Visiting the Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg has to be one of the most striking buildings in all of Copenhagen.
Christiansborg Palace ended up being one of our favorite spots in Copenhagen. This is how our visit went.
Christiansborg Palace is one of Copenhagen's top attractions, so on our second day in this beautiful city, we made sure to check out its grandeur for ourselves. Denmark's capital has plenty of must-see places, and this one definitely makes the list. Since it's right in central Copenhagen, there was no way we were going to miss it.
Originally built to serve as a royal residence and seat of power for Denmark's monarchy, Christiansborg Palace was commissioned by King Christian VI in the 1700s to replace the outdated Copenhagen Castle. But the site's role as a power center stretches back to the 1400s. It faced a rocky history, burning down twice over the centuries. The version we see now was rebuilt between 1907 and 1928 to hold Denmark's executive, legislative, and judicial branches, making it the only building in the world that houses all three.
Funny enough, even though we had Christiansborg on our Copenhagen list, visiting it turned out to be kind of spontaneous. We didn't originally plan to see both Rosenborg Castle and Christiansborg on the same day, but while wandering around the Indre By district, we ended up nearby. Once we got to Gammel Strand, the palace was right across the canal, so we wanted to see it anyway. That's when Lucie slyly mentioned it was still open, and since we were already there, going inside just felt right. So that settled it, and we went in.
The reception rooms were easily the highlight of our visit to Christiansborg.
Christiansborg Palace Tickets
Normally, we probably would've booked Christiansborg tickets in advance through their online system, but since this visit was pretty spontaneous, we just bought them on the spot. Unlike Rosenborg, where we'd also shown up without a reservation and had to wait for the next available time slot, we didn't run into any issues here. Everything went smoothly, and we were able to head right in without a wait.
The only downside was that we got there around 3:30 in the afternoon, and the ticket clerk let us know we wouldn't have enough time to see everything. We would still be able to check out the Royal Reception Rooms, though, which are the main highlight of Christiansborg. It was a little disappointing not to explore the entire palace, but honestly, there wasn't much we could do about it by then.
The beautiful King's Staircase.
There are several ticket options for Christiansborg Palace, but the most popular is the full-access ticket, which costs 200 DKK for adults and covers the entire castle. We ended up getting the Royal Reception Rooms ticket instead, which is 140 DKK per adult. They also sell individual tickets for the Royal Kitchen, the Ruins beneath the palace, and the Royal Stables, each at 80 DKK, but if you're planning to see the Reception Rooms, the combo ticket is definitely the better deal.
The full-access ticket to Christiansborg Palace was among the priciest admissions we saw on our Denmark trip, with maybe only LEGO House and Egeskov Castle being more expensive. Like we said, we opted for just the Royal Reception Rooms ticket, which was slightly more affordable and pretty comparable to what we paid for entry at other museums or castles along the way.
If you want to save a bit more on admission, consider getting a Copenhagen Card. It gives you free access to Christiansborg Palace too. We totally missed out and definitely spent more, especially since it also covers places outside the city like Roskilde Cathedral and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
By the way, if you use GetYourGuide as often as we do and don't think you'll get enough out of the Copenhagen Card, Den Kongelige Samling also offers Christiansborg tickets through this channel. It's super convenient to have everything in one place, and most importantly, they do offer discounts from time to time.
At the end of our visit, we found out there's one part of the palace that's completely free to visit: the Christiansborg Tower. We'll talk more about it later in this guide, so stay tuned, because yes, we did go up and check it out!
We loved that the stunning views from Christiansborg’s tower were completely free.
Touring the Royal Reception Rooms
While Lucie handled the tickets, I dropped my daypack into one of the free lockers. Once we were ready to go, we started the Christiansborg tour by putting on the required shoe covers. We missed the 3 PM English guided tour by just about half an hour, which was a bit of a shame. Then again, we'd already visited both Egeskov and Koldinghus without a guide, and those turned out just fine, so we figured we'd be okay on our own here too.
The Dining Hall has a huge mahogany table, beautiful crystal chandeliers, and seats for 52 guests.
These days, Christiansborg is home to Denmark's three branches of government: the Parliament (Folketinget), the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister's Office. It also still functions as a royal palace, hosting events like banquets, ambassador visits, and royal ceremonies.
Out of all the castle rooms we visited in Denmark, the King's Library was probably the most beautiful.
The Royal Reception Rooms are on the first floor, known as the bel étage (French for "beautiful floor"), in the main wing and along Prins Jørgen's Gaard, the ceremonial courtyard. Alongside them are the Royal Stables and the Palace Chapel. Although still in use by the Danish monarchy, these areas are open to visitors on most days.
This is the view of the entire Christiansborg Palace from the tower.
Our Tip: While the main draw at Christiansborg is definitely the royal areas, consisting of the Reception Rooms, Royal Stables and Kitchen, and the Ruins, don't overlook Folketinget, the Danish Parliament, which is also inside the palace. They offer guided tours in English on certain days that last about 45 minutes. The tours are free but must be booked online. We missed out on this one, which was a shame since I remember visiting the National Congress in Brasilia and the Parliament in Wellington a few years back, and both were really interesting. I bet this one would've been great too.
Anyway, our main reason for visiting was the Royal Reception Rooms, and they didn't disappoint. The rooms were impressive and beautiful. Knowing that the Danish monarchs still use them when not in official events made them feel even more special. As we toured the palace, we passed through rooms like the Velvet Room and the Throne Room, which were really nice. Interestingly, compared to Frederiksborg Castle, the rooms were larger and, despite all the decor, came across as a bit less lavish and more practical.
The Great Hall was huge and really impressive.
There was plenty to see inside, and some of our favorite highlights were definitely the ceremonial Great Hall with its 17 monumental tapestries. The 40-meter-long gallery was impressive, but we were even more fascinated by the tapestries themselves. They weren't anything like the traditional ones we'd seen in other Danish castles like Kronborg or Rosenborg. To our surprise, they were modern, made between 1990 and 2000, which explained their style, and they were packed with motifs from over 1,000 years of Denmark's history.
Those 17 tapestries hold 1,000 years of Danish history.
Not being fans of third-party apps, we decided not to use the audio guide at Christiansborg. Luckily, the English info panels scattered around the rooms provided plenty of interesting facts, so we didn't feel like we were missing out at all.
For us, that wrapped up the main tour, and from there we headed to Christiansborg Tower. If you have time and bought the full Christiansborg Palace ticket, there are a few more spots to explore, which we'll briefly cover next.
The Velvet Room, decorated in pink velvet, is where monarchs once received dignitaries.
To start, you can visit the Royal Kitchen, where you'll see what went into preparing King Christian X's dinner in 1937. It includes historic ovens, stoves, and a massive collection of copper cookware (literally tons). There's also a short movie about how meals were prepared and served at these royal events.
After that, you can visit the Castle Ruins below the palace, offering an 800-year history and a glimpse into Christiansborg's beginnings as a medieval castle. The ruins include old stone walls, archways, and moats, all tucked beneath the main building. Out of the three, this was the one I was most disappointed not to see.
Finally, the Royal Stables house the horses and carriages used in royal celebrations. The horses train daily in the riding arena and on the streets, but each summer they're sent for a grazing vacation in North Zealand. We still saw the riding grounds while wandering around Christiansborg's complex after visiting the tower, but no horses were there, just the equestrian statue of Christian IX standing right outside.
Statue of Christian IX overlooking the riding grounds at Christiansborg.
Back in Ribe, we found a Czech-Danish connection with Queen Dagmar, and to our surprise, there was another one here. The horses at Christiansborg (which we didn't get to see) are Kladrubers, the oldest Czech horse breed. They're bred in Kladruby nad Labem, a small UNESCO-listed village about 90 kilometers east of Prague. Even though we aren't equestrians, it was really cool to discover that.
The Christiansborg Tower
Just when we thought our visit was over, we realized there was one more section we hadn't seen, the Christiansborg Tower. On the way to the palace through the King's Gate, we'd passed a line but didn't pay much attention. On our way out, we discovered that it was actually the entrance to the tower, and we figured it would offer some great views of Copenhagen. While the tower's not in the royal section, it's still part of the main palace structure.
Christiansborg Tower is located at the main entrance of the Christiansborg Palace complex, facing Slotspladsen (the Palace Square).
We then found out three more things. First, Christiansborg Tower is free to enter, which was a nice surprise. Second, there's often a long line to get in since the viewing platform has limited space. How long depends on when you visit. When we went, which I'd say was just a regular day, we waited about 20 to 25 minutes.
This map with the layout of Christiansborg Tower helps make it a bit easier to see how everything is set up.
Unlike our trip to Paris, which was full of long queues, this was probably the only line we had to wait in at any attraction. Since there's no admission fee to explore the tower, we'd call that wait barely an inconvenience. Third, there's a separate line for the restaurant on the first floor, so be sure to pick the right one (that's usually the longer line).
Once it was our turn, we passed through security and took the elevator to the second floor (the only way up). Then we climbed the stairs to the viewing platform, which is 44 meters above the city. Christiansborg Tower itself is actually much taller. Standing at 106 meters, it's the tallest tower in Copenhagen, but the viewing platform is the highest visitors can go. By the way, Denmark's tallest building is in Aarhus.
Christiansborg easily offers the best views of Copenhagen.
At the top, we took in amazing views of Copenhagen, its many canals, red-brick houses, old churches, other towers, various squares, industrial zones, and the calmly looking Øresund Strait. The sunny afternoon had almost zero haze, so the views were crystal clear. We could see CopenHill (the power plant with a ski slope!), the striking dome of the Marble Church, and even the V-shaped towers of AC Hotel Bella Sky, where we stayed.
The Marble Church looked truly stunning from Christiansborg Tower.
Although we could have stayed much longer, we spent less than 10 minutes at the top, partly to make room for others, and partly because our day wasn't over yet. We still wanted to explore Strøget Street, visit Rådhuspladsen, and spend more time walking along Copenhagen's harbor. Plus, we planned to stroll around Christiansborg a bit more and soak in its beautiful neo-baroque architecture.
The nearby City Hall Tower is just 40 centimeters shorter than Christiansborg Tower.
Christiansborg Tower is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 9 PM, closes at 5:30 PM on Sundays, and is closed on Mondays. It could be a great spot to catch a sunset over Copenhagen (just as the Little Mermaid Statue site is for sunrises), though we wouldn't rely on it too much since it might be tough to get in if lots of people have the same idea.
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Christiansborg's Opening Hours
Christiansborg Palace is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM, with the last entry allowed 30 minutes before closing. The Royal Stables have different hours depending on the season, and outside of summer, they're open from 1:30 PM to 4 PM.
The Throne Room is one of the most important ceremonial spaces at Christiansborg Palace.
How Long Does It Take to Visit Christiansborg Palace
Like we said before, we got there around 3:30 PM, leaving us with under 90 minutes for the whole visit, including ticket purchase and putting my daypack in the lockers. That was enough for the Royal Reception Rooms. But if you want to see the Royal Kitchen, Castle Ruins, and Royal Stables, expect to spend an additional 15 to 30 minutes on each, so about 45 to 90 minutes more.
We then spent another 30 to 40 minutes exploring the tower, plus some extra time wandering around the whole complex. So, if you want to see what we saw, and maybe take a quick look at the kitchens, ruins, or stables, two hours should be enough for Christiansborg. But if you want the full experience and don't want to feel rushed, we'd recommend setting aside about three hours.
We visited the Royal Reception Rooms without a guide and explored at our own pace.
How to Get to Christiansborg
On Foot: We used the classic metro plus walking combo to get to Christiansborg since we stayed a bit outside the center. But if you're already in central Copenhagen, you can easily just walk. For example, the iconic Nyhavn is only about 800 meters from the palace.
By Metro: The nearest metro station to Christiansborg is Gammel Strand, which is practically right across the canal. In the morning, we used Kongens Nytorv, a big transfer hub in the city center, which also works well for Christiansborg.
Christiansborg Tours: If for whatever reason you don’t have time to go inside but still want to see Christiansborg, there are several fun ways to catch a view, even if just from the outside. The most obvious is taking the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus, which stops right next to the palace, but that’s more about convenience than excitement. We think the more interesting options are either the cycling tours or the super popular canal cruises, which are one of the easiest ways to see Copenhagen and top sights like Christiansborg.
The canal cruises go all the way around Slotsholmen Island, which is where Christiansborg sits.
By Car: There really isn't much point in driving since the metro and walking combo is super convenient. Although we brought a car for this trip, we left it at the hotel because driving around the city just wasn't practical. If you want to drive to Christiansborg, know that there's no official parking there. You'll have to find a spot outside the Slotsholmen instead. A popular option is Blox Parkering, which is paid and about 700 meters from the palace. You can compare rental car prices in Denmark here.
Accommodation Near Christiansborg
Christiansborg sits right in central Copenhagen, so there are lots of great hotels close by, just not right on Slotsholmen itself. If you're into stylish modern hotels, Motel One Copenhagen and NH Collection Copenhagen are top picks. For a luxury experience, try Hotel Sanders, and for budget travelers, Danhostel Copenhagen City is a popular choice. As for us, we stayed at the AC Hotel Bella Sky. It's not within walking distance, but getting there by metro was quick and easy.
It was easy to spot the twin leaning towers of Bella Sky Hotel from Christiansborg Tower.
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
