Copenhagen has been the capitol of Denmark since the 15th century and is the largest city in the country, with more than two million people living in the metropilitan area. It also is the governmental, economic and cultural center of the nation, and has a wide variety of museums, theaters and galleries. Despite its size, the city core is compact and easily walkable, where historic buildings mesh seamlessly with spectacular modern Danish architecture, and an endless array of cafes, bars and restaurants line the streets.

From Helsingor, we made an easy 23-mile run south to Copenhagen and were lucky to find a spot right right downtown in the historic canal Nyhavn. As is often our custom, once settled in we made a Lonely Planet-inspired walking tour of the city to take in some of the historic buildings and a few modern ones.

The video below shows our arrival into central Copenhagen on October 7th, 2019, taking in the sights and views on the way to our berth right downtown in historic Nyhavn canal, with pictorial highlights following. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

Middelgrunden Position: 55°45.11’N, 12°38.83’E The Middelgrunden wind farm in the Oresund just east of Copenhagen, produces about 4% of the city’s power. The 20-turbine, 40 MW facility was the largest wind farm in the world when completed in 2000.

Oresund Bridge Position: 55°45.11’N, 12°38.83’E The 5-mile (8km) Oresund Bridge connects the island of Zealand in Denmark to mainland Sweden in conjunction with a 2.5-mile (4km) tunnel. Along with the Great Belt Fixed Link, at connecting the west side of Zealand to the Jutland peninsula, this bridge provides a rail and road connection between Scandinavia and central Europe.

Amager Position: 55°45.11’N, 12°38.83’E The island of Amager visible to our south with several large industrial complexes. The sloped-roof building on the right is the innovative waste-to-energy plant Amager Bakke with a year-round, no-snow ski hill built onto the roof. We’ll get a closer look as we continue south.

North Harbour Redevelopment Position: 55°43.57’N, 12°38.43’E We had to make a detour to clear the new artificial land, not shown on our charts, for the North Harbour Redevelopment project. The development will provide residential, commercial and office space as an extension to the city of Copenhagen.

Welcome Position: 55°43.14’N, 12°38.16’E A ‘Welcome to Copenhagen’ sign at the cruise ship terminal. We’re very excited to finally be arriving and are looking forward to spending time exploring the city.

UNICEF Position: 55°43.01’N, 12°37.88’E The global warehouse and distribution center for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). The building is about the size of three football fields and annually supplies well over $100M worth of goods worldwide.

No Admittance Position: 55°42.53’N, 12°36.78’E We initially were planning to approach Copenhagen through the main channel, but as we neared a sign indicated that pleasure craft could not enter. The sign isn’t visible until quite close, and directs all pleasure craft towards a channel on the left. They are probably trying to separate commercial and recreational traffic during the busy summer months. This is an easy and short diversion.

Trekroner Sofort Position: 55°42.33’N, 12°37.22’E Trekroner Sofort (‘Three Crowns Sea Fort’), completed in the early 18th century, is one of three artificial islands created to defend the entrance to the harbour.

Amager Bakke Position: 55°42.02’N, 12°37.37’E One advantage of the pleasure-craft detour is that we got a close look at Amager Bakke with it’s all-season ski slope clearly visible. Alongside the slope is hiking trails and walking paths. The facility had it’s grand opening this past weekend and we’re looking forward to checking it out in person.

Kastellet Position: 55°41.71’N, 12°36.20’E Looking over the grassy ramparts of the 17th-century fortress Kastellet, with it’s prominent 19th-century windmill. Kastellet is also on our to-do list to visit while we’re in Copenhagen.

Seaplane Position: 55°41.62’N, 12°36.16’E Seaplane base just outside of Copenhagen. Compared to British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast, seaplanes are surprisingly uncommon in the Baltic. This is the first we can recall seeing all year.

Maersk Position: 55°41.52’N, 12°36.13’E The world-wide headquarters of Danish shipping company A.P. Moller – Maersk. We’ve seen many of their ships as we’ve travelled around the world. Most recently we spotted the 1,309 ft (399 m) Magleby Maersk, one of the largest container ships in the world, with a capacity of 18,270 TEUs. As part of Copenhagen’s annual culture night, we were later able to tour the Maersk facility and visit their private museum.

Opera House Position: 55°41.42’N, 12°36.09’E The dramatic Copenhagen Opera House, completed in 2004, is one of the many examples of striking Danish architecture in and around Copenhagen. Also as part of the city’s annual culture night, we were able to tour the building and take in a mini-opera there.

Royal Cast Collection Position: 55°41.32’N, 12°36.05’E Industrial building housing the Royal Cast Collection over over 2,000 plaster casts. It was common practice in the past to make casts of famous statues in order to produce copies that could be distributed to other museums.

Politi Position: 55°40.75’N, 12°35.55’E We had only tied off two lines and were plugging into shore power when the Danish police arrived to check our Schengen immigration status. That was fast—our US ensign definitely attracts the local officials.

Nyhavn Position: 55°40.74’N, 12°35.59’E Dirona moored in historic Nyhavn to spend a week exploring Copenhagen.

Harbourside Position: 55°40.80’N, 12°35.46’E Crowds of people enjoying the sunny weather along Nyhavn. Given it’s mid-week in early October, summer must be really busy.

McJoy’s Choice Position: 55°40.79’N, 12°35.48’E A fun lunch outside along Nyhavn at McJoy’s Choice, within view of Dirona (out of the picture behind the camera).

Canal Tours Position: 55°40.84’N, 12°35.28’E As in Amsterdam, canal tours are popular in Copenhagen. The tour boats also look similar to those in the Dutch capital: wide and low.

Kongens Nytorv Position: 55°40.82’N, 12°35.14’E Statue in Kongens Nytorv (The New King’s Square) of Christian V who laid out the square in 1670 as part of a major expansion of the fortified city. In the winter, a skating rink is built in the square.

Sydbank Position: 55°40.84’N, 12°35.11’E Branch of Sydbank in an historic building off Kongens Nytorv.

Royal Danish Theatre Position: 55°40.78’N, 12°35.11’E The Royal Danish Theatre on Kongens Nytorv was completed in 1874.

Parking Position: 55°40.67’N, 12°34.96’E Many of the buildings in Copenhagen are built around central courtyards. We often see cars parked like this, just inside a narrow passage.

St. Nicholas Church Position: 55°40.72’N, 12°34.86’E St. Nicholas Church, built in the 13th century, is now home to a contemporary art center.

Bishop Absalon Position: 55°40.67’N, 12°34.80’E Statue in Hojbro Plads of Bishop Absalon, who founded Copenhagen in 1167.

Ved Stranden 10 Position: 55°40.63’N, 12°34.89’E Enjoying a glass of wine from the excellent selection at wine bar Ved Stranden 10.

Frederik VII Position: 55°40.58’N, 12°34.88’E Statue of Frederik VII, erected outside Christiansborg Palace in 1873. Frederik VII was king from 1848 to 1863 and is best known for his role in transitioning Denmark from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary system.

Christiansborg Palace Position: 55°40.49’N, 12°34.67’E Christiansborg Palace, now the seat of the Danish Parliament, is the fifth castle built in this location. The first, built in 1167 by Copenhagen’s founder Bishop Absalon, was destroyed in the 1300s. A second castle, completed later in the 14th century, was demolished to make way for Christian IV’s grandiose baroque palace in the late 1700s, the first of three to be called Christiansborg Palace. After a fire destroyed that palace in 1794, another was built in the early 1800s that too succumbed to fire in 1884. The current Christiansborg Palace was built in the early 1900s.

Bollards Position: 55°40.50’N, 12°34.64’E Like a parking garage remote-controlled door, workers leaving Christiansborg Palace can lower the security bollards to drive out.

Royal Library Garden Position: 55°40.48’N, 12°34.87’E The Royal Library Garden, designed in 1920, is a beautiful oasis between Christiansborg Palace and the Royal Library.

The Black Diamond Position: 55°40.37’N, 12°34.83’E The Black Diamond, a striking modern glass and granite extension to the traditional red brick Royal Library building (concealed by scaffolding on the left).

Frederiksholms Kanal Position: 55°40.34’N, 12°34.74’E Canal tour boat heading along Frederiksholms Kanal, dug out in 1681 as part of an extension of Copenhagen’s West Rampart.

BLOX Position: 55°40.39’N, 12°34.70’E The BLOX cultural center, one of many dramatic modern buildings in Copenhagen.

Marble Bridge Position: 55°40.45’N, 12°34.63’E The elegant Rococo-style Marble Bridge leads across Frederiksholms Kanal to Christiansborg Palace. It was completed in the late 1700s as part of the palace construction.

Magstraede Position: 55°40.57’N, 12°34.53’E Magstraede, built in the 1520s, is Copenhagen’s oldest street. The oldest building on the street dates from the 1640s.

Domhuset Position: 55°40.65’N, 12°34.40’E Copenhagen’s District Court Domhuset was completed in 1815 in the Neoclassical style.

Radhus Position: 55°40.56’N, 12°34.15’E Radhus, Copenhagen’s ornate city hall, was built in 1905.

H.C. Anderson Position: 55°40.52’N, 12°34.14’E Statue outside Radhus of prolific Danish author Hans Christian Anderson. He penned plays, novels and poems, but is most famous for his fairy tales that include “The Little Mermaid”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “The Princess and the Pea”.

Scandic Palace Hotel Position: 55°40.58’N, 12°34.16’E The Scandic Palace Hotel, built in 1910 as a hotel for royals and well-heeled local and international guests. Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn and Errol Flynn are among the hotel’s many famous guests.

Drinks Position: 55°40.71’N, 12°34.89’E Enjoying a drink at Restaurant Maven, built into St. Nicholas Church.

Vingaarden Position: 55°40.71’N, 12°34.95’E A delicious meal at Vingaarden overlooking Vingardstraede.

Magasin Du Nord Position: 55°40.79’N, 12°35.17’E Magasin Du Nord, a major department store, occupies the original site of the Hotel du Nord that was built in 1894 in the French Renaissance style.

Nyhavn at Night Position: 55°40.79’N, 12°35.40’E A calm evening in Nyhavn, with the historic pastel-colored buildings reflecting into still waters.

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.