Old Town and Pedestrian Zone , Copenhagen

The 1.8km/1-mi long pedestrian zone, known as "Strøget" (meaning straight line or stretch), traverses the inner city. It is Copenhagen's most popular shopping street. Stroget consists of several roads criss-crossing one another, beginning at Town Hall square (Rådhuspladsen) and ending at Kongens Nytorv. Some adjoining streets on the north have also been pedestrianised. The streets are lined by many shops, boutiques and cafes.

The busy Town Hall Square (Rådhuspladsen) is dominated by Copenhagen Town Hall, which was built between 1892 and 1905 and is based partly on the Italian Renaissance and partly on medieval Danish architecture. The tower is 106m/350ft high and the building is richly adorned with sculpture and painting. Above the main entrance can be seen a figure of Bishop Absalon in gilded copper and in the Great Hall stand busts of Martin Nyrop, the architect who designed the building (d. 1921), the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1840), Hans Christian Andersen (1805-76) and the physicist Niels Bohr (1885-1962). The World Clock at the main entrance which was designed and constructed by Jens Olsen in 1955 shows not only the time and date but also various astronomical constellations.

To the northeast of Town Hall Square in central Copenhagen, Størget widens out to form Gammeltorv and Nytorv Squares, with old patrician houses of around 1800, lawns and beautiful fountains.

Walking along Strøget the visitor will come to the Church of the Holy Ghost (Helligåndskirke) and the Helligåndshus, which formerly belonged to a monastery and is Copenhagen's only medieval edifice. Amagertov 6 is believed to be the oldest private house in the city; it was built in 1616 by Burgomaster Hansen in the Dutch Baroque style and has a beautiful sandstone doorway. It now houses the showroom of the Royal Porcelain Factory. No. 10 is the well-known Illums Bollinghus store, which sells Danish handicrafts and designer goods.

The busy Kongens Nytorv (King's New Market) is a large square laid out at the end of the 17th C. In the center stands an equestrian statue of King Christian V. This is an important traffic junction and Copenhagen's largest square with a dozen or so streets radiating from it.

On the south side of King's New Market square stands the Theater Royal, erected in the Late Renaissance style in 1872-4. In front of the main entrance stand bronze memorials to the Danish comic dramatist Ludwig Holberg (1684-1754) and the tragic dramatist Adam Oehlenschläger (1779-1850).

A good starting-point for a walk round the Old Town of Copenhagen is Nytorv. In the square are the former Law Courts which are considered to be the finest example of Danish Classicism. Proceeding north from here by way of Gammeltorv and Norregade the visitor will come to the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke), Copenhagen's "cathedral". The present church is the sixth to be built on the same site. After the fifth church was burned down during the bombardment of the town in 1807 the architect Christian Friedrich Hansen created the present Classical building in 1811-29. In the vaulted two-storeyed interior can be seen numerous works by Thorvaldsen - behind the altar his well-known figure of Christ and along the walls the Twelve Apostles (on plinths). The font has a figure of a kneeling angel. The characteristic square tower with a flat roof is topped by a gleaming cross.

To the north of Church of our Lady in central Copenhagen, behind Bispetorv, lies the main building of the University, founded by Christian 1 in 1479. The present building, influenced in style by that of English university buildings, was erected by Peter Malling between 1831 and 1836. The assembly hall, with historic paintings, and the entrance hall with frescoes by Constantin Hansen portraying mythological themes and dating from ca. 1850, are of interest. On the bordering square stands a row of busts of important graduates of the college, including one of the physicist and Nobel Prizewinner Niels Bohr.

On the other side of Norregade stands one of Copenhagen's oldest churches, St Peter's, originally late Gothic and restored in 1816. It has a 78m/255ft high tower. Inside the church and in the herb garden are a number of tombs.

From Nørregade in Copenhagen's Old Town narrow lanes lead into Fiolstræde, a parallel street with many bookshops and antique dealers. In Krystalgade can be seen the Synagogue, built in 1833 in yellow brick. Passing this the visitor will come to Købmagergade, a shopping street, with the Round Tower (Rundetårn), 36m/120ft high and 15m/50ft in diameter, which was built as an observatory in 1642 and now houses a small collection of material connected with the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. The platform, from the top of which there is a magnificent panoramic view of Copenhagen, is reached by a wide spiral ramp. The tower is the one referred to in Hans Christian Andersen's story "The Tinder Box": "eyes as big as the Round Tower...".A tour of the Old Town can continue by way of Skindergade and Kejsergade to Gråbrødretorv, one of Copenhagen's most charming squares with its brightly colored old houses. From here it is a short distance back to Nytorv by way of Strøget.The Round Tower was briefly used by the astronomer Ole Rømer after his return from France until he decided it was too small for his purposes.

The Guinness Museum contains exhibits based on the famous record book. It is divided into 13 galleries in a variety of categories including sport, people, animals, and space. As well, there is a special Danish room. The museum houses several attractions including; Ripley's 'Believe it or Not', A collection of Guiness world records, and a Mystic exploratory world.

The Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum possesses a varied collection of unusual artifacts from all over the world. It has at least 18 galleries with models, statues, photos, and movies. Some highlights are the shrunken heads of Ecuador and a mermaid skeleton.

The Tobacco Museum displays pipes from around the world in a wide variety of materials, from primitive African pipes to delicately carved meerschaums. Visitors can see smoking paraphernalia like tobacco jars, pipe stands and snuffboxes.