Copenhagen's museums cover a lot of ground, from royal rooms to the long record of the country itself. The National Museum of Denmark is the country's largest museum of cultural history, the Museum of Copenhagen dates from 1787, and Rosenborg Castle from 1606. Private taste shows up as well: Carl Jacobsen founded the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Many of these buildings are themselves listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register, among them Rundetaarn and the Thorvaldsen Museum, so the walls count as much as what hangs on them. This list is for visitors who want substance more than spectacle and who will plan around opening hours. The Glyptotek stays open to 21:00 on Thursdays, and the David Collection and the Natural History Museum of Denmark both stay open to 21:00 on Wednesdays; those late evenings are the best hours in the city's museum week. One pick, Arken Museum of Modern Art, is in Ishøj and deserves an unhurried half day; the rest fit together into a week of mornings and evenings without much travel.
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1 National Museum of Denmark
Ny Vestergade, København K, 1471The country's largest museum of cultural history
Founded in 1849, the National Museum of Denmark is the country's largest museum of cultural history, and it is the right place to get the long view before the details. Skip the bus-tour commentary as your history lesson and give this building a full morning instead. You'll find it on Ny Vestergade in the 1471 postal area of København K. From April to October it is open every day, public holidays included, from 10:00 to 17:00; from November to March it closes on Mondays, and it is closed entirely on 24, 25 and 31 December. Check the current programme at nationalmuseet.dk before you go, and plan on more than one visit if you can: a museum this size rewards coming back.
Dates from 1849
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2 Rosenborg Castle
A palace dating from 1606, open every day
Rosenborg Castle opens at 10:00 and closes at 17:00 every day of the week, which makes it easy to fit around a loose itinerary. This palace in Copenhagen dates from 1606 and is listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register, so the building is as much the exhibit as anything inside it. We'd arrive close to 10:00 rather than joining the late-afternoon rush before closing, and give the rooms the slow attention a palace of this age deserves. Mornings are calmer, and arriving early leaves the afternoon free for the rest of the city. Check kongernessamling.dk/rosenborg before you set out.
Dates from 1606 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-17:00
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3 Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Tietgensgade, København V, 1704Thursday opening until 21:00 in a listed museum founded by Carl Jacobsen
The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek stands on Tietgensgade in the 1704 postal area of København V, the museum Carl Jacobsen founded, dating from 1882 and listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register. A collection shaped by one founder carries a personality that committee-built institutions rarely manage, and that is the reason to come. Locals know Thursday as the evening to visit: the doors stay open until 21:00 that day, compared with 10:00 to 17:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday through Sunday. An evening visit here, followed by a late dinner, is one of the better ways to spend a Copenhagen Thursday. Plan your visit through glyptoteket.dk.
Dates from 1882 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
Hours: Tu-We, Fr-Su 10:00-17:00; Th 10:00-21:00
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4 Rundetaarn
52A Købmagergade, København K, 1150A 17th-century tower in central Copenhagen with late weekday hours
Rundetaarn is a 17th-century tower in central Copenhagen, standing at 52A Købmagergade in the 1150 postal area, built in 1642 and listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register. We'd skip the summer midday when everyone else piles in. The hours run long enough to come later: from 1 May to 30 September it is open every day from 10:00 to 20:00, and from 1 October to 30 April it opens 10:00 to 18:00 on Monday and Thursday through Sunday, staying open to 21:00 on Tuesday and Wednesday. A winter Tuesday or Wednesday evening is the time to climb. Details are at rundetaarn.dk.
Dates from 1642 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
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5 Statens Museum for Kunst
Wednesday opening until 20:00
The Statens Museum for Kunst is an art museum in Copenhagen that dates from 1896. Wednesday evening is the slot to take: it stays open until 20:00, while Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday it runs 10:00 to 18:00. Skip the weekend crowds that treat an art museum as a box to tick between lunch and shopping. A midweek evening gives you room to stand in front of a painting for as long as it holds you, which is the whole point of a visit. Check smk.dk for what is on before you go, and pair it with a slow walk after rather than another sight.
Dates from 1896
Hours: Tu, Th-Su 10:00-18:00; We 10:00-20:00
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6 Thorvaldsen Museum
Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads, København K, 1213A listed museum on the square that carries its namesake's name
Dating from 1848, the Thorvaldsen Museum stands on Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads in the 1213 postal area of København K, a museum and a square that share one name. Listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register, the building deserves as much of your attention as the collection. Don't treat it as a quick stop between bigger names. A museum devoted to a single figure gives you a focus that the sprawling survey museums cannot. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, and as a museum in Copenhagen it suits an unhurried hour. See thorvaldsensmuseum.dk for current information.
Dates from 1848 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00
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7 Hirschsprung Collection
20 Stockholmsgade, København Ø, 2100A listed art museum dating from 1865
At 20 Stockholmsgade in the 2100 postal area of København Ø, the Hirschsprung Collection is an art museum dating from 1865, listed on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register. Don't let the pull of the largest galleries in town crowd this one out. A collection carrying one family's name is built to a single person's taste, and that coherence is what you come for. Give it an hour and you will leave with a clearer picture than three rushed blockbusters would give you. Opening times are not on record here, so check hirschsprung.dk before you set out. Go on a quiet weekday if you can.
Dates from 1865 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
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8 Museum of Copenhagen
18 Stormgade, København V, 1555The city's historical museum, with a Thursday opening until 20:00
The Museum of Copenhagen, at 18 Stormgade in the 1555 postal area of København V, is where the city's own story gets told. It has stood here since 1787 and sits on the Kulturstyrelsen monument register. Thursday is the evening to aim for: the museum stays open until 20:00, while Monday to Wednesday and Friday run 10:00 to 17:00. Weekends start later, at 11:00 to 17:00, so don't arrive at 10:00 on a Saturday expecting to walk in. Current exhibitions are listed at cphmuseum.kk.dk.
Dates from 1787 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
Hours: Mo-We,Fr 10:00-17:00; Th 10:00-20:00; Sa-Su 11:00-17:00
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9 Arken Museum of Modern Art
Modern art in Ishøj, with a Thursday opening until 21:00
The journey out to Arken Museum of Modern Art in Ishøj takes you clear of the city, and that distance is part of the appeal. The museum opened in 1996, and we'd save it for a Thursday, when it stays open until 21:00, rather than squeezing it between other stops on a rushed day. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday hours are 11:00 to 17:00, and at weekends it opens 10:00 to 17:00, so weekday visitors shouldn't turn up at 10:00. Treat it as a proper outing, and check the programme at arken.dk before you leave.
Dates from 1996
Hours: Tu,We,Fr 11:00-17:00; Th 11:00-21:00; Sa,Su 10:00-17:00
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10 David Collection
30 Kronprinsessegade, København K, 1306Wednesday opening until 21:00
Wednesday evening is the one to plan around at the David Collection, which stays open until 21:00 at 30 Kronprinsessegade in the 1306 postal area of København K. This art museum in Copenhagen dates from 1948, and Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday it opens 10:00 to 17:00, with Mondays closed. When the crowded blockbuster galleries are drawing everyone else on a Wednesday evening, come here instead, then find dinner nearby once the doors close. Check davidmus.dk for current displays.
Dates from 1948
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11 Natural History Museum of Denmark
Øster Voldgade, København K, 1350Open every day, with a Wednesday opening until 21:00
The Natural History Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen has been on Øster Voldgade in the 1350 postal area of København K since 2004. On Wednesdays it stays open until 21:00; the rest of the week, Monday included, the hours are 10:00 to 17:00, which makes it a dependable choice for a Monday. We'd skip the wet-afternoon approach most visitors take and aim instead for a Wednesday evening, when the galleries are quieter and the visit settles properly into the day. See snm.ku.dk for current exhibitions.
Dates from 2004
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12 Danish War Museum
Frederiksholms Kanal, København K, 1220A listed military museum dating from 1928
The Danish War Museum, a listed monument on the Kulturstyrelsen register, stands on Frederiksholms Kanal in the 1220 postal area of København K, a military museum dating from 1928. Don't look to souvenir-stall militaria for a sense of the country's past at arms; this is where that history gets serious treatment. It opens Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00, making a weekday morning the easy slot. Check krigsmuseet.dk for current exhibitions before you go. It is a sobering visit, and the better for it.
Dates from 1928 · Monument on Kulturstyrelsen register
Hours: Tu-Su 10:00-17:00
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