City Hall Square (Radhuspladsen), Copenhagen
Presided by the stately, historic City Hall, Radhuspladsen square is the focal point of many miles of Copenhagen's beautiful pedestrian streets and a favored gathering spot for street performers and international folk visiting the Danish capital. Thus, just as in so many other places in this magical city, English is spoken here widely and of better quality than you would hear in the public plazas of most major American cities.
Once part of Copenhagen's fortified west end, this area contained within its walls as much as 150,000 people by the mid-19th century. Quite expectedly, the overcrowding led to hygiene problems (including a cholera outbreak), so after nearly seven centuries, the walls eventually had to come down.
Today, the redesigned square features, among other attractions, the Dragon Fountain (1904), depicting a bull and a dragon in combat. Another impressive sight to look out for is the Weather Girl (perched atop the Richs Building at the intersection of Rådhuspladsen and Vesterbrogade), which tells when the rain is due. There is also a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, one of – if not the – most popular Danish writer, and a bronze depicting two lur blowers mounted on top of a tall terracotta column. The latter is a gift to the city from the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the centenary of its founder, J. C. Jacobsen.
Just across the street stands the rather peculiar Dansk Industri building containing a showroom for green technologies (House of Green), plus a series of two-storey flagship stores and restaurants on Vesterbrogade. Down the same street towers the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen's only skyscraper, built in 1960 as the world's first design hotel.
Once part of Copenhagen's fortified west end, this area contained within its walls as much as 150,000 people by the mid-19th century. Quite expectedly, the overcrowding led to hygiene problems (including a cholera outbreak), so after nearly seven centuries, the walls eventually had to come down.
Today, the redesigned square features, among other attractions, the Dragon Fountain (1904), depicting a bull and a dragon in combat. Another impressive sight to look out for is the Weather Girl (perched atop the Richs Building at the intersection of Rådhuspladsen and Vesterbrogade), which tells when the rain is due. There is also a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, one of – if not the – most popular Danish writer, and a bronze depicting two lur blowers mounted on top of a tall terracotta column. The latter is a gift to the city from the Carlsberg Foundation on the occasion of the centenary of its founder, J. C. Jacobsen.
Just across the street stands the rather peculiar Dansk Industri building containing a showroom for green technologies (House of Green), plus a series of two-storey flagship stores and restaurants on Vesterbrogade. Down the same street towers the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Copenhagen's only skyscraper, built in 1960 as the world's first design hotel.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Copenhagen. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
City Hall Square (Radhuspladsen) on Map
Sight Name: City Hall Square (Radhuspladsen)
Sight Location: Copenhagen, Denmark (See walking tours in Copenhagen)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Copenhagen, Denmark (See walking tours in Copenhagen)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Copenhagen, Denmark
Create Your Own Walk in Copenhagen
Creating your own self-guided walk in Copenhagen is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Latin Quarter Walking Tour
One of the most interesting, young-spirited neighborhoods of Denmark's capital, the Latin Quarter is well known for its hangout spots, alternative shopping, and 18th-century architecture.
Back in the Middle Ages, the area surrounding Our Lady's Square (“Frue Plads” in Danish), right in the heart of it, was considered a “ray of light” in the overall darkness of those times. A... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
Back in the Middle Ages, the area surrounding Our Lady's Square (“Frue Plads” in Danish), right in the heart of it, was considered a “ray of light” in the overall darkness of those times. A... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.7 Km or 1.1 Miles
Castle Island (Slotsholmen) Walking Tour
Traditionally seen as the birthplace of Copenhagen, Castle Island (Slotsholmen) gave rise to the Danish capital with a small fortress built on it in the 12th century AD. Since the Middle Ages, this area, also known as the "Island of Power," has been the center of Denmark's government. It houses several prominent landmarks that played significant roles in the country's history.
... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.6 Km or 1 Miles
... view more
Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.6 Km or 1 Miles
Hans Christian Andersen's Copenhagen
Above the numerous plays, novels, and poems, the 19th-century Danish author Hans Christian Andersen is primarily renowned internationally as the man who wrote "The Little Mermaid," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Ugly Duckling" and many other fairy tales we know since childhood.
Born in Odense (central Denmark) a poor shoemaker's son, Andersen spent... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
Born in Odense (central Denmark) a poor shoemaker's son, Andersen spent... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
Copenhagen Introduction Walking Tour
A fairy tale of a city, full of peculiarities, Denmark's capital Copenhagen has a fairly straightforward etymology. It derives from Kopmannahafn, which roughly translates to “merchant's harbor”, and reflects the city's origin as a place of commerce by the harbor. Originally a Viking fishing village called Havn (port), established in the 10th century near today's Gammel... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.7 Km or 1.7 Miles
Little Mermaid Walking Tour
Back in the 18th century, Denmark was in the throes of an economic boom. Constructed during the reign of King Frederick V (hence the name), the district of Frederiksstaden attests to that with its beautiful architecture, measuring up to the projects from the same period in Berlin, Paris, and Vienna. This tour will guide you through the area's broad streets lined by bourgeois houses, mansions,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.8 Km or 1.7 Miles
Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip
Copenhagen Shopping: 16 Distinctively Denmark Things to Buy
Denmark is renowned for simple, industrial and functional design, as well as bohemian and everyday fashion-wear for the individual urban living. The capital Copenhagen, home to Copenhagen Fashion Week twice a year and biannual INDEX: Design to Improve Life - the world’s biggest design awards, is...