Nyhavn to the Little Mermaid walk: from Kongens Nytorv along the harbour to Amalienborg, Kastellet and Østerport, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Copenhagen. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at Kongens Nytorv metro and finish at Østerport station: 4.8 km, about an hour and 20 minutes of walking and half a day with the visits. Go Tuesday to Thursday, and be at Amalienborg by 11:45: the guard changes there at noon every day, free. The Amalienborg Museum is DKK 125 online and closed on Mondays from 1 November to 23 December. Frederik’s Church opens at 12:00 on Fridays and 13:00 on Sundays, and its dome visits are cancelled during roof repairs. Kastellet is open 6:00 to 20:00 in the winter half, and St Alban’s Church is closed to visitors from October to March. The Little Mermaid is 1.25 metres tall. Or book a tour: the walking tour with a canal ride and the guard marchad is from DKK 289.

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The route runs north-east from Kongens Nytorv down the length of Nyhavn, up the harbour front to Amalienborg and the Marble Church, then north along Bredgade to the Gefion Fountain and out along Langelinie to the Little Mermaid. It comes back through Kastellet to Østerport. Nyhavn, Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid each have a page for the sight alone; this is the route that joins them. Prices are the adult rate in kroner from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories, and none of these includes entry to the sights above unless it says so. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Copenhagen: Walking Tour with Canal Ride & Royal Guard Marchad: from DKK 289, 4.8 stars from 96 reviews, 2.5 hours. It takes in the Marble Church, a ride on the harbour ferry and the guard march.
• Walk & Canal Tour: Copenhagen Highlights + Changing of the Guardad: from DKK 500, 4.7 stars from 186 reviews, 3 hours. It combines a walk with a 25-minute public ferry ride on the main canal and ends at the royal palace for the guard.
• Copenhagen Walking Tour: Politically Incorrect Introad: from DKK 165, 4.8 stars from 1,550 reviews, 2 hours. It is a sightseeing walk with a dose of comedy that takes in Nyhavn and the Amalienborg palaces.
• Copenhagen Free Walking Tours runs a Little Mermaid and Harbor Tour on tips at 14:30 on Saturdays from Amaliegade 14, ending in the King’s Garden, and its Grand Tour ends at Amalienborg. Copenhagen walking tours compares the free and paid walks.

1. Kongens Nytorv

Free · always open · metro M1, M2, M3 and M4

The walk starts at the metro station on Kongens Nytorv, the only station where all four lines meet and the end of the old town walk. Christian V laid out the square in 1670, and the Royal Danish Theatre’s Old Stage, opened in 1874, stands on it. If you come from the airport, the M2 reaches here in about 15 minutes.

Walk east to the head of Nyhavn on the square’s east side: 490 m to the middle of the canal.

2. Nyhavn

Free · always open · canal boat DKK 80, an hour · Nyhavn 1 to 71

Nyhavn was dug between 1671 and 1673 by soldiers and Swedish prisoners of war as an inner harbour for Christian V, and it was a sailors’ quarter until the 1970s. The painted houses now hold cafes and restaurants. Hans Christian Andersen lived at Nos 20, 67 and 18.

• Canal boats leave from the quay. The Netto-Bådene blue boats are DKK 80 for an hour, with no booking, and from 1 November run from 10:20 to about 15:00 in glass-roofed, heated boats. Nyhavn and Copenhagen’s canal tours compare the operators.
• Told & Snaps is at the east end of the canal, for lunch: see below.

Walk along the quay to its harbour end and on to the Playhouse: 430 m.

3. The Royal Playhouse and the harbourfront

Free · always open · Sankt Annæ Plads

The Royal Danish Playhouse is the Royal Danish Theatre’s drama stage, designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg in brown brick and glass, with a glazed foyer along the water. About 40 per cent of the building projects over the harbour, and the waterfront promenade is a raised oak walkway 150 metres long beside it. It won a RIBA European Award in 2008. Across the water to the east stands the Copenhagen Opera House.

The Royal Danish Playhouse from the water. Photo: Matthias Schalk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Walk north along the harbour and Amaliegade to Amalienborg: 450 m.

4. Amalienborg

Square free · museum DKK 125 online, DKK 135 at the door · guard at 12:00 daily · Amalienborg Slotsplads

Amalienborg is four identical palaces round an octagonal square, built from 1750 as the centre of the Frederiksstaden district. The royal family has lived in them since 1794 and the palaces remain its residence. Jacques Saly’s equestrian statue of Frederik V stands at the middle of the square, unveiled on 1 August 1771.

The guard changes at 12:00 every day, free. The Royal House says the daily parade of the King’s Guard leaves the barracks on Gothersgade at 11:27, passes the Round Tower and Kongens Nytorv, and marches in just before 12:00, when the Band of the Royal Life Guard plays. That form is set only when the King resides at Amalienborg; if he is at another palace or on the royal yacht, a Palace Guard is set and the parade is smaller. The Royal House gives no way to check in advance. The retiring guard marches home past Frederik’s Church and Store Kongensgade. Stand in the green areas on the square’s map, 1.5 metres from the palace buildings. The changing of the guard has the ceremony in full.

• The Amalienborg Museum is in Christian VIII’s Palace. It is DKK 125 online and DKK 135 at the door, open daily 10:00 to 16:00 until 1 November, then Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 16:00 and closed on Mondays until 23 December. The Royal Palace Pass, DKK 245 online, also covers Rosenborg and Christiansborg.
• The Amalie Garden, the public park between the palaces and the harbour, opened in 1983.

Walk west along Frederiksgade to the church: 410 m.

5. Frederik’s Church

Free · Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 17:00, Friday 12:00 to 17:00, Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday 13:00 to 17:00 · Frederiksgade 4

Frederik’s Church, called the Marble Church, was the centre of Frederik V’s new district. Its foundation stone was laid in 1749, the building stood unfinished for more than a century, and it was consecrated on 19 August 1894. The circular nave is about 46 metres high and the dome is 31 metres across.

The painted dome of Frederik’s Church, seen from the nave. Photo: Gerda Arendt, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

The church is free and is not open for sightseeing during services, concerts or rehearsals. High mass is on Sundays at 10:30. It closes on 21, 28 and 29 November, opens only from 13:00 on 14 November, and opens from 15:30 on 31 October. Scaffolding stands beside the main door while the front porch roof is repaired, and the church expects the work to end at the close of the year.

• The dome is normally visited on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:30 for DKK 50 (children up to 12 free), in groups of up to 15 with no advance tickets. The church says dome visits are cancelled during the roof repairs. Copenhagen’s viewpoints compares the other towers.

Walk north along Bredgade to Esplanaden and Churchillparken: 860 m.

6. The Gefion Fountain and St Alban’s

Free · fountain always · church closed to visitors October to March · Churchillparken

The Gefion Fountain shows the goddess Gefjon driving four oxen, her sons, who in the myth plough the island of Zealand out of Sweden. Anders Bundgaard modelled the figures from 1897 to 1899, the Carlsberg Foundation gave the fountain to the city, and it first ran on 14 July 1908.

St Alban’s, beside it, is the Anglican church, built in 1885 to 1887 to a Gothic Revival design by Arthur Blomfield. Its visitor hours are Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 13:00 and Sunday 13:00 to 16:00 from April to September, and it is closed to visitors from October to March.

St Alban’s Church across the basin of the Gefion Fountain. Photo: Marco Almbauer, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

• Lumskebugten is 110 m away on Esplanaden, for lunch: see below.

Follow Langelinie north along the water to the Little Mermaid: 490 m.

7. The Little Mermaid

Free · always open · Langelinie

The Little Mermaid is a bronze 1.25 metres tall and 175 kilograms, sitting on a rock at the water’s edge. Edvard Eriksen made her and she was unveiled on 23 August 1913, a gift from the brewer Carl Jacobsen, who had been moved by a ballet of Hans Christian Andersen’s story. The crowd round her rock is part of the sight. From 16 July to 31 August the Netto-Bådene boats add a departure from a bridge beside her. The Little Mermaid has the story and the damage she has taken.

Walk back along the water to Kastellet’s north gate, the Norgesporten: 440 m.

8. Kastellet

Free · daily 6:00 to 20:00 in the winter half, 6:00 to 22:00 in the summer half · church daily 8:00 to 18:00

Kastellet, the Citadel, was built from 1662 to 1665 by the Dutch engineer Henrik Rüse for Frederik III, and its first soldiers marched in on 28 October 1664, which Kastellet keeps as its birthday. The earthen rampart is 1,750 metres long with five bastions. It is still a military barracks, so visitors keep to the roads and paths and walk on the ramparts. Kastelskirken, the garrison church of 1704, is open to visitors every day from 8:00 to 18:00.

The bridge to Kastellet’s Norgesporten, with the red barracks seen through the gate. Photo: discosour, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Enter by the Norgesporten, walk the main road south through the middle to the Kongeporten, the main gate (about 270 m), and leave towards Esplanaden.

9. Østerport station

Metro M3 and M4, S-trains and regional trains

From the Kongeporten the station is about 1 km. The metro runs round the clock, and the M3 and M4 return to Kongens Nytorv and Rådhuspladsen.

• Next: the old town walk ends at Kongens Nytorv, where this one starts.

Where to eat

Told & Snaps

Toldbodgade 2 · Sunday to Thursday 11:30 to 16:00, Friday and Saturday 11:30 to 17:00 · lunch every day

Classic smørrebrød, the open rye sandwich, in a restaurant at the east end of Nyhavn, under 100 m off the walk at the second stop. Smørrebrød in Copenhagen compares the others.

Lumskebugten

Esplanaden 21 · lunch Monday to Saturday from 11:30 (last arrival 15:00), Sunday from 12:00 (last arrival 14:00) · dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 18:00 · closed 23, 24 and 31 December

A restaurant on Esplanaden, 110 m from the Gefion Fountain at the sixth stop. Where to eat in Copenhagen has the restaurants.

The best day to go

The timing that works, on a Tuesday to Thursday: start at Kongens Nytorv at 10:00, walk Nyhavn and the Playhouse, and reach Amalienborg’s square by 11:45 for the noon guard. Visit the museum afterwards, see the Marble Church after lunch, and reach the Gefion Fountain, the Little Mermaid and Kastellet in the afternoon.

What closes:

• Mondays from 1 November to 23 December: the Amalienborg Museum.
• Fridays before 12:00 and Sundays before 13:00: Frederik’s Church. Sunday’s 10:30 service has no sightseeing.
• October to March: St Alban’s Church, to visitors.
• Now: the dome of Frederik’s Church, during its roof repairs.
• After 20:00 in the winter half: Kastellet.
• 21, 28 and 29 November: Frederik’s Church.
• 24 and 25 December: the Amalienborg Museum.

What does not close: Nyhavn, the harbour front, the Little Mermaid, the Gefion Fountain and the guard, which changes every day at noon.

Getting there and back

• To the start: Kongens Nytorv metro station (M1, M2, M3, M4) is on the square. Copenhagen public transport has the zones and fares.
• From the end: Østerport station has the metro M3 and M4 and S-trains and regional trains.
• Halfway: the Marmorkirken metro station (M3, M4) is at the Marble Church, for a shorter day.
• In reverse: start at Østerport and finish at Kongens Nytorv, but then you reach Amalienborg after the noon guard unless you start early.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The old town: the old town walk ends at Kongens Nytorv, where this one starts.
• The palaces: Rosenborg and Christiansborg share the Royal Palace Pass with the Amalienborg Museum.
• The water: Copenhagen’s canal tours compares the boats from Nyhavn.
• Guided walks: Copenhagen walking tours sets the free tours against the paid ones.
• The days: 3 days in Copenhagen fits these sights onto the days they are open, and what to book before you go to Copenhagen has the closed days for every sight.
• Where to sleep: hotels near Nyhavn lists hotels by distance from the quay, and where to stay in Copenhagen compares the areas.

Common questions

How long is the walk from Nyhavn to the Little Mermaid?

4.8 km from Kongens Nytorv to Østerport station, measured along the streets: about an hour and 20 minutes of walking. The Little Mermaid is at the 3.1 km mark, and the way back to Østerport through Kastellet is 1.7 km. The visits fill half a day, with the Amalienborg Museum the longest.

Which day is best for the Nyhavn to Little Mermaid walk?

Tuesday to Thursday. The Amalienborg Museum is closed on Mondays from 1 November to 23 December, Frederik's Church opens at 12:00 on Fridays and 13:00 on Sundays, and the guard changes at Amalienborg at noon every day. Plan to reach the square by 11:45.

When does the guard change at Amalienborg?

At 12:00 every day. When the King is at Amalienborg the King's Guard parade leaves the barracks beside Rosenborg on Gothersgade at 11:27, passes the Round Tower and Kongens Nytorv, and enters the square just before 12:00. When he is at another palace a smaller Palace Guard changes. The Royal House gives no way to check in advance.

Can you climb the dome of Frederik's Church?

Not at the moment. The church says dome visits are cancelled while the roof is repaired. When they run they are on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:30, DKK 50, for up to 15 people, with no advance tickets. The church itself is free and open every day.

Is the Little Mermaid worth the walk?

She is a bronze 1.25 metres tall on a rock off the Langelinie promenade, free to see at any hour, and she is a short stop. The walk gives her context: the harbour front to reach her, the Gefion Fountain on the way and Kastellet's ramparts beside her.

Where does the walk start and finish?

It starts at Kongens Nytorv metro station, where the old town walk ends, and finishes at Østerport station (metro M3 and M4, S-trains and regional trains), about 1 km from Kastellet's south gate.