Copenhagen Attractions

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.

R?mersgade 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.
www.arbejdermuseet.dk
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.

100, Vesterf?lledvej
45 33 27 13 14
Bus 6 from R?dhuspladsen
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.

Amalienborg
http://www.kongehuset.dk/ (in Danish only)
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.

Prinsesseg. and Badsmandsstr.
www.christiania.org
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.

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.

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 Bl? T?rn (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.

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 arouund2,000 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.

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

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

at Holmens Kanal
33-13-61-78
May 15-Sept 15 Mon-Fri 9am-2pm, Sat 9am-noon
Bus: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 31, 37, or 43
Admission free
Built in 1619, this royal chapel and naval church lies across the canal from Slotsholmen, next to the National Bank of Denmark. Although the structure was converted into a church for the royal navy in 1619, its nave was originally built in 1562 when it was first used as an anchor smithy. By 1641 the ever-changing church became predominantly Dutch Renaissance in style, an architectural style that is maintained to this day. main doorway was brought here from Roskilde Cathedral in the 19th century.

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.

Christians Brygge 8
33-93-01-11
Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 10am-7pm ; closed Sun.
Bus: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, or 9.
Main building: Admission free
Exhibits: Admission charged.
Charge for concerts varies.
The Royal Library, which reopened in late 1998, dates from the 1600s and is the largest library in Scandinavia. Housed in a classic building with high-ceilinged reading rooms and columned hallways, it is a grand and impressive place. It holds some 2 million volumes, everything from sagas of Viking journeys to America ( before Columbus allegedly discovered the already inhabited continent), and enough prints, maps, and manuscripts to keep the most intense scholar busy for several lifetimes. The library owns original manuscripts by such beloved Danish writers as Hans Christian Andersen and Karen Blixen (more widely known as Isak Dinesen).

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

This square has lost much of its charm due to an outbreak of Dutch Elm disease in 1998 that felled its trees. It is, however, still lined with some of the city's finest buildings. The square was built on the site of the former ramparts that ringed the city in an arc all the way from R?dhuspladsen.

Vesterbrog. 59
33/21-07-72
Bus: 6, 16, 27, or 28
Admission charged, except free on Fri.
May-Sept., Wed.-Mon. 10-4; Oct.-Apr.,Wed.-Sun. 1-4.
A collection in which Copenhagen's history is set forth, is found in this 17th-century building in the heart of Vesterbro. Outside is a meticulously maintained model of medieval Copenhagen. The permanent exhibition presents the history of Copenhagen in artifacts and pictures. A smaller separate department is devoted to the father of existentialism, S?ren Kierkegaard 's (1813-55) drawings, letters, books, photographs, and personal belongings.

Gammel Strandvej 13, 49/19-07-19.
Drive north on motorway E47/E55, or take the train and walk 10 min. north of the station.
Combined train and admission tickets available at the station
Daily 10-5, Wed. until 10.
www.louisiana.dk
The elegant seaside town of Humleb?k, located 19 mi. north of Copenhagen, is home of this outstanding modern art museum famed for its stunning location and architecture as much as for its collection. It is surrounded by a large park. Housed in a 19th-century villa surrounded by dramatic views of the ?resund waters, the permanent collection includes modern American paintings and Danish paintings from the COBRA (a trend in northern European painting that took its name from its active locations, COpenhagen, BRussels, and Amsterdam) and constructivist movements. Paintings are displayed from several of Picasso's periods, as well as many from the Pop Art movement of the 1960's. Be sure to see the haunting collection of Giacomettis backdropped by picture windows overlooking the Sound.

(Musical History Museum and Carl Claudius' Collection)
?benr? 30
33-11-27-26
Fri-Wed 1-3pm
Bus: 5, 7, 14, 16, 17, 24, 31, 42, 43, 50, 84, or 184
Admission charged
The museum is contained in three 18th century houses and offers a journey through the history of musical instruments in Europe from 1000 to 1900. Exhibits are grouped around a theme, and as you view them you're treated to special recordings. The overall emphasis of the museum is on the effect music has had on Danish culture. Sometimes the museum is the venue of special concerts.

Ny Vesterg. 10
33/13-44-11.
Admission charged.
Tues.-Sun. 10-5.
www.natmus.dk
This brilliantly restored 18th-century royal residence, contains some of the finest rooms in the city. It was extensively modernized in recent years. It has housed what is regarded as one of the best national museums in Europe since the 1930s. Extensive collections chronicle Danish cultural history from prehistoric to modern times . Included is one of the largest collections of Stone Age tools in the world. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities are on display. All exhibits have English captions.

Dantes Plads 7
33-41-81-41
Tues-Sun 10am-4pm
Bus: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, or 10
Admission charged for adults; free for children; free for everyone Wed and Sun
www.glyptoteket.dk
On Sundays from October to March, the museum hosts a variety of musical events. The Glyptotek, behind Tivoli, is one of the most important art museums in Scandinavia. Founded by the 19th-century art collector Carl Jacobsen, of the Carlsberg Brewery family, the museum comprises two distinct areas: modern and antiquities. The modern section has both French and Danish art, mainly from the 19th century. Sculpture, including works by Rodin, is on the ground floor, and works of the impressionists and related artists, including van Gogh's Landscape from St. R?my, are on the upper floors. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art are on the main floor, and Etruscan, Greek, and Cypriot art are on the lower floor. A conservatory separates the two areas.

This harbor-front neighborhood was built 300 years ago to attract traffic and commerce to the city center. Until 1970, the area was a favorite haunt of sailors. Now the bustling, colorful, Dutch-style canal is lined with caf?s, bars and restaurants and old time sailing ships from the Nationalmuseet's collection. Many of the old buildings have been well preserved and help to retain the harbor's authentic 18th-century maritime atmosphere.. Hans Christian Andersen lived at various times in the Nyhavn houses at numbers 18, 20, and 67.

Overgaden Oven Vandet 58
32-54-63-63
Tues-Sun noon-4pm
Bus: 2, 8, 9, 28, 31, or 350S
Admission charged.
This museum in S?kvasthuset, the former naval hospital, opens onto Christianshavn Kanal. It traces the history of the Danish navy, and, in fact, of this whole maritime nation. More than 300 model ships, many based on designs that date from as early as the 1500s, are on display. Some of these model vessels were designed and constructed by naval engineers as prototypes for the construction of ships that were later launched into the North Sea. The models are wide ranging: some are fully dressed, with working sails, whereas others are cross-sectional with their frames outlined. Many naval artifacts are also displayed. There is a display of navigational instruments and the propeller from the German U-Boat that sank the Lusitania. Also displayed are naval uniforms worn by Danish officers and sailors over the decades.

?ster Voldg. 4A,
33/15-32-86.
Admission charged.
Jan.-Apr. and Nov.-Dec., Tues.-Sun. 11-2;
May - Sept., daily 10-4; Oct., daily 11-3.
www.kulturnet.dk/homes/rosenb/
This Dutch Renaissance castle contains ballrooms, halls, and reception chambers, yet has a feeling of "home." It was the favorite residence of King Christian IV. Denmark was going through a period of economic depression toward the end of his reign, so the King literally pulled up the drawbridge and escaped the harsh realities of the outside world.

K?bmagerg. 52A,
33/73-03-73.
June-Aug., Mon.-Sat. 10-8, Sun. noon-8; Sept.-May, Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. noon-5.
Observatory and telescope mid-Oct.-Mar., Tues.-Wed. 7 PM-10 PM; mid-June-mid-Aug., Sun. 1-4.
www.rundetaarn.dk
Down one of the side streets (K?bmagergade) of the Stroget is the Rundet?rn. Built in 1642 under the direction of Christian !V for the astronomer Tycho Brahe, the red brick tower was originally intended as an observatory for the nearby university. It is still the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. The Round Tower is unique for its cobbled spiral walkway which winds 686 feet almost to the top of the tower, 114 feet above the city. There are only a few stairs at the very top. Halfway up is an exhibition space. Trinitatiskirke was built in 1637 and has a baroque altar by Friedrich Ehbisch as well as a three faced rococo clock. The observatory at the top of the tower is often open with an astronomer on hand to explain what is seen through the telescope.

Completed in 1905, the mock-Renaissance building dominates R?dhus Pladsen (City Hall Square), the hub of Copenhagen's commercial district.

33/66-25-82.
Tours
Weekdays 9:30-4, Sat. 9:30-1. Tours in English weekdays at 3, Sat. at 10.
Tower tours Mon.-Sat. at 3, also June-Sept. at 10 and 11.
Call to confirm hours.
Completed in 1905, R?dhuset has been the site of numerous elections; home to many governmental administrations; the site of occupation by the Germans during World War II; and the center of welcome for the returning football heroes from the 1992 European Championships.

S?lvgade 48-50
33 74 84 94
10-5 Tues., Thurs.-Sun. 10-8 Wed. closed Mon.
Free to all Wed.
Admission charged other than Wed. for visitors 16 and older.
www.smk.dk
Founded in 1824, the national Gallery had its origins in royal collections from centuries earlier. During the 19th century, the collection was based in Christiansborg Slot, until a fire necessitated moving it to the currently specially designed building designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup. The museum's main focus is Danish art. This is well represented from the Golden Age of the early 19th century , back through the works of its 15th - 18th century forerunners. On the ground floor is the children's art museum with hands-on displays.

Christiansborg Ridebane
18 33-11-51-76
Wed 2-4, Sat-Sun noon-4pm
Bus: 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 31, 37, or 43
Admission charged.
Theater buffs flock to this museum in the Old Royal Court Theater, which dates from 1767. King Christian VII had it constructed as the first court theater in Copenhagen. At one time Hans Christian Andersen was once a ballet student here. In 1842 the theater was modernized and given its present look, but the curtain went down on it for the last time in 1881.

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.

Vesterbrogade 3
33-15-10-01
Daily 11am-midnight Seasonal Info: Closed mid-Sept to Apr
Bus: 1, 16, or 29
Admission charged. Rides extra.
Since it opened in 1843, this 20 acre garden and amusement park in the center of Copenhagen has been a resounding success. It is, in fact, the jewel of Copenhagen's family attractions, and Denmark's biggest tourist draw. It features thousands of flowers, a merry-go-round of tiny Viking ships, games of chance and skill (pinball arcades, slot machines, shooting galleries), and a Ferris wheel of hot-air balloons and cabin seats. There's even a playground for children.

Vesterbrogade 3
33-15-10-01
Apr 24-Sept 13 daily 11am-6pm. Off-season Tues-Sun 10am-4pm S-train to Central Station
Admission charged.
Some 150 years of Europe's most famous amusement park are revealed in this offbeat museum spread across three floors. Models, films, 3D displays, pictures, posters, and original artifacts reveal how the Danes and their foreign visitors had harmless fun over the decades. Opening in 1993, the museum became an instant hit with Tivoli devotees. It's a great idea to come here if you have only one chance to visit Copenhagen in a lifetime, and Tivoli has shut down for the year at the time of your visit. Tivoli has hosted many legendary performers over the years: everyone from Marlene Dietrich to a flea circus that ran for 65 years. Their appearances are documented in the museum. Children will delight in the rides of yesterday.

N?rregade
33-14-41-28
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Bus: 5
Free admission
This Greek Renaissance-style church, built in the early 19th century near Copenhagen University, features Bertel Thorvaldsen's white marble neoclassical works including Christ and the Apostles. The funeral of Hans Christian Andersen took place here in 1875, and that of S?ren Kierkegaard in 1855.