1, 6, or 9
Admission charged. Free Wed.
Wed-Tues 10am-4pm, Sat-Sun 1-4pm Closed on other days
Founded in 1895 as part of the Royal Museum for Fine Arts, the Royal Cast Collection was moved in 1984. Its permanent home is in the Vestindisk Pakhus, a rebuilt warehouse overlooking the harbor of Copenhagen, close to Amalienborg Palace. It is one of the largest and oldest cast collections in the world, comprising around 2,000 plaster-casts modeled after famous sculptures from the past 4,000 years of western culture. The best known original works from antiquity and the Renaissance are now scattered all over the museums of the world, but here they are represented by their casts. Egyptian sphinxes, gold from Atreus' treasury, Venus de Milo, the Pergamon altar, and marble sculpture from the temples of the Acropolis in Athens are among the treasures. Most of the collection was made between 1870 and 1915 by leading European plaster workshops.
Frederikskirken (better known as Marmorkirken: the Marble Church)
Frederiksgade 4
33-15-01-44
The Church is open: Mon-Tues and Thurs-Fri 11am-2pm, Wed 11am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm, Sun noon-4pm.
The Dome is open: June 15-Sept 1 daily 11am-12:45pm; Oct-May, Sat-Sun 11am-12:45pm
Bus: 1, 6, or 9
Admission free to church.
Admission charged to dome.
This two hundred year-old circular church, with its green copper dome, one of the largest in the world, is a short walk from Amalienborg Palace. After an unsuccessful start during Denmark's neo-classical revival in the 1750s, the church was finally completed in Roman baroque style in 1894. Its exterior was begun in Norwegian marble, but finished in Danish limestone to conserve funds. Outside, the church is surrounded by statues of notable Danes including Grundtvig and Kierkegaard.
Churchillparken
33/13-77-14.
Free.
May-Sept. 15, Tues.-Sat. 10-4, Sun. 10-5; Sept. 16-Apr., Tues.-Sat. 11-3, Sun. 11-4.
Evocative, moving displays commemorate the heroic Danish resistance movement, which saved 7,000 Jews from the Nazis by hiding them and then smuggling them to Sweden. The homemade tank outside was used to spread the news of the Nazi surrender after World War II.