The Royal Palace in Copenhagen and all it has to offer
Palaces and castles are among our favorite places to visit. To waddle around the richly decorated rooms and try to grasp how life used to be is fascinating. It’s even better when the palace is still actively used, like Chritianborg Palace. It’s pretty unique because it serves three functions at once – the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister’s Office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark.
Christianborg Palace holds 800 years of royal history, and it used to be home to kings and queens of Denmark. There is quite a lot to see, starting with the Royal Reception Rooms, the Royal Kitchens, the Ruins under Christiansborg, the Royal stables, the Palace Chapel, the Tower, and more. Get ready for quite the waddle!
How to get to Christianborg Palace
There are plenty of options on how to get to the palace. First, you can waddle there as we did.
If you are not as much into waddling, take the metro or bus and get off the Gammel Strand Metro Station.
There is also a harbor bus going to the palace, stopping at the stop called The Royal Library.
Or you can go by train and waddle from there. There are two train stations to get off – Copenhagen Central Station and Nørreport Station.
The most obvious one in Copenhagen is to come by bike.
In case you come by car, note there are a limited number of parking places available in the area around Christiansborg.
Christianborg Palace Tickets
Christiansborg Palace has five attractions to visit:
- The Royal Reception Rooms
- The Royal Kitchen
- The Ruins
- The Royal Stables
- The Palace Chapel
You should aim to visit all of it, and there is a ticket that gives you access to all the listed attractions, and you even save up 40%.
- Adults: 160 DKK
- Students: 140 DKK
- Children under the age of 18: free entry
- Penguins: free entry
- Admission included in Copenhagen Card
Before we dive into the prices, we had the Copenhagen Card, which includes entrances to The Royal Reception Rooms, The Royal Kitchen, The Ruins, and The Royal Stables. You have to show the card upon arrival, and there is no need to book anything in advance.
If you want to buy tickets for individual attractions, the prices range from 60 DDK for adults to 95 DKK, depending on the attraction. Students have discounts, children under 18 years of age, and penguins have free entry.
To see exact prices visit their website here – link.
Christianborg Palace Opening Hours
First, it’s important to note that some of the attractions at Christiansborg Palace might be closed in connection with the Royal Family’s use of the palace. You can find some special closing days here link.
The opening hours, in general, are from 10 am to 5 pm daily. Of course, there are exceptions and seasonal changes like from October to May, Monday it’s closed. To see all the details, check on their site here – link.
A little bit of history about Christianborg Palace
- The palace is built on top of 800-year-old ruins.
- The palace you see today is not the first one standing here.
- The first castle was built between 1167 and 1176 by the founder of Copenhagen, Bishop Absalon.
- After the destruction of Absalon’s Castle in 1369, the Bishop of Roskilde ordered a new castle to be built on the compounds and ruins of Absalon Castle, and he named it Copenhagen Castle.
- In 1417 King Eric of Pomerania, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway from 1389 to 1439, claimed the rights to Copenhagen Castle and moved into the new Royal premises.
- Copenhagen became the Royal City in 1417 – and the capital of Denmark in 1443.
- Copenhagen Castle was rebuilt several times by Danish Kings, and the most famous is King Christian VI, who built it as a four-wing Rococo Palace.
- It was completed around 1745 but functioned already as a Royal residence from 1740.
- In 1794 the first Christiansborg Palace was ravaged by a heavy fire, nearly destroying the entire four-winged Palace complex.
- After the fire, the Royal Family became homeless -and had to move to other Royal premises like Rosenborg Castle and later to the Amalienborg complex.
- The construction of the second Christiansborg Palace started in 1803, but in 1884 it burnt down to the ground.
- The building of the third Christiansborg started in 1907 and was inaugurated nearly 21 years later in 1928.
Interesting facts about Christianborg Palace good to know
- As you could have read above, today’s palace is the fifth one that was built.
- It is the largest castle in Scandinavia.
- The main Palace building is a 6-story high complex with 348 rooms.
- The Swedes built Christiansborg Castle in 1652 as a lodge used mostly for storing goods. In 1661, the Danes purchased the land beneath the lodge from the Chief Okaikoi for 3,200 gold florins.
- The palace is surrounded by a 2 km (1.24 miles) long water canal.
- It houses the national parliament, the Prime Ministers’ office, the Supreme Court, and the Queen. In this way, it is the only building in the world with all branches of government in it.
Read also: See over 400 years of royal treasures at Rosenborg Castle
Waddling the Royal Reception Rooms at Christianborg Palace
Due to security, fragile interior, and delicate floors, oversized bags, backpacks, suitcases, strollers, and umbrellas are not allowed in The Royal Reception Rooms.
Also, before entering the Reception Rooms, you must put on shoe covers that are provided.
Waddling in the Royal Reception Rooms is magnificent. And the fact they are still used is even more impressive.
Each room we waddled through was magical, and our favorite one was the Queen’s Library. Beautiful really.
But I am getting ahead of myself. First, you waddle up the Queen’s staircase, which is often used as an event entrance.
The stairs take you to the beautiful Alexander Hall, named after Alexander the Great, as he is depicted as he drives into Babylon sometime in the 300s.
See the map of what to expect when waddling around – link.
From Alexander Hall, we waddled into my favorite part – the Queen’s Library. It’s Queen Margrethe II’s book collection, and many books date back to the 18th century.
The library is often used by the Prime Minister, who borrows it from the Queen to host lunches and dinners for foreign guests.
Waddling on, we saw many more rooms, which were simply astonishing. Like the Abildgaard room, the Dining Hall, the Green Room, and so much more.
I know, I repeat myself, but all the rooms are breathtaking, and the Great Hall will knock the sock off you. It is enormous and can hold up to 400 guests for banquets or state visits. What will catch your eyes is the modern tapestries which were a gift from the artist Bjørn Nørgaard for Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II’s 50th birthday. Altogether there are 17 tapestries that narrate 1 000 years of Denmark’s history from Viking times to the present day.
The tapestries were inaugurated on the Queen’s 60th birthday on 16th April 2000.
Many rooms are used for banquets, and one can only imagine how beautiful it looks in full glory. I wonder how I could get invited to such an event?! Hmm…as a penguin, I am already dressed for the occasion.
Waddling under Christianborg Palace – The Ruins
What is fascinating about Christianborg is that it was built on 800-year-old ruins. And you can explore the ruins and waddle around. It’s nice and cool down here as well.
The current Christiansborg Palace stands on the ruins of Absalon’s Castle. It was Bishop Absalon who built the first castle in 1167. The castle was built of limestones from the Cliffs of Stevns, which are now for you to discover and waddle around.
You can discover the dark passages and cellars and see the houses inside the castle. There is also a large model of Copenhagen Castle and more.
We also experienced monsters from legends and old tales. They were displayed alongside the ruins and information about particular monsters and legends. Not sure whether it’s a permanent display, but it was amazing. Many monsters moved a little and made various sounds. It was also scary a little. Some looked too realistic.
Visiting the Royal Kitchen at Christianborg Palace
A kitchen is always good to visit as there might be some cake. Unfortunately, not in this one. After many years, the Royal Kitchen has been fully restored to its former glory.
You can find here one of Europe’s largest collections of copperware.
The kitchen’s sole purpose is to give a glimpse of what it would have looked like in its glory days.
On the 15th of May, 1937, the largest royal banquet was held and catered for 275 guests, and this kitchen was used for it.
The Palace Chapel
It dates back to 1826 and is used for royal events such as weddings, baptisms, and anniversaries.
The chapel’s first major royal event was Frederick VII’s and Princess Vilhelmine’s magnificent wedding in 1828.
The interior of the chapel has a more relaxed and warmer atmosphere.
The Royal Stables
We didn’t manage to go to the Royal Stables. The lady at the ticket office told us today there were no horses, so in the end, we didn’t go.
But we missed out on the beautiful coaches that are stored there.
They are still stunning and definitely worth the visit.
The Tower
Too exhausted for the tower, we only admired it from the ground. But it’s the first thing we will do when we return to Copenhagen.
From the top, you get a 360-degree view of Copenhagen. As we have visited the Round Tower already, we were too lazy to go up 😅. Later we found out there is an elevator taking you up.
It is 106 meters (347 ft.) tall, and it makes it the highest tower in Copenhagen (40 centimeters higher than the city hall tower). The Tower was constructed as part of the third and present-day Christiansborg Palace.
It is free to access the tower.
There is also a restaurant where you can have a nice lunch or dinner.
The Christianborg Palace is our favorite spot we waddled in Copenhagen. It has certain magic around it. Visit it when in Copenhagen. If we had to choose only one palace to visit, it would be Christianborg Palace.