Nyhavn

Copenhagen's colourful landmark

Nyhavn ("New Harbour") is the image that comes to mind for most visitors thinking of Copenhagen: a narrow waterway lined with tightly packed gabled townhouses in mustard, red, ochre and blue, with old wooden boats moored along the quay. The canal was dug between 1670 and 1673 under King Christian V — by Danish soldiers and Swedish prisoners of war — to bring ships from the Øresund right into the edge of the city centre. The oldest house, number 9, dates from 1681 and still stands today. Nyhavn sits right in the middle of Indre By, Copenhagen's old town, just a short walk from Amalienborg Palace.

Access is free and possible around the clock — Nyhavn is a public space, not a museum. For the classic view and a few photos, 30 to 60 minutes is enough.

From sailors' quarter to promenade

For a long time, Nyhavn was a rough harbour district full of taverns, tattoo parlours and sailors. The writer Hans Christian Andersen lived in several of the houses here: at No. 20, where he wrote his first fairy tales in 1835, later at No. 67, and finally at No. 18. All three facades now carry commemorative plaques you can spot as you stroll past.

Today the houses are lined with restaurants and cafés with outdoor seating right on the water; in summer, half of Copenhagen seems to be sitting along the quaysides with a beer. A drink on the waterfront costs roughly 60 to 90 DKK — exact prices vary from place to place.

What to expect

The sunny side is the northern row of houses with the best-known colourful facades — ideal for photos in the morning, when the light falls directly on them. From the bridge at the head of the harbour, you get the classic view straight down the canal, with boats and houses lined up in one axis.

For a seat by the water, a few classics stand out:

• Cap Horn (Nyhavn 21) — Danish-French cooking with an organic focus, open since 1969.
• Nyhavns Færgekro (Nyhavn 5) — classic Danish fare, with a herring buffet at lunchtime for around 175 DKK.

In summer the waterside tables fill up fast; booking ahead is worthwhile, especially in the evening. For more on Danish food, see the guide Food & Drink in Copenhagen.

Canal tours from Nyhavn

Most of Copenhagen's canal and harbour tours depart from Nyhavn, passing Christiansborg, the Opera House, Holmen and The Little Mermaid in around an hour — one of the most pleasant ways to see the city from the water. Two operators run boats from here:

• Netto-Bådene (blue boats): 60 minutes, adults 80 DKK, children 40 DKK; in summer, roughly every 20 minutes from 10:00.
• Stromma (green boats, Classic/Grand Tour): around an hour, about 129 DKK per adult.

There's no single ticket booth "at Nyhavn" — you book directly with the operator or on the spot at the jetty. The DKK amounts are guide prices; check the operator for current fares and timetables before you go.

Tips for visiting

• Come early: Between roughly 7:00 and 9:00 it's quietest and most photogenic. During the day, at midday and on summer evenings, it gets crowded.
• Best time to visit: May and September bring mild weather with far fewer crowds than the high summer months of June to August (peaking in July). It's quietest in November and from January to March.
• Kept in perspective: Nyhavn is very popular, but it's not an overtourism case on the scale of Venice or Barcelona. A short stop is enough — the promenade works better as a starting point than a full-day destination.
• Easy to combine: From Nyhavn it's about a 20-minute walk to The Little Mermaid, and a detour to Christiania fits in well too. Nyhavn is one of the city's must-see attractions.