This self-guided walking tour has 9 stops, covers about 2.8 km, takes roughly 50 minutes, running from Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) to Amalienborg Palace. Below is the full written guide for every stop — the same narration you hear on the live GPS audio tour above, so you can read it now or follow along on the ground.
Welcome to Copenhagen. You're standing on Rådhuspladsen, the city's main civic square, dominated by the redbrick City Hall completed in 1905 by architect Martin Nyrop. The bronze figure on the corner balcony is Bishop Absalon, who founded Copenhagen as a small fishing village in 1167 — the city's old name, Køpmannæhafn, means 'merchants' harbour'. The seated statue across the square is Hans Christian Andersen, the most famous Dane of all, looking wistfully toward Tivoli Gardens. The famous Jens Olsen World Clock inside the City Hall, completed in 1955, tracks time with such accuracy that one of its dials will turn just once every 25,753 years. Walk south along H.C. Andersens Boulevard toward Tivoli's entrance.
The wide boulevard you're crossing is named after Hans Christian Andersen — Denmark's celebrated 19th-century author of The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Emperor's New Clothes. He arrived in Copenhagen as a poor 14-year-old in 1819, slept in parks, and rose to become one of Europe's most translated writers. Denmark celebrates him every year on April 2nd, his birthday, which is also International Children's Book Day. To your right you can see the spires of Copenhagen's old town.
You're at the entrance to Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest amusement park in the world, opened in 1843. Walt Disney visited multiple times in the 1950s and is said to have drawn direct inspiration for Disneyland from Tivoli's mix of fairy-tale architecture, gardens, music, and dining. Founder Georg Carstensen famously told King Christian VIII, 'When the people are amusing themselves, they do not think about politics.' Inside are wooden roller coasters from 1914 still in use, a Chinese-inspired pagoda, and a saltwater lake originally built into the city's medieval defensive moat. At Christmas, the gardens transform into one of Europe's most beautiful festive markets. Head north on Vesterbrogade toward Strøget.
You're now entering the medieval heart of Copenhagen. Until 1864, this whole district was enclosed by city walls and four gates — Vesterport, the Western Gate, stood roughly where you are now. The walls were finally torn down to allow Copenhagen to expand. The boulevards you're walking on — Vesterbrogade, H.C. Andersens Boulevard — were laid out on top of the old fortifications, which is why they're so wide compared to the narrow streets ahead.
You're approaching Strøget — Copenhagen's main pedestrian street and one of the longest pedestrian-only shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 kilometres. Strøget literally means 'the strip'. It was closed to cars in 1962 as a six-month experiment that proved so popular it became permanent — a model copied by cities worldwide. Today it links four squares: Rådhuspladsen, Gammeltorv, Amagertorv, and Kongens Nytorv.
This square, Gammeltorv, is the oldest in Copenhagen, dating from the 12th century. The fountain in the middle — the Caritas Fountain — was built in 1608 by King Christian IV and is the oldest still-working fountain in the country. On royal birthdays it still flows with golden apples (gold-painted, sadly, not real). The matching square just east of here, Nytorv, was historically used for public executions; the marks where the scaffold once stood are still set into the cobblestones. The classical building between them is the Domhuset, Copenhagen's main courthouse, designed in 1815 by C.F. Hansen — its inscription reads 'With Law Shall the Land Be Built'. Continue east, then turn left onto Købmagergade toward the Round Tower.
As you walk Købmagergade — 'Merchant Street' — you're following one of the medieval main streets. The shops here have been retail spaces for over 600 years. Look up: many buildings show their original red-brick fronts from the 1700s, with their characteristic stepped Dutch gables. Copenhagen famously survived major fires in 1728 and 1795 that destroyed much of the medieval city, which is why most 'historic' buildings here actually date from the late 1700s rebuild.
The Round Tower, completed in 1642 under King Christian IV, is one of the oldest observatories in Europe still in active use. Inside, instead of stairs, there's a 209-metre spiral ramp — wide and gentle enough that the king reportedly rode his horse to the top. Peter the Great of Russia did the same in 1716 during a state visit. From the top platform, you get one of Copenhagen's best views over the old city. The tower is attached to Trinity Church and once housed Denmark's first major astronomical observatory; astronomer Ole Rømer, who first calculated the speed of light here in the 1670s, used these instruments. Continue east on Købmagergade and Læderstræde toward Højbro Plads.
The little lanes you're walking through — Læderstræde, Kompagnistræde, Snaregade — were the merchants' quarter of medieval Copenhagen. The names tell the trades: Læderstræde means 'Leather Street', where tanners worked; Snaregade was the rope-makers' lane. Notice the colourful 18th-century townhouses — many were built after the 1795 fire that destroyed about a third of the medieval city. The narrow car-free streets here are some of the most photogenic in Copenhagen, especially at dusk.
Højbro Plads is one of the busiest squares in Copenhagen, defined by the bronze Stork Fountain (Storkespringvandet) installed in 1894 — a gift from Copenhagen's bicycle-makers' guild to the city. The fountain has become a tradition: newly qualified Danish midwives traditionally dance around it on graduation day. Across the canal you can see Slotsholmen — 'Castle Island' — where Bishop Absalon built his first fortress in 1167, founding the city. The equestrian statue at the canal's edge is Absalon himself, gazing west toward the centre he created. Walk south across Højbro Bridge toward Christiansborg Palace.
Look down into the canal — those green-tinged copper towers and steeples reflected in the water are the calling card of Copenhagen's skyline. There are no skyscrapers in the historic centre by law: nothing may be built higher than the spires. To your right, the twisted dragon-tail spire belongs to Børsen, the old Stock Exchange. Tragically, in April 2024, Børsen's spire was destroyed in a major fire — only the lower section survives — but the city has pledged to rebuild it exactly as it stood for 400 years.
Christiansborg is the seat of the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister's Office — making it the only building in the world that houses all three branches of a country's government under one roof. Three previous palaces stood here and all three burned down: the medieval castle of Bishop Absalon, the 18th-century palace of Christian VI, and the 19th-century palace of Christian VIII. The current building, completed in 1928, is the fourth. Underneath, you can still visit the ruins of Absalon's original 1167 fortress. The palace's 106-metre tower is the tallest in central Copenhagen and is open to the public — completely free. Walk east on Slotsholmsgade.
The bridges crossing the canals around Slotsholmen — Marble Bridge, Højbro, Holmens Bridge — date from the 1740s and were designed to let warships sail right up to the palace gates. Today these waters are home to canal tour boats, kayakers, and even harbour swimmers — Copenhagen's harbour is one of the cleanest urban harbours in the world. Locals swim here at the Islands Brygge harbour baths from May through October.
This long Dutch Renaissance building is Børsen, the old Copenhagen Stock Exchange, commissioned by Christian IV between 1619 and 1640. It's one of the oldest stock exchanges in Europe, though today it houses the Danish Chamber of Commerce. The most famous feature is the dragon-tail spire — four dragon tails twisted together, topped by three crowns symbolising the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Tragically, on April 16, 2024, a massive fire destroyed the spire and the upper section of Børsen — heartbroken Copenhageners formed human chains to rescue centuries-old paintings from the burning building. Reconstruction is underway and the spire will rise again. Now continue northeast along Holbergsgade toward Nyhavn.
You're walking between the canal and Copenhagen's harbour. To your left, modern apartment buildings and the Royal Library's 'Black Diamond' extension. To your right, the inner harbour where royal ships once docked. Coming up ahead is Copenhagen's most photographed location — Nyhavn, the colourful harbour-front canal that appears on every postcard, magnet, and Instagram feed about Denmark. Hans Christian Andersen lived in three different houses along this canal during his life — numbers 20, 67, and 18.
Welcome to Nyhavn — 'New Harbour' — though it was actually dug by Swedish prisoners of war between 1670 and 1675 to give merchant ships direct access to the city centre. The bright townhouses date from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. For most of its history, Nyhavn was a rough sailors' district full of taverns, tattoo parlours, and brothels. It cleaned up in the 1970s and is now Copenhagen's most beloved tourist street. The wooden ship moored permanently in the canal is Lightship Gedser Rev, built in 1895. Number 9 — the small dark-red house — is the oldest building in Nyhavn, dating from 1681. Walk north along Bredgade toward Amalienborg Palace.
You're heading into Frederiksstaden — the elegant 18th-century royal district planned by King Frederick V in 1748 to mark the 300th anniversary of the Oldenburg dynasty. The neighbourhood is laid out on a strict octagonal plan around Amalienborg Palace. The streets are wider, the buildings grander and more uniform than in medieval Copenhagen. To your left, the green copper dome you see is the Marble Church (Marmorkirken), inspired by St. Peter's in Rome — though it took 145 years to finish because the project ran out of money in 1770 and the building stood as a roofless ruin until 1894.
You've reached Amalienborg — the official residence of Denmark's royal family since 1794 — and the end of this walking tour. The four identical rococo palaces around the octagonal courtyard were built in the 1750s as homes for four noble families and acquired by the crown after Christiansborg burned down. Each palace is named after a king. The royal guards, Den Kongelige Livgarde, in their bearskin hats and blue uniforms, change every day at noon, marching from Rosenborg Castle through the streets. Across the harbour, the modern Opera House — opened in 2005 and designed by Henning Larsen — was a 100th-birthday gift from shipping magnate Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller to the Danish people. Tak for turen — thanks for the walk.