For the architecture admirer, a trip to Copenhagen means stopping at every corner to snap pictures of the amazing buildings. There is an excellent mix of traditional, waterfront canal buildings from the 17th century to castles to show-stopping modern buildings. Some of the best architectural views were from an afternoon canal cruise leaving Nyhavn (pronounced NEW-hown), where we saw contemporary marvels like the Copenhagen Opera House and architecturally interesting apartment buildings. In 2023, Copenhagen was awarded the UNESCO “World Capital of Architecture” for its innovation, liveability and ambitions to be sustainable.
Copenhagen revealed a bounty of architectural details and masterful design, but it was not just about the buildings. The city's diverse array of museums enriched our experience, and we were especially grateful for the abundant sunshine. The delightful fall weather during our visit led to even more enjoyment of the lush grounds of Tivoli Gardens and the majestic gardens surrounding the castles.
Designmuseum
The Designmuseum was high on my list and did not disappoint. However, admittedly after working in the furniture industry for a few years, I am overly fond of chairs and some might not be enthralled with the giant hall of chairs (uh hem…my husband was slightly bored).
Through the museum’s exhibits, it is impressive to see the influence of the Danish across the entire world of design (I recognized many items from inside my house that I hadn’t realized were Danish design). There is also a lovely cafe overlooking a sculpture filled courtyard. If you like architectural details and seeing how design evolves, this is the museum for you.
Louisiana Museum
A relaxing train ride takes you 25 miles north of Copenhagen to one of the best modern and contemporary art museums in the world, the Louisiana Museum. The museum is a piece of art itself, having been built into the seaside hills of the Øresund Sound in Humlebæk. The museum opened in 1958 and its founder Knud W. Jensen originally intended it just for Danish modern art. But it has grown to be an internationally significant museum featuring rotating exhibitions and a stunning permanent collection. The odd story behind the name: the property was originally owned by a man who married three women, all named Louise.
The museum’s outdoor sculpture garden provides a setting for postcard perfection pictures. If weather allows, eat lunch outdoors at the museum’s cafe. It’s a chance to eat the art with beautiful salads and artful bowls of fresh ingredients. Exhibitions change regularly and the permanent collection is substantial.
We were lucky to experience gorgeous warm weather for the interesting walk through the town on the way to Louisiana, which is an easy 15-minute walk from the train station in Humlebæk to the museum itself. It’s an undemanding stroll on pavement the whole way.
Our Louisiana visit with lunch was well worth the nearly full day it took getting to the museum and back to our hotel in Copenhagen.
MACA (Museum of Contemporary Art)
If you are a fan of modern art, a visit to Copenhagen's Museum of Contemporary Art is worth a quick visit. While we were there, a Banksy exhibition was on display, complemented by works by Andy Warhol, Basquiat, KAWS, Keith Haring and Yayoi Kusama. The museum is housed in a former 19th century warehouse near Nyhavn and the collection is impressive, especially for such a tiny space (be prepared to climb some stairs as this place is narrow, but tall).
Copenhagen’s Enchanting Castles
Copenhagen offers the ability to castle jump since there are so many in such close proximity. We saw two—the Amalienborg Palace, where the royal family currently resides, as well as the Rosenborg Castle built in the 1600s. At Rosenborg, we admired the closely guarded crown jewels, the gorgeously manicured gardens and the king’s coronation chair. At Amalienborg, set in the center of the city, we saw the changing of the guard, beautiful fountains and a more “modern” castle having been built in the 1700s after the original castle burned down. Both were worth a visit and admissions were covered by the Copenhagen Card, but if you only have time for one, I recommend seeing the crown jewels at Rosenborg.
Tivoli Gardens
Normally, I don’t have an amusement park at the top of my list of things to do, but in Copenhagen I highly recommend visiting Tivoli Gardens. It’s one of the world’s oldest amusement parks and has been open since 1843. It is supposedly where Walt Disney visited and was inspired to create the Disney empire. Even if you don’t want to ride any of the rides, it is worth visiting for the massive gardens and floral displays, outdoor theater performances on a large stage and 30+ places to eat.
Entrance to Tivoli Gardens is covered on the Copenhagen Card, which makes it just one more reason to buy and maximize the hell out of this card. Our daughter and her friends all got season Tivoli passes while they lived in the city and enjoyed visiting multiple times during their semester abroad. The decor and gardens are changed up for the seasons, including new looks for Halloween and Christmas. We were impressed by the offerings in the food hall at Tivoli and had fun grabbing a raspberry beer at the lakeside Mikkeller Bryghus within the park.
Tip:
We made the most of our experience by maximizing our use of the Copenhagen Card. At writing time, it was about $125 for a 3-day pass. In many cities we skip purchasing the “city card” because the places you can go aren’t what we are interested in, but in Copenhagen this was not the case. It was well worth buying for the attractions we visited (no way to get to all 80 included!) and the card included free unlimited transportation on the safe, clean train system that made getting around super-fast and easy.
#Copenhagen #Denmark #Europe #Designmuseum #RosenborgCastle #AmalienborgCastle #LouisianaMuseum #MACA #Nyhavn
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