10 Best Sights in Copenhagen, Denmark

This Dutch baroque–style castle on Kongens Nytorv was built by Frederik III's half brother in 1670. Since 1754 the garden-flanked property has housed the faculty and students of the Danish Academy of Fine Art. A section of the building is devoted to exhibitions of contemporary art and is open to the public.

The Danish Architecture Center occupies an old wharf-side warehouse built in 1880. The center hosts rotating exhibitions that cover trends and trendsetters in architecture and architectural design. The displays are labeled in English, and the museum's website has a guide for discovering noteworthy architecture in Denmark's major cities.

At the Kongelige Repræsentationslokaler, you're asked to don slippers to protect the floors in this impossibly grand space.

For an evocative collection detailing Copenhagen's history, head to this 18th-century building in the heart of Vesterbro. A meticulously maintained model of 16th-century Copenhagen is in front of the building. Inside there's also a memorial room for philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism. The museum is free on Fridays.

The contemporary architect Gustav Friedrich Hetsch borrowed from the Doric and Egyptian styles to create the arklike Copenhagen Synagogue. Women sit in the upper galleries, while the men are seated below. Access to the synagogue is limited, so call ahead.

While Christiansborg was being rebuilt around 1900, the national museum excavated the ruins of Bishop Absalon's castle beneath it. The resulting dark, subterranean maze contains fascinating models and architectural relics.

Completed in 2008, the newest addition to the Danish Royal Theatre focuses mainly on drama. While theater stagings are primarily in Danish, more accessible dance and music performances are also featured. A beautiful wooden ramp extends in front of the striking glass building. In summer, the café and restaurant move onto this deck and offer one of the best views of the Copenhagen harbor. The theater closes for part of the summer.

Situated at the western end of the lakes that divide Copenhagen, this modern, cylindrical planetarium appears to be sliced at an angle. It's Denmark's most advanced center for popularizing astronomy and space research and promoting knowledge of natural science. The on-site IMAX Theater is devoted to visual odysseys of the natural environment—below the sea, through the jungle, or into outer space. These films aren't recommended for children under age seven.

This Renaissance structure—built by King Christian IV and one of central Copenhagen's oldest—contains impressive displays of uniforms, weapons, and armor in a 600-foot-long arched hall. Children usually like this museum, but it's very much a look-but-don't-touch place. Each artifact has a label in English.

The site of Denmark's main cathedral, the Church of Our Lady, has drawn worshippers since the 13th century, when Bishop Absalon built a chapel here. The previous church, consecrated in 1738, was burned to the ground in 1807 during the Napoleonic wars. Despite the country's poverty after the defeat, the city built a new place of worship, in the then-modern neoclassical style. Inside you can see Thorvaldsen's marble sculptures depicting Christ and the 12 Apostles, and Moses and David cast in bronze. The funerals of both Kierkegaard and H. C. Andersen were held here.