as today's seat of Denmark's Parliament and was the former royal palace. Amalienborg Palace consists of four identical Rococo buildings surrounding one of the prettiest squares in Northern Europe. The Little Mermaid- Located in the Copenhagen Harbor, the statue of Hans Christian Andersen's heroine is an internationally recognized symbol of Copenhagen.
Nyhavn- The streets around the old harbor are lined with open-air cafes, restaurants, and five hundred year old gabled houses. The canal is full of old wooden ships, as it serves as a heritage harbor.
Strøget- Running from Old City Hall Square, this pedestrian street offers the finest shopping in Copenhagen!
Tivoli Garden- Copenhagen's pleasure gardens offers amusement park rides, open-air concerts, dancing, & a host of cafes and restaurants.
Rosenborg Castle & Fredensborg Castle- Rosenborg Castle was originally built as a summerhouse in 1606 by Christian IV. It was used as a residence only twice, both in times of emergency- once when Christianborg Palace burned down in 1794 & second when the British attached Copenhagen in 1801. The most used of the royal residences, Fredensborg Castle is located on the eastern short of Lake Esrum on the island of Zealand. It is used as a spring and autumn residence by the Royal Family as well as the site of important events and visits.
Geifon Fountain- Donated to the city of Copenhagen by Carlsberg Brewery, this large fountain can be found on on the harbour front by Kastellet. It depicts the legend of Gefion, a goddess in Norse mythology. It is the largest monument in Copenhagen and is used as a wishing well.
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Norway (Oslo)
Vigeland Sculpture Park-Named after Gustav Vigeland, the sculptor responsible, this park is home to the stone, iron, and bronze sculptures depicting a human life from birth until death. In the summertime, this are is popular for picnicking, sunbathing, games, and relaxation.
Kon-Tiki Museum- This museum houses the sailing rafts used by Norwegian explorer, scientist, adventurer, and champion of the environment, Thor Heyerdahl on his world famous expeditions.
Fram Museum- This museum tells the story of Norwegian polar exploration. The stories center around the exploration vessel, Fram. Fram was used by Fridtjof Nansen to explore the North Pole and Roald Amundsen to the South Pole.
Open-Air Museum of Norway- This is a collection of historic and traditional Norwegian buildings set in a forest on the Bygdoy Peninsula.
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Sweden (Stockholm)
City Hall- This is the site of the annual banquet honoring Nobel laureates and one of Stockholm's major tourist attractions. It stands on the eastern tip of Kungsholmen island.
Vasa Museum- Opened in 1990, this maritime museum is home to the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged. (The 64-gun warship Vasa sunk on her maiden voyage in the harbor in 1628). The museum also houses other fabulous maritime artifacts as well.
Royal Palace- This former royal residence is located in Gamla Stan and displays exquisite collections of tapestries, porcelain, and Baroque & Rococo furnishings. This palace has 610 rooms!
Gamla Stan- "The Old Town" dates back to the 13th century, with medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, and archaic architecture. This is also the home to the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building, the Stockholm Cathedral, the Nobel Museum, the Riddarholm Church, as well as Sweden's baroque Royal palace.
Coronation Church & Osmo Church- Located in Gamla Stan, Coronation Church is the site of coronations, royal weddings, and christenings. Osmo Church is noted as being one of the oldest in Sweden as well as for it's fantastic murals created by Albertus Pictor, the famous church painter.
Fjallgatan- This small street & historical environment is a high point that offers the best panoramic views of the city skyline as well as the docks of the Finland ferries. When visiting, you may also find tree houses dating back to the 18th century!
Gripsholm Castle- one of the best preserved castles in Sweden, this castle is still considered a royal castle despite the fact that it was last occupied in 1864. Part of the castle houses the National Collection of Portraits, one of the world's oldest collections.
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Finland (Helsinki)
Market Square- One of the most famous marketplaces and tourist attractions, you can find everything from fruits and flowers to local arts and crafts.
Senate Square- Built in the early 1800's, this square is the focus of the city, boasting neoclassical buildings, St Nicholas Cathedral, and the University of Helsinki.
Sibelius Park- For music lovers, this park is dedicated to the memory of the great composer and is the site of the Sibelius Monument.
Temppeliaukio Rock Church- Carved from solid bedrock and featuring a copper cupola, this provides a superb example of Finnish design. This location is used frequently as a concert location due to its excellent acoustics.
Porvoo- Finland's second oldest city was founded in 1346 by King Magnus Eriksson.
Seurasaari Open-Air Museum- This museum located in the forest consists of a collection of traditional Finnish buildings and homesteads.
Häme Castle- One of Finland's medieval royal castles, its believed to have been built by Swedish Earl Birger at the end of the 13th century following his crusade to the Hame region.
Savijärvi Farm- This 100-year old farm is famous for breeding horses & located among the forests of the Sipoo district.
Not only Copenhagen has a lot to offer. I live in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Here we have nice museums, The old town, one of the Royal familys residential places, and much more. We have Tivoli, a "hyggelig" (cozy), but small amusement park, near the center of Aarhus. Just 10 minutes outside of Aarhus we have Moesgaard museum.. Here you can see rebuild houses from back in the stoneage. The museum itself is placed on an old manor.
ReplyDeleteBut this is just some things out of many to see in Denmark. You can go from the top of Jutland to the buttom in under 6 hours using the motorways. And across the country from Esbjerg to Copenhagen in under 4 hours. But there is many castles, old war installations, bunkers, sand covered light houses, a church falling into the ocean and much much more..
If you like old things with a lot of history behind it, Denmark is a good place to start out.