Hotels near Assistens Cemetery

Assistens Cemetery was laid out in 1760 as a burial ground for the poor outside the city walls and is now a public park that Norrebro treats as its garden. People sunbathe, read and picnic here among the graves, which unsettles some visitors and is entirely normal locally. Hans Christian Andersen, Soren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr are all buried here, and their graves are signposted from the main gates.

October is its month. The avenues of lime, beech and maple turn together, the paths fill with leaf litter, and the whole 20 hectares go copper and yellow in a way no other green space in Copenhagen manages. It is free and open daily from early morning until dusk, with closing time pulling earlier as the season goes on. Norrebro's cafes and the Jaegersborggade shops are five minutes away.

Pro Tip: Enter at Kapelvej and leave by the northwestern gate onto Jaegersborggade, which is a single street of small bakeries, coffee roasters and ceramic studios. It turns a cemetery visit into an afternoon and it is where Norrebro actually spends its weekends.