Nyhavn Canal is among the most fascinating and picturesque places in Copenhagen.
Namely “new port” is the area of the old city harbor, the refuge of sailors and writers, including Andersen who lived here for about twenty years (at numbers 20, 67, and 18). Active trading port until 1950, today highly frequented tourist district of Copenhagen.
Nyhavn is a place full of atmosphere: the colorful Danish style houses overlooking its banks, seven–eighteenth-century buildings hosting taverns and pubs, old wooden boats, and romantic sailboats lining its banks. At the beginning of the channel, an anchor is a monument commemorating Danish sailors (more than 1,700) who lost their lives during WWII.
The Canàl was dug under King Christian IV, in 1671, to link the port with the Centre allowing the merchants to bring their goods into the heart of the city. Until the first decade of the 19th century, the Nyhavn was the epicenter of a trade by sea in Copenhagen, then the neighborhood has undergone a considerable decline becoming a pretty rough area, dotted with tavernas for sailors and small tattoo shops, frequented mostly by drunks and brothel clients.
A deep renovation started in 1970, accompanied by the restoration of the buildings, the appearance of an infinite number of restaurants and cafes and a new function of the moored boats, returned the old port area to its former glory, restoring a timeless atmosphere, reviving that charm never lost but only a little overshadowed.
Today Nyhavn is a fashionable place with its countless establishments, ideal for lunch, an afternoon beer, or a romantic dinner. Not surprisingly, the channel is also referred to as “the greatest bar of Scandinavia”. It is a pleasant meeting place, especially on summer evenings, for young inhabitants of Copenhagen and tourists (all tourist boats leave from here to explore the channels), it is a perfect location for those who love photography thanks to a magical combination of characteristic houses, lights, colors, and boats dotting the waters of the Canal.
USEFUL INFO
Opening hours: open air
Admission: free
How to reach: Metro Kongens Nytorv (M1, M2)
Address: Nyhavn 1F, 1051 København K, Danimarca
