The statue everybody wants to see in Copenhagen is the slightly smaller than life-size bronze of Den Lille Havfrue, inspired by Andersen's famous fairy tale The Little Mermaid. Edvard Eriksen sculpted the statue, unveiled in 1913. It rests on rocks right off the shoreline of the seagoing entrance to Copenhagen's harbor, close to Castellet and the Langelinie cruise piers. 

Near The Little Mermaid statue is Gefion Springvandet (Gefion Fountain), sculpted by Anders Bundgaard. Gefion was a Scandinavian goddess who plowed Zealand away from Sweden by turning her sons into oxen.

Also in the area is Kastellet at Langelinie (tel. 33-11-22-33), a pentagonal citadel, replete with moats, constructed by King Frederik III in the then-virtually-impregnable style of the 1660s. Some of Copenhagen's original ramparts still surround the structure. Although today the site is brightened with beds of seasonal flowers and statues honoring prominent Danes, the Citadel functioned as the capital's first line of defense from seagoing invasion until the 18th century. During the Nazi occupation of Copenhagen, the Germans made it their headquarters. Today the Danish military occupies the buildings. You can, however, explore the beautiful grounds of Churchillparken surrounding Kastellet. At the entrance to the park stands St. Albans, the English church of Copenhagen. You can still see the double moats built as part of Copenhagen's defense in the wake of the Swedish siege of the capital on February 10, 1659. The ruined citadel can be explored daily from 6am to sunset.