The Ultimate Walking Tour of Copenhagen’s City Centre
See the most picturesque parts of Copenhagen with our guide to the ultimate walking tour around the city centre. Perfect for exploring the city sights, our route leads you around the heart of Copenhagen, showcasing contemporary design and architecture alongside the historic harbour side. See our charming canals, famous Little Mermaid statue and all the top iconic landmarks of the city on a stroll around the centre.
For hidden gems and familiar favourites, our guide takes you by the royal palaces, peaceful parks, and one of the longest pedestrianised shopping streets in Europe. From the harbour you can gain a unique perspective of the city, as the views combine historical landmarks, modern architecture, and the city’s waterways. Each of the areas along the waterfront has its own character and provides a chance to experience Copenhagen from a different angles whether you're into tranquil houseboats and backwaters, or skyscrapers and modern architecture. A walking tour is the ideal way to soak up the vibrant city atmosphere and choose your own pace to explore. Just follow in our footsteps! Or grab a bike and follow our guide as a cycling tour also!
Start at Tivoli Gardens
Depending on the time of year, this historic amusement park provide’s plenty of funfair rides, activities and events, but is also just a beautiful place to visit. The landscaped gardens around the lake come to life in spring (it is closed after Christmas until April) and there are concerts throughout the summer, the autumn fair, and the famous Christmas winter wonderland transformation, complete with Christmas Markets and ice rink.
Shopping and Street Performers: Take a Stroll Down Strøget
From Tivoli, (or straight from the hostel if you are visiting in winter), take a stroll down Strøget, one of Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping streets. Not just for shopping, Strøget is a bustling place to explore, with street vendors, musicians, and plenty of places to stop and take in the scene. Here you can find the main high street shops and stores (Lego!), but also little boutiques and food stalls. It also has side streets worth exploring for the architecture and hidden spots - try Istedgade or Kongens Nytorv for different shops and cafés and the flower market by Rundetårn.
The Round Tower, or Rundetårn for views
Rundetårn, or the Round Tower, can be seen along the skyline and with a little climb up the ramp, you can see the 360-degree panoramic views from the top - some of the best views of the city. Just a short detour from Strøget and you can see the rooftops and church spires of the city. There are usually exhibitions of artwork on the walls to keep you going on the walk to the top! As Copenhagen’s oldest functioning observatory, the tower gives perfect views. Entry used to be free but now it is with a ticket and occasionally there are queues to avoid overcrowding - but it is worth waiting for!
The Marble Church, Frederiks Kirke
Just a few steps onwards from Strøget and on our way to Amalienborg Palace is Frederiks Kirke, the Marble Church, dating back to 1740. This neoclassical church with its huge dome (the largest in Scandinavia) is known as one of Copenhagen’s most impressive buildings, standing out from the surrounding architecture. The church took a long time to reach its current state, lying in ruin for 150 years when the original architectural plans were abandoned, then finished and eventually opened in 1894. This is also a great little square if you are thinking of something to eat or drink, grab a coffee and admire the church from the outside. Inside is worth visiting and if you’re energetic you can climb to the top of the church’s dome for great views of the city.
Head to Amalienborg Palace
Still the winter residence of the Danish royal family, this palace complex is built around an attractive square with four buildings surrounding and the Amalienborg Museum, part of Christian VIII’s Palace. The palace is full of paintings and royal memorabilia, and even has a Faberge Chamber!
Adults 125 DKK, Students 80 DKK. You can buy tickets online here
Postcard perfect: Nyhavn Canal
One of Copenhagen’s most iconic spots and definitely the most colourful: Nyhavn. This historic and vibrant canal is lined with colorful 17th-century townhouses with brightly coloured facades. Here you can find plenty of life such as street vendors, restaurants, boats, and house boats, making it the perfect spot to get your photos! Although a very touristic area, it is still loved by locals as a place to stroll and have an ice cream or a sunset beer on the harbour side in summer.
This is also the best place to take a canal boat tour on one of the many boats that leave from the harbour (or from Gammel Strand).
Walk along the Inner Harbour
The Inner Harbour is the heart of Copenhagen and a bustling central waterfront, with iconic buildings such as the Opera House and Christiansborg Palace. There is a blend of architecture here with historic charm and modern buildings as well as outdoor markets and art installations. The boat tours here pass by The Little Mermaid statue, Amalienborg Palace, Christianborg Palace, BLOX, The Black Diamond and Opera. Worth a detour if you are a fan of seeing the city from the water for a different perspective, or take a walk along the inner harbour to see the sites from here.
Experience 800 years of royal history at Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace is located on the small island of Slotsholmen and can be seen in full glory from the nearby bridges. The modern home to the Danish Parliament, Supreme Court, and Prime Minister's office, the palace is still used by the Royal Family and for some State events. Dating from the Middle Ages the castle has a long history and you can take a tour to see the famous Queen’s Tapestries in the Great Hall and the Royal Reception Rooms including the thrones and balcony.
The palace has lovely views of the city and you can climb the tower for free for the best sunset views. There are ruins of the original palace beneath that can also be visited. You can buy tickets online here
Fairytale Rosenborg Castle and the Kongens Have
This is one of our favourite royal castles with its picture perfect green turrets and surrounded by the lovely King’s Garden (Kongens Have). Standing for over 400 years and originally a summerhouse built in 1606, the Guards here now protect all the Danish Treasury including the Danish Crown Jewels and plenty of royal artefacts. Perfect for history lovers!
You can buy tickets online, Adults 140 DKK, Students 90 DKK
The Botanical Gardens
From Rosenborg Castle on the way towards Nørreport you will find the lovely parkland and landscaped gardens of the Botanical Garden. Despite being in the city centre this is a peaceful spot with plenty of greenery and bridges over the streams. The Botanical Garden glasshouses themselves are no longer free admission and you can buy tickets on the door. Here there are over 13,000 plant species!
A Detour to Langelinie Park: and the Little Mermaid Statue
She is slightly out of the way for our walking tour, but as an optional extra you can head to Langelinie Park, a lush green park on the water’s edge. Here you can see some of the best views of the harbour, as well as the iconic little statue (and she is quite small). The Little Mermaid statue is here in the harbour, since 1913. Inspired by famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, this bronze sculpture has become a symbol of the city. She has been vandalised a few times, and beheaded, but still sits proud in the harbour. This is a peaceful place to walk along the harbour and see the skyline.
Exploring the heart of the city alongside iconic landmarks like Nyhavn, our walking tour is a great way to see the city’s diversity, charm, skyline, and most famous sites. We hope you enjoy it as an unforgettable way to experience Copenhagen!
Copenhagen Downtown Hostel
Just a short walk from the city center our cosy hostel and international bar is perfect for a “happy hour” drink at the end of a busy day exploring the city! Our bar is open to locals and hostels guests to meet and mingle, with live music, party nights, solo traveller meet ups, and themed games nights. To find out abour our events check here
We are also part of the Europe's Famous Hostels network, being the hostel of choice for the Genuine Backpacker, as part of a network of over 50 hostels across Europe. Find out more about Famous Hostels here www.famoushostels.com
Copenhagen Downtown is a proud member of Famous Hostels - stay with us for a #GenuineBackpacker experience.
Photos from Unsplash