The 17 Most Iconic Landmarks in Copenhagen
17 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Amalienborg Palace
5 Amaliegade, Copenhagen, København K, 1256, Denmark
Four identical Rococo palaces arranged around an octagonal courtyard, with an equestrian statue of Frederick V at the centre — Amalienborg is one of the finest examples of 18th-century urban planning in Europe, and it only became a royal residence by accident.
Christiansborg Palace
1 Prins Jørgens Gård, Copenhagen, København K, 1218, Denmark
This is the only building in the world that houses all three branches of a nation's government under one roof — the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court all operate from Christiansborg.
Church of Our Saviour
29 Sankt Annæ Gade, Copenhagen, København K, 1416, Denmark
The external spiral staircase winding around the spire of this Baroque church is one of the most vertiginous experiences in Northern Europe.
Copenhagen City Hall
1 Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, København V, 1550, Denmark
Copenhagen's City Hall was designed by Martin Nyrop and completed in 1905 in the National Romantic style, drawing heavily on the medieval town halls of Siena and other Italian cities.
Copenhagen Opera House
10 Ekvipagemestervej, Copenhagen, København K, 1438, Denmark
The Copenhagen Opera House was a gift — but the kind of gift that comes with strings attached, a controlling donor, and enough drama to fill several operas.
Freetown Christiania
Copenhagen, København K, Denmark
In 1971, a group of squatters broke into an abandoned military barracks on Christianshavn and declared it a free town.
Gefion Fountain
Churchillparken, Copenhagen, København K, 1263, Denmark
The largest fountain in Copenhagen depicts the Norse goddess Gefjon whipping four enormous oxen forward as they drag a plough through the earth — and the mythology behind it is wonderfully dramatic.
Kastellet
1 Kastellet, Copenhagen, København Ø, 2100, Denmark
This five-pointed star fortress is one of the best-preserved military fortifications in Northern Europe, and it is still an active military installation — the Danish Defence Intelligence Service operates from within its walls.
Marble Church
4 Frederiksgade, Copenhagen, København K, 1265, Denmark
The Marble Church — officially Frederik's Church — is the most expensive embarrassment in Danish architectural history.
National Museum of Denmark
10 Ny Vestergade, Copenhagen, København K, 1471, Denmark
Denmark's largest museum of cultural history is housed in the Prince's Palace, a Rococo masterpiece designed by Nicolai Eigtved and built between 1743 and 1744 as the residence of Crown Prince Frederik, later King Frederik V.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
7 Dantes Plads, Copenhagen, København V, 1556, Denmark
Carl Jacobsen made a fortune selling beer and spent it buying art — specifically sculpture, because he believed three-dimensional art came closest to the fundamental condition of being human.
Nyhavn
Nyhavn, 1051 København K
Every postcard of Copenhagen features this canal, and for good reason — but Nyhavn's candy-coloured facade hides a past that would make a sailor blush.
Rosenborg Castle
Øster Voldgade 4A, 1350 København K
Christian IV built Rosenborg between 1606 and 1634 as a summer pleasure palace, and he loved the place so much that he chose to die there.
Round Tower
Købmagergade 52A, 1150 København K
King Christian IV — who seems to have built half of Copenhagen — completed the Round Tower in 1642 as Europe's oldest functioning astronomical observatory, and the design choice that makes it unique is the absence of stairs.
Strøget
Strøget, 1100 København K
On November 17, 1962, Copenhagen did something that was considered borderline insane at the time: it closed one of its busiest city-centre streets to cars.
The Little Mermaid
Langelinie, 2100 København Ø
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Tivoli Gardens
Vesterbrogade 3, 1630 København V
Georg Carstensen talked King Christian VIII into granting him a charter for an amusement park in 1843 with a line that belongs in a political textbook: "When the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics.
Explore iconic in Copenhagen
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.