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Home Page > Travelogues > Denmark > Copenhagen (a.k.a. København)

Available chapters in this travelogue:  [ Kastellet and Mermaid ] [ Radhuisplad and Rosenborg ] [ Christianborg and Nyhavn ]

There were two words that describe the city of København (Copenhagen in its Anglicized form) in my mind -- and they weren't 'Little Mermaid', the famous seaside sculpture of the renowned Hans Christian Andersen character.  They were 'eye candy', because København is loaded with beautiful sights, and because its downtown was one of best mixes I've seen of exquisite shopping, marina life, royal grandeur, and fine art.  It's also not too often that you see old red brick buildings in wonderful shape.

Copenhagen was one of my favorite capital cities, but I was fortunate to visit it during unusually good weather in October, a month that would normally find Denmark chilly and windy.  Not only did the weather bring out lots of people that weekend, it was also the weekend when Denmark was playing Iceland to clinch a berth in the World Cup 2002 Finals (they won that Saturday evening by a convincing 6-0 score).  Hence, much of my visit was conducted while moving in and around crowds upon crowds of crazed but well-behaved Danish soccer fans (or just crazed Danes, I didn't know whether soccer was truly taking precedence over beer among them). 

This travelogue covers most of the downtown, but hardly all of it.  The three chapters are divided geographically, as the map at right depicts.  The first chapter is the Kastellet and Mermaid chapter, focusing on the northern corner of the area I visited.  Because it contains the Little Mermaid sculpture, this chapter covers the part that most foreign tourists would visit.  The second chapter covers the largest sector.  Called the Radhuisplad and Rosenborg, it covers both the commercial districts downtown and the highly popular Rosenborg Slot (castle) that was a superb royal museum.  The third chapter covers the Christianborg and Nyhavn that incorporates much of the government area and the Nyhavn itself -- Copenhagen's famed interior canal and restaurant district.  Because I stayed west of the river, I missed sights such as the Danish Royal Naval Museum and the Gammel Dok (Old Dock) districts.  I also did not visit the Tivoli, Copenhagen's famous amusement park.

We hope you enjoy this travelogue and certainly we'd recommend visiting the city if you have the chance.

Available chapters in this travelogue:  [ Kastellet and Mermaid ] [ Radhuisplad and Rosenborg ] [ Christianborg and Nyhavn ]

Trip taken 6-7 October 2001 -- Page Last Updated 08 April 2006 -- (C) 2001 Tom Galvin