Danish architects and designers have long been internationally known for their innovative and striking creations. The iconic Sydney Opera House, for example, was designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon. Copenhagen, of course, is full of spectacular examples of their work and a great way to see many of them is from the water.

On our fourth day in Copenhagen, we carefully launched the tender past a busy sidewalk and made a tour of the city’s waterways, through historic canals lined with centuries-old buildings, and past dozens of dramatic modern structures. We finished the day with a walk up 114ft (34.8m) Rundetarn (the “Round Tower”), a 17th-century observatory with great views of the city.

Below are trip highlights from October 10th, 2019 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 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.

Nyhavn Position: 55°40.75’N, 12°35.55’E The morning sun lighting up the historic buildings along Nyhavn behind our berth.

Gota Canal Position: 58°29.89’N, 16°15.69’E While we were taking a picture of our approach to the Vannegerga Bridge, Egon Behlert was standing at the water’s edge near his silver camping van taking a picture of us as we passed through. He tracked us down and just sent us this photo that reminds us of how tight it was in there for Dirona. Thanks to Egon for passing along this picture.

Launching Tender Position: 55°40.75’N, 12°35.54’E Launching the tender for a canal tour of Copenhagen. This was a little tricky with a busy sidewalk so close to the boat deck level. We had to be careful to keep the tender away from the occupied sidewalk as we swung it around from the starboard to the port side.

Canal Tour Position: 55°40.58’N, 12°35.01’E Passing under one of the low bridges in Frederiksholms Kanal at the start of a Copenhagen canal tour by tender.

Holmens Kirke Position: 55°40.56’N, 12°35.04’E The south side of Dutch Renaissance-style church Holmens Kirke, built in 1641.

Tour Boat Position: 55°40.54’N, 12°35.18’E You can see why the Copenhagen canal tour boats are so wide and low—they need to be to clear the bridges.

Black Diamond Position: 55°40.37’N, 12°34.93’E View from the water to the Black Diamond modern extension to the Royal Library.

Marble Bridge Position: 55°40.50’N, 12°34.60’E Detail of a lion on the iconic Marble Bridge that crosses leads across Frederiksholms Kanal to the courtyard of Christiansborg Palace.

Pavilion Position: 55°40.50’N, 12°34.60’E Ornate sculptures above one of the two pavilions where the Marble Bridge meets Christiansborg Palace.

Nybrogade Position: 55°40.58’N, 12°34.61’E Historic buildings overlooking Frederiksholms Kanal along Nybrogade.

BLOX Position: 55°40.25’N, 12°34.72’E View from the water to the BLOX cultural center.

Kalvebod Bolge Position: 55°40.02’N, 12°34.34’E Kalvebod Bolge is an extension to the waterfront with promenades at different levels and providing space for a variety of water activities such as kayaking and swimming.

IDA Building Position: 55°39.91’N, 12°34.19’E One of many dramatic modern buildings we saw on our canal tour: the headquarters for IDA, the Danish Society of Engineers.

Float Home Position: 55°39.89’N, 12°34.10’E Striking float home along the Copenhagen waterfront. It’s Premier real-estate, if not for the absence of land. We wonder what permissions are required to put a float home along the waterway..

Swedbank Position: 55°39.82’N, 12°33.94’E The headquarters for Swedbank in Copenhagen, a branch of the Swedish company Swedbank AB.

Cykelslangen Position: 55°39.75’N, 12°33.85’E Passing under the Cykelslangen (Cycling Snake), a dedicated raised cycling path between Fisketorvet Shopping Center and Brygge Bridge.

Atrium Position: 55°39.71’N, 12°33.78’E Spiral staircase inside a glass-enclosed atrium.

Fisketorvet Position: 55°39.67’N, 12°33.72’E The Fisketorvet Shopping Center opposite a small canal from modern office buildings.

Aller House Position: 55°39.77’N, 12°33.99’E The spectacular Aller House is the headquarters of Aller Media, a magazine publisher in the Nordic countries.

Havneholmen Position: 55°39.52’N, 12°33.88’E The striking Havneholmen apartment buildings.

H. C. Orsted Power Station Position: 55°39.22’N, 12°33.61’E The H. C. Orsted Power Station was the largest in Denmark when it came online in 1920 and was coal-fueled until converted to natural gas in 1994. The Danish-built Burmeister & Wain diesel engine installed in a 1932 expansion was the largest in the world for about 30 years. The engine, still in place as a museum exhibit, is 80ft (24.6) long, 41feet (12.5m) high and weighs 1400 tons.

MAN Energy Solutions Position: 55°39.09’N, 12°33.53’E The Danish headquarters for MAN Energy Solutions. MAN is a leading supplier of marine engines and, according to company literature, “one in every two ships plying the world’s oceans is powered by a MAN diesel engine.” MAN builds both two and four-stroke engines, and two-stroke engines are developed at this facility.

Gemini Residence Position: 55°39.72’N, 12°34.10’E Gemini Residence is an apartment building created by converting two former seed silos.

Apartments Position: 55°39.77’N, 12°34.19’E Another apartment building that appears to have been converted from a set of former silos.

Copenhagen Harbour Baths Position: 55°40.15’N, 12°34.67’E The Copenhagen Harbour Baths, an outdoor swimming pool on the island of Brygge. Even on a cold October day people were swimming there.

Circle Bridge Position: 55°40.33’N, 12°35.05’E The Circle Bridge pedestrian bridge, made with intersecting circles and poles resembling ship’s masts, a nod to the cities maritime past.

Christianshavns Canal Position: 55°40.41’N, 12°35.56’E Sun-dappled buildings in Christianshavns Canal.

Wide Load Position: 55°40.41’N, 12°35.56’E We had to pull over to make room for this canal boat to pass. At this location, you couldn’t have passed this tour boat in a canoe.

Dirona Position: 55°40.73’N, 12°35.79’E View to Dirona at Nyhavn as we continue our tender tour east of our berth.

Opera House Position: 55°40.93’N, 12°35.90’E The dramatic Copenhagen Opera House.

HDMS Najaden Position: 55°40.98’N, 12°35.86’E The Danish navy Diana-class patrol vessel HDMS Najaden

Marmorkirken Position: 55°40.98’N, 12°35.79’E The impressive dome of 18th-century Marmokirken was based on St. Peter’s in Rome and is the largest church dome in Scandanavia.

HDMS Peder Skram Position: 55°41.35’N, 12°36.02’E The 369-ft (112.65 m) Danish frigate HDMS Peder Skram at Holmen Navy Yard. This ship, launched in 1965 and decommissioned in 1990, is CODOG-powered (combined diesel and gas) to allow efficient low-speed operation using diesel reciprocating engines but still deliver high speeds using powerful gas turbine engines.

Trekroner Sofort Position: 55°41.65’N, 12°36.02’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.

Langelinie Lystbadehavns Badelav Position: 55°41.65’N, 12°35.99’E Langelinie Lystbadehavns Badelav, a small boat harbour northeast of the Copenhagen city center.

AIDAmar Position: 55°41.72’N, 12°36.02’E The cruise ship AIDAmar moored at Copenhagen.

Alm Brand Position: 55°41.88’N, 12°35.94’E The beautiful Alm Brand headquarters building. The Danish insurance and financial services company was founded in 1792.

The Genetically Modified Paradise Position: 55°41.94’N, 12°35.91’E Danish professor Bjorn Norgaard created a sculpture group called “The Genetically Modified Paradise,” designed to be a “provocative and humorous look at postmodern society”. The set includes a genetically modified Little Mermaid, in the water at left, based on the city’s famous statue.

Pearl Seaways Position: 55°41.99’N, 12°35.87’E DFDS Seaways ship Pearl Seaways at the Port of Copenhagen. The company operates freight and passenger services throughout Northern Europe.

Pier47 Position: 55°42.13’N, 12°35.92’E The innovative office complex and workspace Pier47.

Portland Towers Position: 55°42.22’N, 12°36.12’E Portland Towers, an office complex created from former silos owned by the cement company Aalborg Portland. We’re really loving the architecture in Copenhagen.

Low Fuel Position: 55°41.87’N, 12°36.13’E Here we have 0.1 gallons remaining, but the good news is we’re averaging 5.6nm/gallon and we’re only a couple of miles away from Dirona. We also carry 1.25 gallons of emergency fuel with us on all trips.

Refshaleoen Position: 55°41.40’N, 12°36.26’E Sculptures on the wharf at Refshaleoen, a former shipyard now converted to creative and recreational uses.

Float Homes Position: 55°41.40’N, 12°36.26’E Beautiful glass float homes at Refshaleoen.

Naval Station Holmen Position: 55°41.39’N, 12°36.15’E Naval Station Holmen reflects its 17th-century founding.

Nyhavn 33 Position: 55°40.80’N, 12°35.38’E A delicious late lunch at Nyhavn 33 where the paintings on the wall were painted directly onto the wall.

Viggo Horup Position: 55°41.00’N, 12°34.84’E Statue of Viggo Horup, a leading advocate for parliamentary government in Denmark. The statue is in the corner of Kongens Have (King’s Garden) adjacent to Rosenberg castle, and are one of the oldest gardens in Copenhagen, dating from the 17th century.

Rosenborg Castle Position: 55°41.04’N, 12°34.55’E Rosenborg Castle, one of Christian IV’s many architectural projects, was built in the Dutch Renaissance in the 17th century and was a royal residence until 1710. The castle has been open to the public since 1838 and houses the Royal Collection of Danish cultural items from the late 16th to the 19th century.

Bicycles Position: 55°40.95’N, 12°34.31’E Copenhagen is the only city we’ve been in that even comes close to Amsterdam for cycling. Cyclists pass our berth at Nyhavn as frequently as they did in Amsterdam and we see bicycles everywhere in the city.

Kultorvet Position: 55°40.92’N, 12°34.48’E Fountain in Kultorvet (the “Coal Market”) an old public square created in 1728 where coal once was traded.

Rundetarn Position: 55°40.88’N, 12°34.54’E Christian IV built the 114ft (34.8m) Rundetarn (the “Round Tower”) in the 17th century as an observatory.

Ramp Position: 55°40.88’N, 12°34.55’E Rather than stairs, a ramp leads up to the top of the tower, and to the church and library. The design allows a horse-drawn carriage to transport library books and heavy or sensitive observatory equipment.

View Position: 55°40.88’N, 12°34.56’E Great view across Copenhagen from the top of Rundetarn. The spire in the distance, slightly left of center, is Christiansborg Palace.

Around the Moon Position: 55°40.89’N, 12°34.56’E We spent some time in the Danish Astronautical Society’s excellent exhibit “Around the Moon” in Rundetarn, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landing on the moon.

Trinitatis Church Position: 55°40.88’N, 12°34.55’E At the rear, Rundetarn is attached to spectacular Trinitatis Church. They were built together as part of a project that also included a library.

Grabrodretorv Position: 55°40.78’N, 12°34.54’E Copenhagen’s square Grabrodretorv dates from the 13th century, when a Franciscan friary was established there.

Niels Hemmingsens Gade Position: 55°40.80’N, 12°34.57’E Historic pastel-painted buildings along Niels Hemmingsens Gade off Grabrodretorv.

Vingaarden Position: 55°40.70’N, 12°34.94’E A light meal at Vingaarden. Their focaccia is superb.

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.