Mid-range · 12-hour walk · Copenhagen
Copenhagen in a day: the Mermaid to Tivoli
The harbour front from the Mermaid to Nyhavn, the palace guard at noon, a canal boat, the national museum, the palace tower, the Glyptotek and Tivoli after dark.
Copenhagen is flat, small and made for walking, and a day here follows the water. The morning runs down the harbour from the Little Mermaid past the royal palace in time for the noon guard change; the afternoon goes by canal boat and then indoors to the national museum. Tivoli is for the evening, when the lights come on — it closes for parts of the year, so check before you plan around it.
The route, stop by stop
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Kastellet
A star-shaped 17th-century fortress, still a working military site, with ramparts you can walk right round. Red barracks, a windmill and hardly anyone.
30 min here Walk here → -
The Little Mermaid
Smaller than you have been told, on a rock at the harbour edge since 1913. Look, photograph, move on.
15 min here Walk here → -
Amalienborg
Four identical rococo palaces around an octagonal square, where the royal family actually lives. The guard marches in from Rosenborg and changes here at noon.
30 min here Walk here → -
Frederik's Church
The Marble Church, directly behind the palace square, with the widest dome in Scandinavia. Guided tours go up inside it.
20 min here Walk here → -
Nyhavn
Lunch on the painted quay. The restaurants on the sunny side are for looking at; buy smørrebrød nearby and sit on the quayside with your feet over the water, like the Danes do.
45 min here Walk here → -
Copenhagen Canal Tour
An hour on the water from Nyhavn, past the Opera House, the Black Diamond and Christianshavn, under bridges low enough that the guide tells you when to duck.
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National Museum of Denmark
Danish history from the Bronze Age sun chariot to the Vikings, in an 18th-century palace. The Egtved Girl, buried around 1370 BC, is the room to find.
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Christiansborg Palace tower
The parliament, the supreme court and the prime minister's office in one palace, under the tallest tower in the city. The tower is free, and the view takes in every spire in the old town.
40 min here Walk here → -
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
The brewer Carl Jacobsen's collection: Roman portraits, French sculpture and a palm-filled winter garden under a glass dome, with a café in it.
60 min here Walk here → -
Tivoli Gardens
Opened in 1843 and the second-oldest amusement park in the world. Come after dark, when the lamps light up across the gardens, and ride the 1914 wooden roller coaster that still carries a brakeman.
More in Copenhagen
Every walking route in Copenhagen, or the full Copenhagen guide for where to stay and what a day costs.