Adventures in Copenhagen - My Top Photo Spots

It’s been a whole year since myself and a friend headed away on a quick break city break before my wedding season properly got going.

Please note that I didn’t say a “relaxing break”! I wanted to go somewhere to do some exploring, take in some history and get my synapses firing. I wanted to see things that had never seen before, take in some culture and give my brain a dose of inspiration.

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

We chose to visit Copenhagen. The reason? Neither of us had ever been to Denmark, there was a good choice of flights to get us there and it seemed relatively easy to get-around. It really was as simple as that.

Of course, the one thing that I love to do in a new place is to seek out pretty photo locations. We were visiting a little early in the season to properly take advantage of all that Copenhagen has to offer - the Tivoli Gardens, for example, were still closed for the Winter - but we still managed to find lots of lovely photo spots. So, if you would like to hear about some of the great spots we came across within the City, here are a few of my recommendations.

Nyhavn

Let’s get this location onto the list first as it is one of the most iconic spots in Copenhagen, the colourful buildings of Nyhavn! You can either take a wander along the streets or you can hop on a canal boat tour to view the buildings from the water. We did both in order capture lots of different angles. As soon as you come face to face with the vibrant frontages you can understand why it is such a popular photo spot. I tried to avoid the obvious and concentrated on close-ups of the buildings as well as the reflections in the canal.

The Little Mermaid

Of course this also has to go on the list! If you’ve done your research then you know that it is tiny and is swamped by tourists all year round. My advice is to skip the tour bus and take a stroll through Kastellet before descending on the statue itself. We had also managed to grab a view of the statue from our boat tour but you don’t actually get very close to it which just emphasises how tiny it really is!

Kastellet Citadel

What do you know, Kastellet was actually a place that was pleasantly surprising. We took a wander through the ramparts after seeing The Little Mermaid and, on balance, I probably preferred the photo opportunities that I stumbled across here rather than at the statue itself. The Military buildings are a colourful distraction and I would recommend searching out the windmill if you can.

Rosenborg Castle

This was one of our first stops during our trip. Although it was interesting to view the rooms inside the Castle (this is where you will find the Danish Crown Jewels), I was more taken with the building itself. If you aren’t interested in paying the entrance fee then you can find pleasant photo spots across towards the Castle throughout The Kings Garden just a short distance away.

The Botanical Gardens

The grounds itself are free to enter and then you can choose to pay a fee to visit the greenhouses. We took this option because visiting in early March, let’s face it, there wasn’t a huge amount of greenery in the outdoor landscape! I really loved the architecture of the greenhouses themselves and particularly enjoyed climbing the spiral staircase for some unique views amongst the indoor canopy!

The Glyptotek Art Museum

I’ll be honest, this wasn’t even on my radar when we arrived in Copenhagen. But with a bit of time to kill we decided to drop by on the way through to somewhere else and I’m really glad we did! The atrium is full of greenery and the galleries are really very photogenic! Unfortunately I had packed a poor choice of lens for indoor photography (I had restricted myself to just a 50mm lens) so I had to rely on my phone for most of the photos here. Luckily, it was bright and airy enough that it was able to do a pretty decent job (and I was able to make the most of it’s wide-angle feature!).

The Black Diamond (Danish Royal Library)

Another imposing, yet this time very modern, building which looks out across the canal to the Circle Bridge opposite. It is known locally as the Black Diamond due to its blocky, jet-black external appearance. But don’t visit just to view the building from the outside - take the opportunity to venture to the top of the building and watch all of the people coming and going on the floors below.

The Round Tower

Yes, it’s impressive from the outside and yes, you get some great views across the city from the very top, but I was more intrigued by the internal structure. Instead of having steps inside the tower it has a constant, rising slope which apparently was to enable horse and carts to ascend up to the very top. This provides a unique opportunity to photograph some interesting sweeping curves and play with the light coming in from the many windows.

Frederik’s Church (The Marble Church)

It certainly is an imposing building, perhaps it felt even more so as we happened to emerge from the Metro right into it’s shadow! I suppose, in a way, it could be considered a little old and boring compared to lots of the other exciting architecture in the City but I found it to be one of the most impressive buildings in the City. If it’s open, the inside is a must see too!

Other Attractions

Whilst we were in the City we were also able to squeeze in visits to the Amalienborg Palace, Blox (a modern “pile of bricks” building which appropriately houses the Danish Architecture Centre) as well as view a number of other buildings of architectural, historical and cultural importance from afar. We certainly managed to fit a lot into our three days in the City but there were, unfortunately, many amazing sights that we missed out on seeing.

What we missed

Top of the list of attractions that we missed has to be Tivoli Gardens - I would love to return to explore the amusement park located in the very centre of the City. I would also love to visit in a different season. Although we were very lucky to have a couple of sunny days, we also had our fair share of rain and it has to be said that the City was looking a little dull and dreary due to the lack of greenery. That is, of course, simply a factor of the time of year we visited. I’m excited to visit again in the not-too-distant future perhaps in late Spring or perhaps even early Autumn.

Let me know if there are any locations that I’ve missed that you would recommend I check out next time I’m in the City.