A private Walking Tour in the Old City with Denmark's beloved poet and fairy tale writer, Hans Christian Andersen, in his top hat and long coat, can be arranged.

A private walking tour in English with Hans Christian Andersen in his 19-century costume can begin at your hotel or at a convenient location of your choice such as the Town Hall Square. The walking tour lasts one hour and includes the main sights of the city such as The Cathedral, The Old University Building, The Round Tower, The Old Courthouse, The Castle Island, The Royal Library, The Christiansborg Palace, The Old Synagogue, The Latin Quarter, The Walking Street, The Antique Market and The Old Stock Exchange, among others. We will go into some of the buildings and explore hidden courtyards behind the buildings, alleyways, statues and fountains. Along the way you will meet famous Danes such as Queen Margrethe II and the royal family; the philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard; the writer, Karen Blixen; the sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen; the colorful renaissance King Christian IV and of course Hans Christian Andersen, among others. There will also be an opportunity to learn something about various aspects of Danish culture, it's government, education system, religion, the economy, what products the Danes make and who they trade with, the Danish Welfare Model and the tax system which makes it possible, marriage rituals and the unique status of women, the treatment of the elderly and children, contemporary issues such as immigration, even the Danes love affair with the bicycle as well as where to find the city's best (and most affordable) smorrebrod sandwiches and Danish pastries. Let an "insider" make your stay more enjoyable and productive with helpful suggestions on museums, castle tours, tower tours, canal and harbor tours, bus tours, bicycling in the city, antique markets, flea markets, traditional Danish lunch cafes and dinner restaurants and up-to-date advice on what's good (and what's not) in and around Copenhagen.

The price of a private walking tour varies depending on the size of the group and are available from May thru September. For more details and reservations contact copenhagenwalks@yahoo.com.

A private tour of Rosenborg Castle and The Royal Treasuries in English with Hans Christian Andersen can be arranged at your convenience. The tour lasts one hour-and-a-half. The price of the tour varies depending on the size of the group. Tours are available from May thru September.

Rosenborg Castle was originally built as a summer residence for the Royal Family by King Christian IV in the beginning of the 1600's. Located outside the walls of the old city, it successfully survived the fires which ravaged Copenhagen in the 1700's and the bombardment of the Napoleonic War. Though the city has since grown around it, the exterior of Rosenborg Castle seems untouched by time and still looks largely as it did when King Christan IV resided there. The interior of the castle is also well-preserved due to the fact that it has not been extensively used as a residence after 1710. In the early 1800's it was converted into a museum honoring the history of the royal family.

The guided tour of Rosenborg Castle begins outside the ticket office of the castle. An entry ticket to the castle (which also includes the treasuries) is purchased from the ticket office where private lockers are available for your belongings. All large bags (including purses) which are not tightly strapped to your waist (such as a fanny-pack), water bottles, umbrellas and the like must be left in the keyed lockers. They are completely safe and free to use. Anything which does not fit into the lockers may be left with the guards at the entrances to the castle and retrieved at the end of tour. You are welcome to take your camera with you. Hans Christian Andersen, your guide, will be there to greet you outside the ticket office where restrooms and a café are located nearby for your convenience. The castle tour lasts one hour-and-a-half in all and is divided into two parts.

The first-half of the tour will include a tour of the castle where each room is dedicated to a King and Queen starting with Denmark's Renaissance monarch, King Christian IV (1577-1648), and ending with King Frederik VII, the last of the Oldenborgs who died in 1863. We begin in the rooms on the ground-floor which served as the King's private apartments. They consist of a wood-paneled winter-room decorated with Dutch paintings, a writing-room with the King's gilded writing-desk, and a conjugal bedroom. The Queen had her private apartments at the opposite end of the castle. After completing a tour of the other rooms on the ground-floor we will visit the large banquet-hall on the top-floor of the castle. Tapestries and an elaborately decorated stucco-ceiling decorate this uniquely-preserved Baroque interior. Small rooms containing collections of porcelain (Flora Danica), colored glass from Italy and hammered-silver furniture adjoin the hall. The royal thrones and large silver-lions once used in coronations grace the far end of the room. A visit to Rosenborg Castle is like a journey back in time, a window through which we can catch a glimpse into the world of the Danish monarchy and the way they lived in a by-gone day.

The second-half of the tour is devoted to the Royal Treasuries located beneath the castle. An upper-treasury contains decorative swords and walking sticks; King Christian IV's diamond, pearl and gold-embroidered saddles; objects carved from ivory and rock-crystal; lapidary pieces of alabaster, onyx, obsidian, and agate; and broaches in the form of mermaids, dragons and other fantastic animals. The lower treasury contains the four sets of Crown Jewels still worn by the Queen of Denmark, and the Royal Regalia which gave a monarch their authority to rule. Here we also find King Christian IV's coronation crown, considered by some to be the most beautiful of the Renaissance; a gilded baptismal set; gilded writing desks; gold cups and boxes decorated with diamonds; rings set with precious stones; bracelets; diamond earrings, watch-cases in lapiz lazuli, jade, diamonds and gold; enameled prayer books; and Royal Orders of Chivalry from Denmark and England, to name just a few of the objects in The Royal Collection.

For more information and reservations you may contact copenhagenwalks@yahoo.com.