We love experiencing everything that gives a city its unique character from churches to government institutes. Whether you are religious or not, walking into a local place of worship gives you an immersive perspective into its culture. Government buildings, specially those with living monarchies provide a sense of citizenship and purpose to its people. Here are a few top sites for these special places that every family can enjoy.

Charming Churches and Urban Legends

Travel Tip >> As with most tourist cities, some religious buildings have extra fees for tours and accessing top views so bring a few extra bucks if you want all access passes. 

Walk through Langelinie Park and Kastellet moat near the edge of the city streets you’ll find English Church, aka St. Alban’s church, with its high steeple towering over overhead. The prominent religion in the country is Christianity, but similarly to the Church of England, the country has its own Church of Denmark. In comparison they are both of the Episcopal polity however the Church of Denmark is categorized as Lutheran in orientation. St. Alban’s Church is completely dedicated to England’s Anglican foundation and was built in the late 1800’s for the growing English population in Copenhagen.

The sanctuary was designed by British architect Arthur Blomfield in the Gothic Revival style with its dark grey flint stone walls highlighting the white piping and window framing around the exterior. Once inside you can actually feel the silence and reference that was invested to create the soul of the structure, magnified by the contrasting sound your footsteps make when walking down the center isle on the wood floor. The extensive detailing of the carved altar seemed to brighten with the traditional stained glass windows streaming light in from behind. It was a sight grandma would be proud of as we have a bonified Priest in the Episcopal faith in our family. It’s perfect mix of beauty and spirituality might even settle the kids.

If that doesn’t work try driving their attention to the Gefion Fountain just in front of the quaint little church. Like many fountains around the world, many use this one as a wishing well and we can imagine the high expectations for results for those who try as it is the largest monument in the city. It was designed by Danish artist Anders Bundgaard near the turn of the 20th century and depicts the mythical story of the creation of the island Zealand on which the city was founded. There are three tiers with water flowing down to the bottom in short falls and the fountain sends arches of water along the edges that when standing at the bottom, seem to go as high as the steeple of the church.

On the opposing shore of the Kobenhavns Havn waterway in the Christianshavn district we found the Church of Our Saviour, clearly recognizable by its twisting gold trimmed helix spire pointing toward the heavens. We marveled at how the design demanded attention of anyone in its radius. Visitors can walk all the way up and take in amazing views of the city. Despite its beauty and stature, ironically the church has its own urban legend that haunts ghost-seekers that states that the architect committed suicide by jumping off the top of the tower when he realized that the spiral staircase turns the wrong way. Listen closely to hear the church sounding melodies every hour from 8 pm until midnight, not a bad soundtrack to evenings in the city.

There are plenty other churches to check out if you are drawn to the beauty of religious sites like us. A few others include Grundvigs Church, Frederick’s Church, Copenhagen Cathedral, Saint Anne’s Church and the International Church of Copenhagen.

Amalienborg Palace

Travel Tip >> Consider the Danish Royal Guards in the same regard as the iconic English Royal Guards. They are not allowed to talk to anyone like their fellow funny hatted friends, though if you’re lucky you may get a minor smirk. 

Like most modern cities it was easy enough to navigate to the next main attraction by foot – the Amalienborg Palace. It’s easy to recognize once you enter the massively wide open cobblestone square, with a large oxidized bronze statue of King Frederick V reaching to the sky in the middle of the space, and identical buildings all facing one another. Set perfectly on the waterfront, it is home to the Danish royal family complete with around-the-clock Royal Life Guards that strongly resemble the Queen’s Guard and Foot Guards in England. You can feel its magnanimity by just being there, even your little princes and princesses might stop and pause to take it all in before role playing as if it was their castle.

We got a glimpse of the Guards marching in commute to the palace the next day, we followed them as far as the rain and time would allow before ducking into a shop to let the water pass. The changing of the Guards ceremony that occurs daily at noon and by all accounts it’s a great display if you want to plan your day around the event. The guards also appear to have similar rules as their fellow fuzzy-hatted counterparts with little-to-no facial expressions allowed at all times. Be respectful as you snap your shots but have fun doing it!