Copenhagen

The Church of Our Saviour and Christiania

In our words, 2019The thrill of climbing the outside spiral staircase, and some of the best views of the city.

We began our first morning at the Church of Our Saviour. Its dark spire, trimmed in gold, has a staircase that spirals up the outside. From the top, Copenhagen spread out below us in red roofs and green copper spires, with the harbour, the Black Diamond and the dome of the Marble Church beyond.

The church is conveniently close to Freetown Christiania. We'd say you should definitely visit, to see a different side of the neat Danish capital. A painted sign arches over the entrance, and we passed a house covered in a bright mural of trees and figures. Christiania has its own rules, written and unwritten, and the main ones are in our tips below.

Kastellet and the Little Mermaid

That afternoon we walked round Kastellet, the old fortress. Through an archway we saw its long red barracks. We followed the grassy ramparts above the moat and found a black windmill. There's a memorial too: a grey stone wall carved with the words "En tid, et sted, et menneske" and the names of countries, with a flame burning in a niche.

Down by the water, the Little Mermaid sat on her rock looking out over the harbour as a tour boat went by.

Rosenborg and the Round Tower

In our words, 2019The abundance of greenery forms a perfect relaxing spot around the castle.

Late in the afternoon we reached Rosenborg Castle, red brick with green copper spires, behind its moat. The gardens around it are full of green: lawns, clipped box hedges, roses and lavender, with a gull picking through the grass.

From the top of the Round Tower we looked out over the rooftops, past a green copper spire, all the way to the Øresund Bridge.

That afternoon a just-married couple rode past in a rickshaw, trailing pastel balloons, and the bride, joyous and fun, gave a thumbs up. We wished them a lifetime of happiness.

Along the harbour

In our words, 2019The stroll around the waterfront from the Opera House to Nyhavn is filled with beautiful buildings to relax and admire.

We kept coming back to the water. The Opera House sits across the harbour under its wide, flat roof, with speedboats cutting past in front. At sunset the Black Diamond stood dark against a glowing sky.

Nyhavn's tall houses line the canal in red, blue, yellow and orange, and in the evening the tables along the water were packed. On our walks we passed new glass buildings, old brick warehouses and a cruise ship with giant painted lips on its bow.

The cafés were quirky too: one had a wall of old film photos, another a dark wall of books.

City Hall and Christiansborg

In our words, 2019The City Hall square is a hangout place for locals, and a chill-out zone to see the world pass by.

On our second afternoon, in front of the Danish parliament, we found a sculpture of a polar bear impaled on a pole, put there to highlight the impact of global warming. Christiansborg Palace stands behind a wide square, its tower rising over the middle.

Then we went on to City Hall Square, with the red-brick City Hall and its tall clock tower. Nearby, two bronze horn blowers stand on top of a column.

Amalienborg and the Marble Church

Late on our second afternoon we walked through Amalienborg. Palace façades surround a big cobbled square, with an equestrian statue on a tall plinth in the middle and red sentry boxes by the doors.

From the fountain beside the palaces, the view runs straight between them to the green copper dome of the Marble Church. Up close, the dome sits above a portico of tall columns.