Dragør: Harbour, Old Town and Coast

Harbour, Old Town and Coast in Dragør

Dragør combines maritime history, a well-preserved townscape and coastal scenery. This allows you to focus on different aspects when planning your trip, including historical impressions, walks, nature observation and activities on the water.

Historic Townscape and Maritime Culture

With its narrow streets and low houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, the centre of Dragør is one of the best-preserved towns in Denmark. The old town includes 76 listed properties. Particularly distinctive are the so-called Kikkenborge: small roof structures, often fitted with a window, which were used to observe ships at sea. Dragør Church was consecrated on 26 April 1885.

The harbour has been a hub of maritime activities since the Middle Ages, including herring fishing, the export of goods, privateering, pilotage and the salvage of ships that had run aground. Dragør Museum is located in the middle of the harbour, in the old town hall and a former warehouse. Exhibits include ship models, navigation equipment, paintings and interiors that tell the story of Dragør through the ages. Lodsmuseet is an authentic pilot station at the harbour, with original nautical charts, books, logbooks and tools from maritime work.

The old pilot station at Lodsmuseet has been preserved as it looked in 1984. Near the pilot tower, the museum vessel Elisabeth K571 lies at the quay in the old harbour of Dragør. It is one of the few known surviving ships in Denmark that transported refugees from occupied Denmark to neutral Sweden in October 1943. South of the pilot tower, fishermen hung their nets on wooden poles at Stejlepladsen to dry and repair them. Havnepakhuset was built in 1845 for the pilot service, which needed a place to store its equipment; today, it houses the Dragør Visitor Centre.

Coast, Nature and Paths

Dragør Fort was built from 1910 to 1915 on an artificial island south of Dragør as part of Copenhagen's coastal fortifications. Today, it is private property with restricted public access. The approximately 27-kilometre-long Amarminoen hiking route runs from DR Byen in the north via Sydvestpynten in the south to Dragør Fort in the east.

Sydstranden stretches south of the harbour for 5 kilometres to Søvang and includes numerous paths for walkers and cyclists. Dragør Søbad is located immediately south of the harbour and is divided into a men's, a women's and a communal area. The beach meadows are home to a diverse birdlife, including grey herons, greylag geese, lapwings, coots and barnacle geese.

Unique Experiences on the Water

At Glaspusteriet Glasseriet, you can watch molten glass being transformed into unique works of art. In hands-on experiences, you work with molten glass and blow a coloured glass ball, a drinking glass or a small bowl. At WeSail, visitors can pilot small motorboats themselves on the Øresund and be captain for a day.

As an additional transport note: Bus route 250S departs from central Copenhagen.

If you would like to include additional destinations in your travel plans, you can also find Ølsted, Græsted, Vedbæk, Birkerød, Skuldelev, Hornbæk, Munkerup and Liseleje.

For the overview of the wider travel region: Hovedstaden.