Nyhavn and the harbour
A basin dug by Swedish prisoners, lined with painted façades and wooden boats.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
Late afternoon
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
Nyhavn was dug between 1670 and 1673 by Swedish prisoners of war to bring merchant ships up to the city. The north quay lined up the merchants' houses, the south the taverns and brothels: it was a sailors' harbour, rough until the 1970s.
Andersen lived at three different addresses on the quay — numbers 20, 67 and 18 — and wrote his first tales there. The painted façades date from the 1980s restoration, when the city banned traffic and moored a fleet of old sailing vessels along the basin. The canal leads nowhere now, and it has become a terrace.
Getting there
Kongens Nytorv metro station, line M3 or M4: the exit comes out at the head of the basin.
Rules on site
The terraces on the sunny quay charge for the view, and Danish service is included in the prices, which makes them higher than the menu suggests. The north quay is in shade all day.
