Seat of three branches of Danish power under a single roof, Christiansborg Palace in central Copenhagen houses the national parliament, the supreme court and the offices of the prime minister, while also serving the monarch for state functions. No other building in the world is said to host all three branches of government together, giving the palace a singular constitutional role. The present palace, completed in the early twentieth century, is the third to stand on the small island of Slotsholmen, its predecessors having twice been destroyed by fire. Each rebuilding left traces, and beneath the current structure lie the excavated ruins of the medieval castle and later palaces, now open to visitors as an atmospheric underground exhibit. Several of the grand state rooms are open to the public when not in official use, among them a richly decorated hall hung with a series of modern tapestries depicting Danish history, commissioned for a former monarch and woven in vivid, sometimes startling, imagery. The royal kitchens, stables and a chapel can also be visited. The palace tower, the tallest in the city, is open to the public free of charge and offers a sweeping view over the rooftops, spires and harbour of Copenhagen, a reward for those who ride the lift to the top. Surrounded by other historic buildings on Slotsholmen, including the old stock exchange and museums, the palace sits at the symbolic and physical centre of the Danish state, its grounds and ruins layering nearly a thousand years of history into one site. For visitors, Christiansborg offers an unusually rich combination of living politics, royal ceremony, fine interiors, archaeology and a panoramic viewpoint, all within a short walk of the other major sights of the old city. The combination of medieval ruins, baroque stables, royal reception halls and a working parliament under one roof gives Christiansborg an unusual richness, and separate tickets cover the different attractions, allowing visitors to mix and match according to interest. The reception rooms, used for state banquets and the welcoming of foreign heads of state, are decorated with a striking blend of historic furnishings and contemporary tapestries that have themselves caused debate for their bold colours and modernist style. A free tower visit, often skipped by hurried tourists, rewards the climb with a quiet, panoramic view that takes in many of the other major sights of the city across the rooftops and harbour.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Prins Jorgens Gard 1, Copenhagen, Denmark

Website: https://www.kongeligeslotte.dk