One day in Copenhagen: itinerary and highlights

Copenhagen in a day is explored by bicycle or on foot between the colorful harbor of Nyhavn and the gardens of Tivoli, in a city designed for those who move slowly.

It's a route that alternates royal architecture, neighborhood life, and Danish design, then leaving the afternoon choice between two different ways to experience the waterfront.

Nyhavn, the seventeenth-century canal flanked by colorful houses once inhabited by sailors, opens the day: today it is among the city's most photographed spots and home to several boat tours of the canals.

From here a short walk leads to Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Danish royal family, composed of four identical palaces arranged around an octagonal square, where the changing of the guard still takes place.

Continuing along the harbor, the statue of the Little Mermaid, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale: small compared to the fame it has, it remains nevertheless an almost mandatory stop for those passing through.

For lunch, the covered market of Torvehallerne, with its stalls of smørrebrød, the traditional Danish open sandwiches, is a good spot to taste local cuisine.

The Tivoli Gardens are the amusement park opened in 1843 that inspired Walt Disney for Disneyland, with its lights, oriental pavilions and historic rides.

Crossing the bridge, Christianshavn and the alternative neighborhood of Christiania are reached, the self-managed community born in the seventies, with its colorful houses built by hand along the canals.

With the evening lights on the canal, the restaurants of Nyhavn are the most atmospheric place to dine.

Nyhavn, the Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid open a day that in Copenhagen unites royal elegance and freer spirit, completed by the afternoon choice between Tivoli and Christiania.

The Frederiksberg neighborhood and a real bicycle ride along the city lakes await semmai another day. Biking along Nyhavn at sunset, with the colored facades reflecting in the water, is perhaps the most direct way to remember Copenhagen.