Kongens Nytorv
In 1670, Christian V decided Copenhagen's muddy medieval marketplace wasn't fit for a capital — so he built this, the city's largest square, from scratch.
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Laid out in 1670 after Paris-style royal planning, Kongens Nytorv pulled the city's centre away from the old Gammeltorv and replaced it with a cobbled garden square ringed by buildings that span four centuries. It sits at the eastern end of Strøget, making it a natural arrival point rather than a detour. The architecture around its edges does the talking: a 17th-century palace, a baroque rival, a 19th-century theatre, and a department store still in business.
What to look for
- Equestrian statue of Christian V at the square's centre — the king who commissioned the whole square in 1670
- Charlottenborg Palace (1671), now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, flanking the square's south side
- Thott Palace (1683), today the French Embassy, facing the square directly across from it
The square anchors the east end of Strøget, Copenhagen's main pedestrian street — walk Strøget from end to end and you arrive here automatically.
Kongens Nytorv is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Copenhagen, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Copenhagen pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Copenhagen
- The Little MermaidAt 1.25 metres tall, she is smaller than almost every visitor expects — and that gap between legend and reality is the whole experience.
- Parken StadiumA 38,000-seat national football ground with a retractable roof and a three-Michelin-star restaurant on the eighth floor.
- AmalienborgFour matching palaces share one octagonal courtyard — and the Danish king actually lives in one.
- Tivoli GardensOpen since 1843 on a royal permit granted because, as the founder told the king, people busy having fun don't think about politics.
- Christiansborg PalaceThe only building on Earth where parliament, prime minister, and supreme court share one address — and the king still drops by.
- Rosenborg CastleA 1606 royal summerhouse that ended up storing the crown jewels and standing in as emergency palace twice.