|
|
| Home - City Guide - Copenhagen - Key Attractions | ||
|
||
|
Key Attractions Rundetårn (The Round Tower) In the streets to the north of Strøget is the Rundetårn, the oldest observatory in Europe. Built by Christian IV, it forms part of a seventeenth-century scholastic complex that also included a university library (now an exhibition hall) and student church. A spiral ramp leads to the top from where there is a good view over the old parts of the city. Købmagergade 52A Tel: 3373 0373. Fax: 3373 0377. E-mail: post@rundetaarn.dk Website: www.rundetaarn.dk Transport: Bus 5 or 14 or S-train to Nørreport. Opening hours: Jun-Aug, Mon-Sat 1000-2000, Sun 1200-2000; Sep-May, Mon-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1200-1700. Admission: Dkk15. Tivoli One of the most famous European amusement parks, Tivoli is a bizarre mixture of the natural and the artificial. Designed by Georg Carstensen in the 1840s as a pleasure ground for the masses, there are two theatres, an open-air stage and a museum (admission: Dkk20) in addition to the rides. The Tivoli Boys Guard parade through the gardens at 1730 and 1930 on weekends and public holidays with a full orchestra, stagecoach and horses. Crowded, pricey and unbelievably kitsch, Tivoli remains strangely appealing, particularly at night when the trees are illuminated with lanterns. There are numerous concerts and special events held from April to September, and a Christmas market in December. Vesterbrogade 3 Tel: (33) 151 001. Fax: (33) 750 381. Website: www.tivoligardens.com Transport: Bus 1, 5, 8, 10, 500 or 560S. Opening hours: Apr-Sept, Sun-Thurs 1100-0000, Fri and Sat 1100-0100. Admission: Dkk39 (Dkk45 from 13 Jun-15 Aug) (concessions available). Rides cost one, two or three Tour Tickets (Dkk10 each). There are several discount schemes available: further information is available at the ticket centre (open 0900-2100). Waterfront Den Lille Havfrue (The Little Mermaid) has become a global symbol of Copenhagen. Erected in 1913, the statue commemorates the Hans Christian Andersen heroine and, despite being bizarrely decapitated a few times, she remains perennially popular with visitors. The pleasant Langelinie path leads to the spot in the northeast of the city where the mermaid stares mournfully out to sea. Nyhavn (New Harbour) is an inlet off the Inderhavnen towards King's New Square. Until recently, this seedy area was dominated by brothels and bars serving visiting sailors. Now the seventeenth-century gabled houses combine with restaurants and pavement cafÉs serving traditional Danish food, and overlook a pedestrian thoroughfare and the masts of traditional yachts. Hans Christian Andersen lived at three different houses here. Rosenborg Slot (Rosenborg Castle) Built between 1606 and 1634, Rosenborg Slot was the chief residence of Christian IV, and the main royal palace until the end of the last century. This red-brick, Dutch Renaissance-style palace displays the Crown jewels and other royal treasures (from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries) on the ground floor. The gardens (Kongens Have) surrounding the palace were laid out in 1606 and are one of the most attractive spaces in the city. Øster Voldgade 4a Tel: (33) 153 286. Fax: (33) 152 046. Website: www.kulturnet.dk Transport: Bus 14 or 16 or S-train to Nørreport. Opening hours: Daily 1000-1600. Admission: Dkk45. Amalienborg Slot (Amalienborg Castle) Amalia's Castle has been the winter residence of the Danish royal family since 1794. The four identical rococo palaces face each other across the octagonal Amelienborg Slot, where the changing of the guard takes place each day at noon when the family is in residence. A museum, featuring some of the private chambers and royal treasures dating to 1863-1947, is open to the public. Amalienborg Tel: (33) 122 186. Fax: (33) 930 560. E-mail: BE@Amalienborg.dk Website: www.konehus.dk Transport: Bus 1, 6, 9 or 10 to Østerport. Opening hours: Mon-Sun 1000-1600. Admission: Dkk35. Nationalmuseet (National Museum) Housed in a former royal palace, the National Museum is the country's premier historical and cultural institution. Permanent collections include the history of Denmark from the Ice Age to the seventeenth century, Egyptian, Greek and Italian antiquities, and a survey of indigenous populations. There is also an interactive children's museum. The Prince's Palace, Ny Vestergade 10 Tel: (33) 134 411. Fax: (33) 473 300. Website: www.natmus.dk Transport: S-train to Central Station or Nørreport. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700. Admission: Dkk40 (concessions available). Free on Wed. Statens Museum for Kunst The Royal Museum of Fine Art houses Denmark's largest art collection, including paintings by Rembrandt, Brueghel and Rubens, works by Titian and Mantegna, and an excellent Matisse collection. It reopened in 1999 after renovation and expansion. Sølvegade 48-50 Tel: (33) 748 494. Fax: (33) 748 404. E-mail: SMK@SMK.dk Website: www.kulturnet.dk/homes/smk Transport: Bus 10 to Østerport. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (Wed until 2000). Admission: Dkk40 (concessions available). Free on Wed. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Carlsberg Glyptotek was built by the Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen in 1897. Today, the museum houses a superb collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, Impressionist masterpieces, and Danish art. Concerts are staged in the palm-filled winter garden. Dantes Plads 7 Tel: (33) 418 141. Fax: (33) 912 058. Website: www.glyptotek.dk Transport: Bus 1, 5, 8, 10, 500 or 560S to Tivoli. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1600. Admission: Dkk30. Free Wed and Sun. Christiania Free Commune On the eastern edge of Christianshavn, situated on the derelict site of a former military barracks, the free state of Christiania is a working experiment in alternative lifestyles and communal living. First occupied in 1970, it is now home to about 1000 people and several hundred dogs. Once away from the drug vendors, clothes stalls and eco-cafÉs, the area is seductively rural with picturesque farmhouses and wooden cabins overlooking the calm waterways of the Stadsgraven. Guided tours can be arranged (see Tours of the City section). Prinsessegade/Badsmandsstræde Website: www.christiania.org Transport: Bus 8 to Prinsessegade. |
||
