Nordic CapitalCopenhagen.

The 17th-century harbour canal lined with coloured merchant houses — the most photographed view in Copenhagen, and the only time it belongs to you is before 09:00. Nyhavn (New Harbour) was built in 1673 to connect the harbour to the city centre. The houses on the north side are the originals: 17, 18 and 20 Nyhavn are where Hans Christian Andersen lived at three different periods of his life. At dawn the colours — ochre, terracotta, mustard, pale blue — catch the Nordic morning light from the east and reflect in the still canal water. The tourist restaurants are shut. The canal smells of salt and old wood.

The seat of three branches of Danish government — the Parliament (Folketing), the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister's office, all in the same building, which is also a royal reception palace. The tower is free and gives the best elevated view of Copenhagen: the harbour, the city's copper-green rooftops, Nyhavn in miniature, and on clear days the bridge to Sweden. The palace has been rebuilt five times after fires on the same island since 1167. The current building dates from 1928. The royal reception rooms (separate ticket) are among the finest state rooms in Scandinavia. Underneath the palace, the ruins of the original 1167 castle of Bishop Absalon are accessible and free.

Two glass market halls opened in 2011 — the finest food market in Scandinavia, with 60 stalls selling fresh fish, Danish charcuterie, cheese, open sandwiches (smørrebrød), coffee, craft beer and produce from across Denmark. The smørrebrød (buttered rye bread open sandwiches) here are the reference standard: dense dark rugbrød topped with pickled herring, smoked salmon, roast beef with remoulade, or leverpostej (liver pâté) with bacon and mushrooms. Grød (porridge bar) has the best weekday breakfast. The coffee at Coffee Collective is the best in the city — the roaster that set the standard for Scandinavian specialty coffee.

Open since 1843 — the second-oldest amusement park in the world, Walt Disney visited in 1951 and used it as inspiration for Disneyland. Tivoli is not a theme park in the modern sense: it is a pleasure garden with rides, open-air concert halls, restaurants of all price ranges, and the specific fairground atmosphere of coloured lights after dark in a Nordic city. The wooden roller coaster (Bjergbanen, 1914) is the oldest still operating in the world. At night in summer, the 100,000 lights and the lanterns create an atmosphere unlike any amusement park in the world. Hans Christian Andersen lived across the street.