What Not to Miss in Copenhagen

Nyhavn, the Round Tower, Strøget with the two squares it crosses, Assistens Cemetery and Tivoli. The one most visitors walk across without knowing what it is is Nytorv, where a permanent execution scaffold stood from 1627 until 1761. Tivoli opened on 15 August 1843 and took 4.25 million visitors in 2024.

The square nobody readsNytorv, scaffold 1627–1761

The tower with a rampRundetårn, completed 1642

The canalNyhavn, dug 1670–1673

The green spaceAssistens Cemetery, 25 hectares

Tivoli opened15 August 1843

Tivoli visitors in 20244.25 million

The centre, in one walk

Strøget was pedestrianised in 1962 at 1.1 km and runs through Gammeltorv, where Christian IV's Caritas Well has stood since 1608, and Nytorv, where the scaffold stood for 134 years and the courthouse was built between 1803 and 1815. Rundetårn, completed in 1642, has a ramp of 7½ turns climbing 34.8 m, built so a horse and carriage could reach the library; Tsar Peter the Great rode up it in 1716. Vor Frue Kirke was burned by British gunners in 1807 and reconsecrated on 7 June 1829.

The canal and the cemetery

Nyhavn was dug between 1670 and 1673 by Swedish prisoners of war and spent the twentieth century as a sailors' quarter until commercial shipping ended in 1967. Assistens Cemetery opened in 1760, is 25 hectares in Nørrebro, and holds Hans Christian Andersen, Søren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr. Both are on the Nyhavn page and the cemetery page.

Tivoli, and the season question

Tivoli opened on 15 August 1843, founded by Georg Carstensen, and is the world's second-oldest continuously operating amusement park after Dyrehavsbakken. It took 4.25 million visitors in 2024. Its published seasons are summer from 7 April to 20 September, Halloween from 2 October to 1 November, and Christmas from 13 November to 3 January, and it runs two haunted houses in the Halloween season which it warns are not for the faint of heart or young children — the Tivoli page has the detail.

The walk that puts the squares in order is the English guided ghost walk, an hour and a half from Nytorv: the guided ghost walk. Out of town, Thomas Dambo's six wooden giants are a four-hour trip with transport included: the six giants.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the one thing not to miss in Copenhagen?

Nytorv, if you want the history nobody points out: a permanent execution scaffold stood there from 1627 to 1761 and the courthouse replaced it.

Is Tivoli worth it?

It opened on 15 August 1843 and took 4.25 million visitors in 2024, and it runs two haunted houses in its Halloween season. See the Tivoli page.

How many days do I need?

The centre works on foot in a day or two. See the how many days page.