Copenhagen harbour on foot: from Nyhavn to Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid, and what is free
A walk along the harbour of Copenhagen from Nyhavn past Amalienborg, the Marble Church, the Gefion Fountain and Kastellet to the Little Mermaid: how long it takes, when to start, what is free, and what the partner sells for it.
In 1909 the brewer Carl Jacobsen, heir to Carlsberg, saw the ballet of The Little Mermaid at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen and decided the city should have a statue of her. He gave the commission to the sculptor Edvard Eriksen and asked the principal dancer, Ellen Price, to model for it. She agreed to sit for the head only, so the body is that of the sculptor's wife, Eline. The bronze was set on a boulder at the edge of the harbour on 23 August 1913.
She is 1.25 metres tall. She lost her head in 1964 and again in 1998, an arm in 1984, and in 2003 she was blown off her rock altogether. Each time she was repaired. Visitors who take a coach straight to her are often let down by a small figure and a large crowd. Reached at the end of a walk along the water, she is the right size. This is that walk: about two and a half kilometres, all of it free unless you choose to go indoors.
The route at a glance
Start at Kongens Nytorv, the square with the metro station at the head of Nyhavn, and finish at the statue. Without stops the walk takes forty minutes. With them, allow two to two and a half hours.
The one thing with a fixed time is the changing of the guard at Amalienborg, at noon. To be there for it, leave Nyhavn at about eleven.
Nyhavn
The canal was dug in the 1670s, on the orders of Christian V, to bring ships from the harbour to the square. For two centuries it was a quarter of sailors and taverns. The north side takes the sun and has the coloured houses of the photographs. The oldest, number 9, dates from 1681. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three different houses on the canal, at numbers 20, 67 and 18.
Walking the quay is free. The canal boats that leave from the head of Nyhavn need a ticket, and our partner does not sell them.
Amalienborg and the Marble Church
Follow the harbour north, past the Royal Playhouse and through the small garden of Amaliehaven, and enter the palace square from the water side. Four almost identical palaces stand around an octagon. They were built in the 1750s for four noble families, and the royal family moved in after its own palace, Christiansborg, burned in 1794. The horseman in the middle is Frederik V.
Amalienborg from the harbour side: the statue of Frederik V and, on the same line, the dome of the Marble Church. Photo: Richard Mortel, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The Royal Life Guards, in bearskin caps, leave their barracks beside Rosenborg Castle at half past eleven, march through the city and arrive in the square at noon. Watching is free. One of the four palaces holds the Amalienborg Museum, which needs a ticket.
Inland, on the axis of the square, is Frederik's Church, called the Marble Church. It was begun in 1749, left as a roofless ruin for more than a century, and finished in 1894 with the money of a financier, C.F. Tietgen. The church is free. The dome is climbed at set times, for a fee. Across the water, on the same line, is the Opera House, opened in 2005.
The Gefion Fountain and Kastellet
Go on north along Amaliegade to the Gefion Fountain of 1908. It shows a Norse goddess driving four oxen, her own sons, who ploughed the island of Zealand out of Sweden. Beside it stands St Alban's, the English church, built of flint.
The oxen of the Gefion Fountain: the goddess's four sons, ploughing Zealand out of Sweden. Photo: mandoft, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Behind the fountain is Kastellet, a star-shaped citadel of the 1660s, ringed by a moat. It still belongs to the army, and its gates are open to walkers during the day, without charge. Inside are long red barrack rows, a church and, up on the rampart, a windmill. The path along the top of the ramparts is the best part.
One of the red barrack rows of Kastellet, which the army still uses. Photo: Moahim, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Little Mermaid
From the northern side of Kastellet it is a few minutes along the quay of Langelinie to the statue. She sits a few metres from the shore, with her back to the water. Coaches arrive from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Early or late in the day you may have her almost to yourself. The rocks around her are slippery.
Getting back
- Østerport station, with metro and suburban trains, is ten minutes on foot from the citadel.
- The yellow harbour buses are boats, and part of public transport. They stop at Nordre Toldbod, near the Gefion Fountain, and run back to Nyhavn and further south on an ordinary ticket.
What is free, and what is not
- Free: Nyhavn, the palace square and the changing of the guard, the Marble Church, the fountain, Kastellet and the statue.
- With a ticket: the Amalienborg Museum, the climb to the dome of the Marble Church, the canal boats, and the design museum on Bredgade, a street behind the palace.
Current hours are on our pages for Amalienborg and Frederik's Church.
Reading the partner's listings
For this part of Copenhagen our partner sells audio walks: commentary in its app, on your own phone, with a map from stop to stop. No guide meets you. None includes entry to a palace or a museum, or a boat.
- One starts at the Little Mermaid and ends at Christiansborg, about two and a half hours. It is this walk in reverse, carried on to the island of the parliament.
- One runs from Tivoli to Kastellet in about three and a half hours, across the whole centre.
- One of two hours ends at Amalienborg and takes in the harbour sights on the way.
- One starts at Nyboder, the rows of yellow houses built for the navy, passes the Marble Church and Amalienborg, and ends at the Round Tower.
- The longest, about four hours, covers most of the city.
The names are close to each other, so compare starting points and lengths. Bring earphones, and download the tour before you leave.
These are the audio walks of the harbour and the royal quarter our partner sells, with today's prices:
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on WeGoTrip
Sightseeing Tickets Copenhagen: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Royal Harbor Streets
Book on WeGoTripfrom44 zł
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on WeGoTrip
Sightseeing Tickets Copenhagen: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Royal Harbor Stories
Book on WeGoTripfrom44 zł
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on WeGoTrip
Day trips Copenhagen: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Harbor and Palaces
Book on WeGoTripfrom44 zł
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on WeGoTrip
Sightseeing Tickets Copenhagen: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Royal Old Copenhagen
Book on WeGoTripfrom44 zł
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on WeGoTrip
Walking Tours Copenhagen: Self-Guided Audio Walk Through Royal Canals and Culture
Book on WeGoTripfrom31 zł
Sold and delivered by WeGoTrip. You book on their site at their price; Viaqui may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
From here
Rosenborg Castle, where the crown jewels are kept, is a quarter of an hour inland from the Marble Church. Tivoli Gardens is at the other end of the centre, beside the main station. For the rest of Copenhagen, open the trip planner for Denmark.
Cover photo: Jakub Hałun, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Frequently asked questions
How far is the Little Mermaid from Nyhavn?
About two and a half kilometres along the harbour, or forty minutes on foot without stops. With Amalienborg, the Marble Church and Kastellet on the way, allow two hours or a little more.
Is the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen worth seeing?
As the end of the harbour walk, yes. The statue is only 1.25 metres tall and crowded in the middle of the day, so visitors who come by coach for her alone are often disappointed. Go early or late.
What time is the changing of the guard at Amalienborg?
At noon. The Royal Life Guards leave their barracks beside Rosenborg Castle at half past eleven and march through the city to the palace square. Watching is free.
Is Kastellet in Copenhagen free?
Yes. The citadel still belongs to the army, and its gates are open to walkers during the day without charge.
How do you get back from the Little Mermaid to the centre?
Walk ten minutes to Østerport station for the metro or a suburban train, or take a yellow harbour bus, a public boat, from Nordre Toldbod back to Nyhavn.
