COPENHAGEN TRAVEL BOOKS

 This is not to mention a beckoning range of cultural attractions, including major national museums, a selection of magical art galleries, a healthy assortment of performing arts events and one of Europe’s most interesting film scenes.
Physically, much of Copenhagen dates from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a cultured ensemble of handsome renaissance palaces, parks and merchant houses laid out around the waterways and canals that give the city, in places, a pronounced Dutch flavour. Successive Danish monarchs left their mark on the place, in particular Christian IV, creator of many of the city’s most striking landmarks – including Rosenborg Slot and the districts of Nyboder and Christianshavn – and Frederik III, who graced the city with the palaces of Amalienborg and the grandiose Marmorkirke church, along with the elegant royal quarter of Frederikstad in which they are located. These landmarks remain the highest points in a refreshingly low and undeveloped skyline which continues to measure things on an emphatically human scale.

Copenhagen Video Guide

Tivoli Video Guide

Tivoli
Founded in 1843, Tivoli is located where the once-fortified city’s ramparts used to be, and the park’s on-site lake is a remnant of the city’s moat. Children of all ages visit year ’round for the old-world carnival-style atmosphere and the exciting attractions. Test your mettle on a number of extreme thrill rides (including “The Demon” and “The Spinning Top”). Tamer rides and activities are in abundance as well. Young ones will not want to miss the grand carousel or the aquarium. Older folk tend to congregate in and around Tivoli’s nearly 40 bars and restaurants, some of which are tres gourmet and may date as far back as 1843. World-class live entertainment is always provided, and the festivities get kicked into high gear during the Christmas season. See website for complete list of attractions, video tours, seasonal hours, event calendar and more.

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Stroget Video Guide

Stroget
Buses, trams, cars and bicycles were banned in 1964 to allow for the thousands of shoppers, that walk down this open air market. The ‘cheap’ end is at R?dhuspladsen, with simple bars and burger joints, but things get more expensive further down with stores like Gucci and Birger Christensen. Some come here to shop, others just to see and be seen. Walking down Str?get is always an experience; Denmark’s national poet, Klaus Rifbjerg, summed it up in a song titled Imagine Walking Down Str?get Dressed In Your Light Blue Pyjamas.

Nyhavn Video Guide

Nyhavn
Nyhavn docks were constructed in 1670 as an encouragement to trade and shipping, with a new canal going from the harbour of Copenhagen to Kongens Nytorv . Along the quays, houses have been built on the two different sides - one side contains Charlottenborg castle and blocks of flats, which belong to the bourgeoisie; and on the other side, there are houses built of timber, and picturesque buildings. Up to the 1950s and 1960s, many houses were situated here, but no so-called decent people would have ever ventured into this part of town after dark. In that very same period, poets praised that very quality of the old Nyhavn in songs like “Nu g?r v?ren gennem Nyhavn”. Today, this side of Nyhavn has become fashionable. The quay has been turned into a pedestrian street and the harbour basin has been opened for old sailing ships. Excellent restaurants and cafes have opened; and especially in the summer, the quay is crowded with people having a good time. Today, if you are interested in buying property in this part of town, you have to be more than well-off. One of the most famous residents of Nyhavn was the fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. You can take tours departing from Nyhavn on the canal tour boats or Havnebussen to see many of the important sights around here, including Holmen .

Rosenborg Slotshave Video Guide

Rosenborg Slotshave
The oldest park in Denmark, Kongens Have, was laid out when Christian IV commissioned the building of Rosenborg Castle in 1634. Some parts of the original Renaissance garden are intact. The Baroque 18th century brought several lovely lime tree-lined paths; the 19th century saw the park re-landscaped according to English ideals. Dozens of stunning sculptures adorn the park including one of Hans Christian Andersen, who found inspiration for his fairy tales here. Gardens are open until sunset.

Glyptoteket Video Guide

Glyptoteket
Truly one of the city’s great museums, the Glyptoteket was founded in 1888. The conservatory is in the heart of the museum with its beautiful palm trees and exotic plants. An extension houses classic artwork, including French Impressionists like Monet. Elsewhere, you will find an antiques collection with treasures from the Orient, Egypt, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The Glyptoteket also contains a ceremonial hall which is used for concerts and lectures.

Statens Museum for Kunst Video Guide

Statens Museum for Kunst
This grandiose building was erected in 1889-96 after plans drawn by Wilhelm Dahlerup and G.E.W. M?ller, in Italian Renaissance style. In autumn 1998, an extension was opened that gave the State’s Art Museum the facelift it needed. The architects were Anna Maria Indrio and Mads M?ller. This deeply original new building was constructed in the park behind the original building and is connected to it by a glass-covered walkway, ‘the street of sculptures’. The ’street’ stretches along the full length of the museum, and within it concerts and dance performances are held. The museum contains collections of art dating from the twelfth century. In the older European and Danish collections feast your eyes on paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, Breugel, Rubens, Frans Hals and Rembrandt can be . The modern collection comprises work by Picasso, Braque, Leger, Modigliani and Emil Nolde. Also Danish painters are richly represented, and you can enjoy the styles of Oluf H?st, Edward Weihe, Olaf Rude and Harald Giersing.Statens Museum for Kunst also contains a special museum for children and the Royal Danish Copperplate Collection.

Tycho Brahe Planetariet Video Guide

Tycho Brahe Planetariet
In no time at all this modern building has become the new landmark of Copenhagen, and has contributed to the beauty of the city. It is situated just by Sankt J?rgens S? . The building was erected during the late 1980s, financed by private means. Most importantly the building contains the huge omnimax cinema where films about nature and the universe are shown with computer-graphic and optical techniques, giving the spectator the feeling that he is actually walking by the river in the Grand Canyon or flying in the galaxies. At the Planetarium you can also learn about the development of astronomy from the Middle Ages, when Tycho Brahe lived (1546-1601), until today. The side of the Planetarium that turns towards the lake has become a popular place for the people of Copenhagen to gather during the summer. Inside the Planetarium there is an excellent restaurant called Cassiopeia .