Nyhavn
We are all amateur photographers these days, and Nyhavn [Nyhavn 1-71 | Kobenhavn K, Copenhagen 1051, Denmark] is about as picturesque as you can get. Grab a camera and head own down to the canal to take your own personal set of pictures here.
The brilliantly colored buildings along the canal have caught a lot of attention. This is a very crowded space. There are lots of cafés to eat at or a canal tour to take if you would like to extend your stay in the area.
You can’t miss the lightvessel Gedser Rev, launched in 1895, now a museum ship.
You could tour that if you come at the right time, or just read up on some of the history in the panels. For us, it was just admiring the bold colors and the liveliness of the area. My friend plans on sketching the buildings from the shots that she took, I can’t wait to see the perspective that she caught!
The Tower, Christiansborg Palace
I love getting to the highest point in town to get a real feel of the layout and topography of a city. In Copenhagen that vantage point is The Tower at Christiansborg Palace [Prins Jørgens Gård 1, 1218 København, Denmark].
The first castle at this location was built in 1167 and since then there have been many that have been demolished, occupied, and burnt down. The current palace was once home to the royal family, but today houses the Danish parliament. Recently the tower was opened up to the public, and it’s free to head to the top. You do need to go past security and it does take a few minutes, but it is completely worth the small amount of effort. On your journey to the top you will find magnificent sculptures who once bore the weight of heavy columns, take a moment to observe them before heading up.
A couple of elevators and a flight of stairs and then you have reached the top, a 360 degree open air viewing station, where on a clear day you can see all the way to Sweden. Admire other lavish steeples,
The palace grounds,
And a bird’s eye view of city center.
Stay as long as you please enjoying the breeze, or hit the road because there is so much more to see!
Bonus: The Little Mermaid Statue
It was not on my list of things to do when visiting Copenhagen, but with a bit of extra time to spare this popular sea creature statue wormed its way in to our itinerary. On the plane ride in I sat next to a Danish girl and asked her local opinion, ‘what shouldn’t I miss when visiting your city?’ She responded, ‘the Little Mermaid Statue [Langelinie, 2100 København Ø, Denmark] of course!’ I laughed a bit to myself and wondered what all the fuss was about for just a statue. At our hostel there was a girl from England who came to Copenhagen just for this statue. I kid you not this girl in her twenties had everything you could imagine little mermaid. From flip-flops to pajamas, purse and outfit, towel, blanket, you name it – I wish I got to see her reaction when she reached the statue. I love the little mermaid as much as the next little girl, but this is just a statue! We made our journey there and it is not near city-center at all. We knew we were close when we saw the hordes of tour buses, and we followed the cattle. People on the shore, tour boats on the sea, and an industrial backdrop surround this little statue half girl, half manatee? sitting on a rock.
I don’t get it, but somehow I’m glad I got to see it. I wouldn’t put this at the top of your list of things to do in Copenhagen. I wouldn’t go completely out of my way to see it. However, if you have some extra time it is much better than sitting in your hotel room. If you can tune out everything around you and think back to a time when you were a kid watching one of your favorite Disney movies based off a fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen, you may be able to make some magic rekindling memories of your own.