The Gefion Fountain
The city's largest, telling the founding myth of Zealand.
CC BY-SA 3.0 · Per source. Please credit "Family photos of Infrogmation" — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia — CC BY 2.0 · logopop — CC BY-SA 3.0
A quay and waterside promenade running about two kilometres along the harbour edge north-east of central Copenhagen — the path almost every visitor walks without learning its name. The reason is that **the Little Mermaid** sits on her rock at its southern end. But walking past her is the part most people miss: the quay continues beside the water between lawns and lines of trees, with the five-pointed star ramparts of **Kastellet** on the left and ships entering the harbour on the right. At its northern end **the largest cruise ships** berth directly against the quay, so a white hull the height of a ten-storey building blocks the horizon. Along the way are smaller monuments: the bronze **Valkyrie statue**, and at the start the **Gefion Fountain**, the city's largest, which tells the founding myth of the island of Zealand. Note: the quay is completely exposed and the wind is strong in winter.
The city's largest, telling the founding myth of Zealand.
A five-pointed star fortress still an active military site.
A bronze on the path most walkers to the Mermaid miss.
Langelinie, Copenhagen
The Little Mermaid & the Kastellet WalkThe Little Mermaid is uncontested the world's most famous small statue: a bronze9 minutes walk4.0
Museum of Danish ResistanceGermany occupied Denmark in April 1940 in a matter of hours and with almost no f16 minutes walk4.3
Designmuseum DanmarkIf one place in Copenhagen explains why "Danish" became an adjective attached to19 minutes walk4.4
Frederik's Church (The Marble Church)Its official name is **Frederik's Church**, but nobody calls it anything but the21 minutes walk4.7
Amalienborg Palace & the Changing of the GuardAmalienborg is the Danish royal family's actual home — Europe's oldest continuou22 minutes walk4.4Start at colourful **Nyhavn**, walk north along the water to **Amalienborg**, with the **Marble Church** behind it, then enter **Kastellet** by its southern gate and cross its star ramparts, come out at the **Gefion Fountain** and the Little Mermaid, and continue along **Langelinie** until the cruise ships come into view. The whole route is about **an hour and a half** at an easy pace, entirely free, and passes five of the city's best-known sites without a single ticket. It is flat and fine with a pushchair.