“Almost Utopia: Copenhagen”

The envelope, please....The award for best country to live in goes to -- Denmark! This premier social ranking accorded by a recent University of Pennsylvania study, puts Denmark’s capital city of Copenhagen very high on any list of places to visit. And yes, it is the most-visited city in Scandinavia, most likely due to the mix of sophisticated modern culture and a well-preserved historic past, as shown in our travel videos. The architecture and town plan reflect this mix - a picturesque harbor surrounded by the old town, with many palaces, museums, gardens and shops to keep everyone happy. See our travel videos for more.

Copenhagen is a medium-sized city of 1.2 million that gives you the benefits of a cultured metropolitan center without the problems of a vast, congested city. It is similar in size and character to Stockholm and Amsterdam, with historic old brick buildings lining a picturesque waterfront that extends for 30 miles along the edge of the town. “Hagen” means harbor, so water is integral to this alluring city’s identity and history, including that Viking chapter when they ruled much of England and parts of Europe. Copenhagen has been an important commercial town ever since the time of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages, when it was connected into a vast northern Europe trading network.

Highlights of Copenhagen include Rosenborg Palace; Amalienborg Palace; City Hall Square and the Little Mermaid. You will also want to see Tivoli Gardens and several of the art and history museums in town. But the greatest attraction of all is the city itself, especially along the narrow pedestrian lanes that run through the heart of the old part of town, lined with historic buildings, shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.

Copenhagen is perfect for walking, as the center of town is small enough to cover on foot and the narrow streets that wind through it offer wonderful discoveries to the attentive explorer. You cannot really get lost here, so wandering a little off the beaten path is well worth the effort. There is an amazing shopping lane called Stroget that runs for a mile through the center of town, claimed to be Europe’s longest pedestrian street, with various side lanes that are also free from automobile traffic. This central square mile will be a major focus of the visit, supplemented with a few easy excursions to nearby palaces and attractions. In the evening, try Tivoli Gardens -- a fun amusement park for adults and kids.

DAY ONE:

Exploring the town center.

Start your day with a short stroll through the town center, walking along the famous pedestrian street of Stroget. Most shops will not be open yet, but no worries; you will come back here frequently during your stay in Copenhagen since this is really the center of action in town. Oddly enough, this appealing lane changes names five times during its course but is never officially labeled as Stroget, even though that’s what everyone calls it; so don’t look for Stroget on a map or on street signs. Starting from the Tivoli end it is named, in turn, Frederiksberggade, Nygade, Vimmelskaftet, Amagertorv and Ostergade, as shown in our travel videos. For now, enjoy a simple reconnaissance stroll along the Stroget and some of the small side lanes that catch your eye, with a goal of getting to the excursion boat dock just a few blocks away by 9:45 a.m.

The canal boat tour offers one of the best ways to get a quick overview of the city, for it gives you an easy orientation, enhanced with narration from a guide who fills you in on a little history and provides descriptions of the passing sights. The 50-minute tour can be started at two different locations in the heart of town, depending on which is more convenient for you: either from Gammel Strand, or Nyhavn, which would be closer to the next activities. The circular route will be the same either way. Catch the day’s first tour, which departs at 10:00am, or if you miss that one, there are departures every half-hour. The boat winds along through several canals, passing under the bridges and into the harbor.

Water is very much part of the national identity, for Denmark consists of 406 islands and a large peninsula on the west that is connected to Germany. Copenhagen is on the largest island, Zealand. Denmark is a small country of just 5.3 million people, with a total land area only about 10% the size of Sweden, or equal to Switzerland. Most of the country is flat, making for useful agricultural land, so the population density is higher than elsewhere in Scandinavia, which is heavily forested.

The boat tour will bring you to the Little Mermaid on the north edge of town, showing you this symbol of the city. She is smaller than you might expect, but is still the most famous landmark of the country. The boat will soon deposit you back where you began, so you can now begin the walking expedition.

Our next goal is to reach Amalienborg Palace at noon for the colorful Changing of the Guard ceremony, but it is only a few blocks away, so take a leisurely stroll whether you are coming from the boat dock at Gammel Strand or Nyhavn. We’ll come back to the Nyhavn canal tomorrow night for the daily outdoor party and dinner, but for now, get your bearings and pick up on a little history at the King’s New Square.

KING’S NEW SQUARE

Nyhavn canal ends at one of the city’s two main centers, the King’s New Square, or Kongens Nytorv, built by King Christian IV. When he ascended the throne in 1596, Christian wanted Copenhagen to become a major trading center for Northern Europe, so he built up the city in many ways, including the network of canals, town squares and warehouses. A great admirer of France’s Louis XIV, Christian presided over a period of massive expansion, doubling the size of the city and creating many of the landmarks buildings that still stand today. He was the most important monarch in Danish history and, with 23 children from three wives, could almost be considered father of modern Denmark.

The wonderful pedestrian lane, Stroget, which we started on this morning and will return to later, begins at this square next to the large, white, deluxe Hotel d’Angleterre, and it continues one mile to the City Hall Square, the other main center of town, in our travel videos. Exit the square on the opposite side, walking along the street named Bredgade towards Amalienborg Palace, into the district of Frederickstad.

FREDERICKSTAD

Frederick’s City is an elegant neighborhood located just beyond Nyhavn, on land donated by King Frederick V to the people in 1749 to celebrate 300 years of royal rule. It was developed as a noble quarter for the elite, with grand 18th century mansions along wide boulevards. The centerpiece of this district is the Amalienborg Royal Palace, but before you get there, stop and admire the Marble Church, “Marmorkirken,” sometimes called Frederick’s Church. The towering dome, based on St. Peter’s in Rome, is astonishingly beautiful in its baroque grandeur. The church is open from 10:00am, or from noon, Friday - Sunday. It was supposed to have been built entirely of marble, but the people ran out of money and work got delayed for 150 years, when it was finished in stone and beautifully decorated with dozens of statues. Just a block away you can see three gold onion domes atop a Russian church, but this is closed to the public.

Amalienborg Palace is a unique complex of four nearly identical, rococo mansions around the edge of a broad, octagonal square, with a huge equestrian statue of Fredrick V in the middle. Built for noble families in the late 1700’s, the royal family took possession in 1794 after their former palace burned down. There is a small public museum here, the Royal Danish Collection, showing off royal family memorabilia and furnishings.

The guards change at noon, so time your visit accordingly. If the queen is home, a marching band accompanies the ritual, but if this is early summer, she might be out of town and there is no ceremony. If you want to catch the entire event, you could start with the new guards at 11:30 a.m. at Rosenborg Palace and walk along with them through town on a winding path that reaches this square at noon. After the guards we can walk over to Rosenborg Slot (Palace).

ROSENBORG PALACE

The area around Rosenborg Palace is filled with so many interesting things to see you could spend the rest of the afternoon here, enjoying fine art, royal history, geology and exquisite gardens, as shown in our travel videos. Enter this district through the Royal Gardens, originally built for King Christian IV in 1606 to provide food for his kitchen, but now the oldest park in town with its original plan still intact, offering broad, green lanes and narrow paths to explore.

Rosenborg Palace is the museum of the Danish kings, containing the Crown Jewels, a royal throne, original furniture, detailed stucco decorations and dark wood paneling throughout. Built in Renaissance style so typical of Copenhagen at that time, with red bricks, sandstone accents and the green copper roof, it appears to be a fairy-tale castle right out of Hans Christian Andersen.

When you have finished touring inside the Palace, there are a couple of museums to consider and the wonderful, not-to-be-missed, Botanical Garden, with 20,000 species from around the world arranged in beautiful patterns that utilize remnants of the old fortified walls and moat that once circled the city. Meandering paths wander through the lush gardens and into different greenhouses for tropical palms, cactus, orchids and rainforest plants. A café behind the conservatory serves lunch.

In the same park you will find the largest art museum in Denmark, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, with a comprehensive European collection ranging from old masters up through early 20th century, including one of the world’s best collections of Danish painters. A new building in the back has greatly enhanced the collection with large amounts of dazzling, contemporary art, and offers lovely views into the gardens beyond. All of which makes this museum a must for all art-lovers, especially since it is easily included with the palace visit and a pleasant stroll through the adjacent Botanical Garden.

When we have finished in this area, there is frequent bus service that will take you back to the center, or you could walk more through the fascinating streets of the historic center. Tivoli, our next destination, is one mile away on the other side of town. A useful walking strategy is to simply meander through the center in the general direction of Tivoli, picking your turns as you get to an intersection, heading in whichever direction looks more interesting to you. A scenic route winds along Norregade to Vestergade, and around a corner to Tivoli. There will be a lot more time to explore this historic center in detail tomorrow afternoon.

TIVOLI

Tivoli Gardens is undoubtedly Copenhagen’s most popular major attraction, with 3 million visitors each year drawn to its entertaining mix of amusement rides, forty restaurants, live music, tree-lined gardens with 400,000 flowers, evening illumination by 115,000 colored lamps and generally festive atmosphere. The private park has been operating for 150 years, which lends a historic elegance to the mix: carnival games on one side, rides all around the perimeter, with a peaceful atmosphere in the center offering sedate pleasures of promenades, tea service and flower gardens. When you enter, ask for the day’s entertainment schedule so you can catch some of the events, like the pantomime show of light ballet, the young boys marching band, acrobats, animal acts and free music performances at the various outdoor stages. You could go along with a 100-year tradition and ride the balloon high into the sky for a bird’s-eye view of the surroundings. Tivoli is the third most popular amusement park in Europe, and now includes a scary, new triple loop roller coaster ride opens. A legend holds that Walt Disney was inspired to build his parks after a visit here.

Best time to visit the park is just before twilight, so you can explore the park in late daylight and then enjoy the magic illumination as the lights come on. One of the prettiest night scenes is the sparkling lights outlining the Chinese Pagoda, reflected in the boating pond in front. Stay for dinner and be a kid again by taking one of the wild, scary rides. The costs do add up quickly because you pay for entrance, plus each ride charges its own fee. You are welcome to just stroll around and enjoy the atmosphere, for which you pay nothing extra. To dine at the most elegant park restaurant, make reservations for Divan 2, or for more traditional Danish fare, try Groften or Balkonen. Avoid some of the so-called fast-food counters when they have big lines, due to slow service. A firework spectacular happens every Saturday night at 11:45pm, best seen in front of the concert hall. For night owls, the park stays open until 11:00pm Sunday through Wednesday, and until midnight the other days.

DAY TWO:

CHRISTIANSBORG

Just ten minutes walk from the Stroget, Christiansborg is a large complex of monumental government buildings and gardens on a small island, as shown in our travel videos. It has always been the political center of town, starting from 1167 when Bishop Absalon founded the city by building his castle on this spot. This was the site of the royal residence for many centuries, but fires burned down a series of castles and palaces until finally the huge Christiansborg Slot was built at the beginning of the 20th century. This complex is the only building in the world to contain the three main branches of a government: Parliament, High Court and Prime Ministry. For a small fee, visitors may go inside to admire the Royal Reception Rooms and also descend beneath to see foundations of earlier, destroyed palaces. Denmark still has a royal family, headed by the beloved Queen Margrethe II, but the royalty have no political power. The royals moved their residences out ages ago to the very comfortable Amalienborg Palace on the other side of town.

The Outer Courtyard and side wings of Christiansborg are survivors from the Baroque palace built in the French style in mid-18th century. You are free to walk around the grounds of this sprawling complex to enjoy the different views, especially the nicely framed approach in front at the Marble Bridge.

A passage through the arcades leads to the beautiful Library Garden filled with colorful flowers and a large fountain in the middle. Amazingly, this garden used to be a harbor where the warships of Christian IV were secretly prepared for battle, hidden behind large buildings that still surround this space. Here you will find the Arsenal, open as a military museum with one of the world’s best collections of 18th and 19th century armaments, housed in Europe’s longest arched room, 170 yards long. The Royal Library is also still functioning here, with its ultra-modern black glass extension, called the Black Diamond, attached on the harbor side. The garden also has a bronze statue of Soren Kierkegaard, the nation’s most famous philosopher who started the existential movement. If you don’t believe this enclosed garden space could have been a warship harbor, look behind the benches to find a large metal ring that was used to tie up the ships.

Another historic building adjacent to this complex is the Stock Exchange, the “Borsen,” an early 17th century building originally used for storing and selling merchandise rather than for stocks and finances. Conveniently located at the water’s edge, cargo could be offloaded from ships directly into the basement storehouses. Christian IV founded the institution as an important element of his plans to expand the trading power of his kingdom. The Borsen is not open to the public, but worth admiring from the outside, with its brick gables and spiral tower representing four dragon tails. Walk along Ny Kongesngade to reach the city’s main art museum. (This route also brings you past the history museum, which we suggest you save for tomorrow rather than packing in two museums back-to-back, but if you feel up for it, cover this one today as well.)

FINE ART MUSEUM

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek is the artistic gem of Copenhagen, with the nation’s highest quality collection of fine arts, spanning thousands of years from ancient Egypt up through French Impressionism. The Renaissance-style museum opened in 1897, funded by Carlsberg beer owner Carl Jacobsen, who called it a place where art is “displayed in joy and harmony, to grace life for the living.” The building complex is as beautiful as the art within, starting with the Winter Garden -- a large, glass-domed greenhouse just inside the front door, as shown in our travel videos. This indoor jungle has palm trees and other tropical exotics growing in lush abundance, with benches scattered about so you can sit and absorb the tropical scene. Visitors can also enjoy refreshments or a fine meal at the café terrace overlooking the garden. The café serves the best chocolate cake in town.

The front building, which wraps around the indoor garden, contains mostly Danish and French sculpture, featuring the largest Rodin collection outside France. Behind is a building added in 1906, containing the Classical collection of ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian statues, jewelry and related arts. However, you really should conserve your energy by starting with the third building, an ultra-modern structure designed in 1996by the nation’s leading contemporary architect, Henning Larsen, holding the extensive French Impressionist collection of masterpieces by Degas, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and others of this period. Paul Gauguin was married to a Danish woman and lived in Copenhagen for five years before moving to Tahiti, so there is a strong selection of his works. There is also a wonderful collection of Danish painters of the early 19th century “Golden Age.”

When you have finished admiring the art, walk a block to City Hall Square (Radhuspladsen) and enter the pedestrian zone. A Burger King and a 7-Eleven ironically flank the entrance to the main walking street, but don’t let that throw you -- it’s a charming neighborhood. Rather than walking again on Stroget, try a parallel shopping lane just south, which also changes names as it winds through the center: Kompagnistraede, Laederstraede, Kirkestraede and Kongensgade.

SHOPPING & EXPLORING:

Copenhagen’s town center is like a big shopping mall, but set in quaint historic buildings rather than in a modern, sterile arcade, showcasing a diverse mix of independent stores along with major outlets. Stroget winds for a mile through the middle of this neighborhood, connecting City Hall Square with the Kings New Square. Automobiles were banned from this street in the early 1960s, making this one of the first pedestrian zones in Europe. You could walk the length of Stroget easily in 30 minutes, but since it is lined with shops the whole way, some people might take all day to get from one end to the other, as shown in our travel videos. It does get pretty crowded, which is great for people-watching, especially if you enjoy gazing at beautiful, blonde Scandinavians. However, the side streets are much quieter and offer a welcome relief from the masses on the Stroget.

Numerous streets for pedestrians branch off from the main walking lane of Stroget. You can find your own way through here this afternoon, taking all the time you need to thoroughly cover the attractive, main lanes of Kobmagergade, Fiolstraede and Kompagnistraede (the Tivoli end of Stroget). Don’t even try and pronounce them, but you can easily find these little streets by looking around, or consulting the free maps that are widely available. There are many other nice little lanes for you to discover -- you will quickly get the picture.

Look for peaceful little squares like Graabrodretorv, sheltered by trees, with welcoming benches for you to sit and relax a while, surrounded by pubs and restaurants. The university district is two short blocks away, with some funky shops for students, antiques and cheap eats. Copenhagen’s Our Lady Cathedral is on the south edge of this student zone, and worth visiting

Nearby, on Kobmagergade, you will find the Round Tower (“Rundetarn”), which has an outdoor observation platform with a great view across the rooftops of the old town. You walk up an internal spiral ramp seven times around to reach the top of this 17th century astronomical tower, 115 feet above the street. The slope is quite steep on the inner edge but gentle on the outer side of the ramp, and much easier coming down. It is said that nobles would ride up the spiral in their carriages in the old days. This street also has the Post and Tele Museum, a surprisingly interesting history of postal and telephone service, with a rooftop café that offers a lovely view across the historic, red-tile rooftops.

This central neighborhood is a perfect size -- one square mile. It is large enough to provide many places to explore for days, but small enough that you won’t get lost or exhausted covering the sights. The street pattern is also perfect for walking, with narrow winding lanes that developed during many centuries before the automobile took over and “modernization” flushed out what was left of the charm in so many cities. Like many European cities, Copenhagen has managed to preserve its special historic character.

The best shops, with high-quality clothing, electronics, souvenirs, jewelry, restaurants and cafes are in the section of Stroget between Gammetorv, with its Dolphin Fountain, and on towards the Kings New Square. In the center, at the Dolphin Fountain, you will find an especially strong lineup of four major retail names in a row: George Jensens Silverware Shop, Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Shop, Holmegaard Glass and Illums Bolighus home furnishings with an excellent display of Scandinavian design. These four stores are interconnected so you can walk from one to the next without stepping outside. Together they make up a stunning display of Danish goods at their best, in our travel videos. The latest trends in crystal and ceramics are displayed a few doors down at Rosenthal StudioHaus.

When you get hungry there is no problem finding food in this central area, ranging from sidewalks stands selling pizza up through some of the most expensive dining in Europe. The most typical, simple meal is the smorrebrod, a small open-face sandwich you can readily find in a hundred varieties. The large department store, Illiums, at the major intersection of Stroget and Kobmagergade, is pricey but has a reasonable cafeteria with excellent food, as does Magasin, the town’s other main store at the end of Stroget. Many bakeries are now offering inexpensive, take-out sandwiches.

Gammel Strand is Copenhagen at its most charming, along the picturesque shore of the Holmen Canal, a few blocks from the Stroget. Here, and further along Nybrogade, you will find rows of historic buildings lined with art galleries, antique shops, sidewalk cafes and excellent restaurants, including Krogs, the oldest and most famous seafood house in town. On the weekends you might browse in the small flea market on the little square. Enjoy the splendid views across the canal toward Christiansborg.

NATIONAL MUSEUM

It would be possible this afternoon to carve out a little time for a look at the magnificent National Museum, which covers 14,000 years of human history in a huge former palace that occupies an entire block, located between the Glyptotek and Christiansborg. About half the space is devoted to Danish history, from the Stone Age through modern times, with thousands of artifacts arranged in chronological order -- so you want to be sure to walk through the displays in the proper sequence to get the full effect. Another large section takes you on a journey around the world, with special emphasis on the Inuit. The exhibition also includes many artifacts from Africa, India, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, China, Central Asia and Siberia. There is also a room playing world music and slide shows about various cultures. The ancient classical worlds of Egypt, Greece and Rome are also represented, with mummies, vases, jewelry, glass and more -- exhibits that document daily life, special occasions, politics, religion, life, love and death in these ancient societies. Interesting special exhibits are usually offered. This is the nation’s largest museum.

NYHAVN

Most shops close at 5:00 or 6:00pm, which is a good time to hit Nyhavn, just beyond the end of Stroget, across the Kings New Square. An amazing outdoor party happens every evening along the picturesque Nyhavn canal in the heart of town, where people gather by the thousands to drink and talk. This is the biggest ongoing party in Europe! It is one of the world’s most amazing gathering places, in a beautiful setting framed by sailboats tied up along the dock on one side and a long row of bars and restaurants facing them, with colorful old houses on both sides of the canal. But ironically, the street party is fueled by beer purchased in nearby shops rather than from the more-expensive bars. Everyone stands or sits around on the ground and along the dock having a grand time, with a constant stream of six-packs coming in and empties being carried out by scavengers. Most of the partygoers are young professionals relaxing with friends after working all day, enjoying some laughs and a few beers, as you will see in our travel videos. You are welcome to join in if you feel comfortable in this setting, because the locals speak English and are quite friendly, especially if you bring a six-pack to the circle. Things are especially lively here in the long twilight of a summer day, when it doesn’t get dark until after 10:00 p.m.

Danes are world-class beer drinkers, but this scene at Nyhavn is all very civilized, with no sign of rowdiness or loud behavior. While it may not be fair or accurate to lump all the people of a nation into a stereotype, the Danes are widely regarded to be the friendliest and most easy-going of the Scandinavians, and you can see that in action at this “longest bar in town.” Perhaps the Danes are more European than Scandinavian in temperament because they are geographically connected to the mainland. The rest of Scandinavia is further north, in colder climes on a huge peninsula attached to Russia, separated from the rest of Europe by the Baltic Sea.

Nyhavn means “new harbor,” but it was built 350 years ago and many of the colorful buildings lining the canal date back that far. For hundreds of years this was a sleazy waterfront dump where you would only meet drunken sailors and hookers, so it was a place to avoid, but forty years ago it turned completely around and became very fashionable. It makes a lovely stroll any time of the day or evening, and the restaurants are very good along this picturesque waterfront. Grab an outdoor table for a ringside seat at the best show in town to round out your wonderful evening.

That completes our visit to Copenhagen’s main attractions. Look at our travel videos for more of Copenhagen.