Overview to Copenhagen: Travel Guide and Tourist Information

  Open and Appealing Copenhagen

Copenhagen is constantly held up as having one of the highest standards of living of any city in the world. Its people are tolerant, its streets are clean - and yet it still manages to offer plenty in the way of vibrant nightlife and culture.

Sitting on the island of Zealand, and spreading out onto adjacent Amager, Copenhagen is also one of the more well-appointed cities. Unlike much of occupied Europe, its medieval center, Indre By, escaped relatively unscathed from World War II.

The city’s main square, the bustling Kongens Nytorv, lies at its heart, flanked on either side by the train station and the Royal Theater. To the south, the harbor front is backed with all manner of lively street life and the water itself, which is clean enough to swim in!

Stroget is something of a shopper’s paradise. And with Nytorv and Gammeltorv streets to the fore, and some of the best bars, cafés in the city as well as countless street entertainers, it’s far more than just a glorified shopping mall.

To the southwest of the city center lie the fabulous Tivoli gardens, home to the world's tallest merry-go-round and the largest aquarium in Europe. With their almost magical quality, they constitute by far the city’s most popular attraction.

A different feel prevails to the north of the canal that divides Indre By from the Norrebo. Along the canal itself runs the striking Nyhavn (a street of attractive houses), while beyond this, the city opens up into a series of wide boulevards and grand buildings.

Copenhagen's cultural attractions are also first-rate: the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is a fantastic museum of art and sculpture. And the National Museum, Thorsvaldsens Museum and, especially, the magnificent Statens Museum for Kunst with its huge art collection, are all equally fascinating.

Dotted around the city are a series of grand royal residences worth a visit – Amalienborg Palace to the west, Christiansborg Slot to the south of the center and Rosenborg Slot, right in the center.

Of these, the Baroque Rosenborg Slot is surrounded by the Rosenborg Have, the Botanic Gardens and the Kongens Have, a trio of wonderful open spaces perfect for lazy summer afternoons.

One thing that travelers to Copenhagen will not be able to see, however, is the infamous Christiania: after 40 years of independence, and despite vigorous opposition in many quarters, the hippy state was finally closed down in 2007.

But this doesn't mean that all the city’s independent streak has died with it. With its charming old quarters full of unique architecture, its lively cultural scene and hip nightlife, Copenhagen remains as willfully distinctive and idiosyncratic as ever.

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