All activities / Museums & Galleries / Copenhagen
Museums & Galleries in Copenhagen
Denmark's capital, a compact, design-forward city on the Oresund known for its cycling culture, New Nordic food scene, major art museums, and a calendar of music, film and fashion events through the year.
Why here
Copenhagen packs two of Northern Europe's great art museums within a short walk of each other in the city centre. SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark, opened its Historicist building in 1896 beside Rosenborg Castle and holds more than 260,000 works across seven centuries, with an unrivalled collection of Danish Golden Age painting and one of the world's finest holdings of Matisse. A few minutes south, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, built by the Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen and opened in 1897, moves from Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities to a French room heavy with Degas, Gauguin and Rodin, all arranged around a domed Winter Garden. Between them you get the sweep of European art from the ancient world to the twentieth century, in two buildings that are worth seeing for their own sake.
Best months
Both museums are indoor and open year-round, which makes them a natural plan on a grey or wet day in any season. SMK and the Glyptotek each close on Mondays and stay open late one evening a week, and both have a free-admission window on some days, so check current hours. Copenhagen's other big draws, the Designmuseum and the harbour, sit close by for a fuller culture day.
Getting there & around
SMK sits five minutes from Norreport station, the city's main transport hub, and the Glyptotek is beside the Tivoli Gardens near Central Station, about a 20-minute walk or a couple of Metro stops apart. Both sell timed tickets online. The two pair comfortably in a single day, with lunch in between in the city centre.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
OrganizerThe sculpture museum founded by Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen, opened in 1897 at Dantes Plads in central Copenhagen. Around 10,000 works span 6,000 years, from Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities to French painting and sculpture including Degas, Gauguin and one of the largest Rodin holdings outside France. At its heart sits the Winter Garden, a domed palm house that doubles as the museum's gathering place.
SMK - National Gallery of Denmark
OrganizerDenmark's national gallery, housed in a Historicist building by Vilhelm Dahlerup that opened in 1896 beside Rosenborg Castle near Norreport. Its collection runs past 260,000 works across seven centuries, from an unrivalled holding of Danish Golden Age painting to European old masters and one of the world's finest Matisse collections, the last donated by Johannes Rump in 1928 alongside works by Picasso, Derain and Braque.