Copenhagen is a city of museums. 36 institutions of art, design, science, zoology and maritime arts are scattered around the Danish capital, making it a destination surprisingly loaded with culture.

Art Museums

Any tour of Copenhagen’s museums should be started out at the Danish National Gallery, Statens Museum for Kunst (Sølvgade 48-50, 1307 Copenhagen K; +45 3374 8494; free). This traditional art museum (pictured above) began as the collections of the Danish monarchs and today contains around 9000 pieces, both sculpture and paintings, from 14th century to Modern Art. From here, art lovers will want to head to the classical Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Dantes Plads, 71556 Copenhagen; +45 3341 8141; www.glyptoteket.dk; DKK60) for a heavy dose of 19th and 20th century Danish and French art. At the David Collection (Kronprinsessegade 30, 1306 Copenhagen K; +45 3373 4949; www.davidmus.dk; free), visitors enjoy a sizeable Islamic art collection, as well as extraordinary pieces from the Danish Golden Age; while the small but worthwhile Thorvaldsens Museum (Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads 2, DK-1213 Copenhagen K; +45 3332 1532; www.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk; DKK20) is dedicated entirely to the Danish neoclassical sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen.

History Museums

Located a short distance away from central Copenhagen, Frederiksborg Palace is the Danish Museum of National History (Frederiksborg Castle, DK-3400 Hillerød; +45 4826 0439; www.frederiksborgmuseet.dk; DKK60). The collection here includes a number of royal portraits and history paintings, but the real star is the castle itself, which sits on three islands in the middle of Palace Lake and is connected to a beautiful Baroque garden. Closer to the city centre, the National Museum of Denmark (Ny Vestergade 10, Copenhagen; +45 3313 4411; www.nationalmuseet.dk; free) is the place to explore cultural artefacts that trace Danish history from ancient to modern times.

Unique Museums

Denmark being known for its naval arts, there are a number of interesting maritime museums in Copenhagen, including several museum ships. To start, head to Nyhavn, a 17th century docking canal lined with colourful facades. Here one finds the Nyhavn Veteran Ship and Museum Harbour, where several historic boats are docked, including Lightship XVII Gedser Rev. Other boat museums open to visitors around Copenhagen are the HDMS Sælen – a coastal war submarine, now docked in the Holmen district of the city – as well as HDMS Peder Skram, a decommissioned navy frigate (www.pederskram.dk; DKK60).

Danes are also famous designers, so no trip to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to the Danish Design Centre (HC Andersens Boulevard 27, DK 1553 Copenhagen V; +45 3369 3369; www.ddc.dk; DKK50). Here, thought-provoking exhibitions challenge conventional thinking on modern design and elicit visitors to question the way we put our world together.

Pictured above: The Danish Art Museum
Photo by nickboos.