Nyhavn Harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark
When I moved to Europe over a decade ago from Washington DC, I had an informal list of places that I wanted to see. Nyhavn Harbor in Copenhagen, Denmark was one of them. I remember being captured by its colorful aesthetic and Old Scandinavian architecture. I knew that I had to put Denmark on my list for places to see first. Rather conveniently, Copenhagen has a large airport and is a decent hub in all of Europe, so getting to Copenhagen was rather easy.
In this post, you’ll see my latest video from Copenhagen, my best photos of Nyhavn Harbor, and tips on how to get there.
Nyhavn Harbor, A Brief History
Nyhavn translated directly to ‘New Harbor’ (I realize it is redundant for me to say Nyhavn Harbor, since that technically means ‘New harbor harbor’, but let’s just forget about that). The harbor is located in the entertainment district of Copenhagen and its origins date back to the 17th century. Constructed in 1675 by King Christian V, the harbor was dug out by Danish soldiers and Swedish prisoners of war (Sweden and Denmark have had 11 wars between another over the ages so this is not rare).
Nyhavn’s central location in Copenhagen made it an ideal place for handling cargo and catches of the day. This is also why even today, you will see many old historical wooden ships lining the harbor. The harbor itself was pedestrianized in 1980 which made it more accessible to the public. It is also described as a veteran ship and museum harbor.
As for the buildings that line the harbor, they are constructed from wood, bricks, and plaster, the oldest dating back to 1681. Famous Danish author Hans Christian Andersen also lived here, specifically at number 67, for nearly 20 years.
Nyhavn Harbor Photos
Getting To Nyhavn Harbor
To get to Nyhavn, first you need to fly to Denmark, more specifically Copenhagen. Copenhagen is a pretty good airport hub (Airport Code: CPH) in Europe so a flight there shouldn’t be very expensive (relative to other airports around).
Upon arriving, there is a convenient train that will whisk you from the airport to central Copenhagen. Simply take the M2 train to the Kongens Nytorv stop. From there, Nyhavn is a 5 minute walk away to the northeast.
Of course you can book yourself a taxi to get here or drive yourself, but most places in Scandinavia, especially Copenhagen, have excellent public transport which are efficient and of good quality. So I definitely recommend taking the train.
When to See Nyhavn Harbor
The best time of day is definitely morning. From mid-morning through the night time, you will always see a lot of people at Nyhavn. The best way to get your photos without so many people is around sunrise or the mornings during weekends. Due to its central location and appeal among tourists, it will nearly always be populated at all other times during the day.
I have yet to see Nyhavn in the winter time, and given just how cold Copenhagen can be and just how windy it is, I don’t think winter would be the most comfortable time to go (your mileage may vary). Besides, if you visit in the summer, you will get sunrise around 3-4am which will give you ample time to see the harbor without hardly any other people (early bird gets the worm).
How to Photograph Nyhavn Harbor
There are many vantage points to take photos of Nyhavn from. As far as which lenses to use, I think a wide angle lens (10 mm focal length), a standard lens (24-70 mm focal length), as well as a nifty fifty (50 mm prime lens) would be the most useful.
It is difficult to capture a lot of the colorful buildings and ships with a standard lens due to how narrow the harbor is, so a wide angle would work best here. The standard lens would be good to capture details that don’t require photographing the entire scene. Lastly, I think using your 50 mm prime lens to take photos using the colorful buildings as a backdrop would be boss.
Here are some of the vantage points for taking these pics:
Nyhavnsbroen (‘new harbor bridge’) - This is a popular spot and is the only pedestrian and motor bridge to actually cross the harbor. Here you can get a centered shot of the harbor with all the boats and buildings flanking you on both sides.
Along the harbor - the streets lining the harbor I will describe as the (roughly) north and south sides. The North side has all the restaurants and the south side is a bit more quiet and less photogenic. Nonetheless, capturing the north side can probably be done best while being on the south side, and vice versa. Walk along both sides of the harbor to get the best viewpoints.
Inderhavnsbroen - this is a bicycle and pedestrian bridge that both sides of the large canal that goes through Copenhagen. It doesn’t provide a direct view of all of Nyhavn, but more at an angle but still is a unique way of capturing the harbor from the water.
By Boat - there are many tour operators that offer harbor and canal cruises through Copenhagen, most of which start and terminate at Nyhavn. Therefore, you can grab as many pics of the harbor while traversing through on the water itself, which should give some cool unique viewpoints.
