Carlsberg City District

Brewing at Carlsberg stopped on this site in 2008 and the ground has been redeveloped since as a new city quarter, which has left an unusual mixture: the nineteenth-century industrial buildings kept and converted, with tall new residential towers among them. The set pieces survive, above all the Elephant Gate of 1901, where four granite elephants carry the arch over the road, and the Dipylon gate, the old brewhouses, chimneys and the Jacobsen family villa. The visitor centre in the old stables covers brewing history and holds a large collection of beer bottles. The Carlsberg Laboratory here isolated the yeast strain used for lager brewing and published the pH scale, both of which the exhibition covers.

What you actually see

• The Elephant Gate - four granite elephants carrying the arch.
• Converted brewhouses - nineteenth-century industry among new towers.
• The brewing visitor centre - history, equipment and a large bottle collection.
• The Carlsberg Laboratory story - lager yeast and the pH scale.

When to go

Year round. Half a day for the quarter and the visitor centre. The centre is open daily; the district itself is public street at all hours. Weekdays are quieter than weekends.

Honest expectations

Much of the district is a building site and will be for years. The visitor centre is a commercial brand experience as much as a museum and is priced accordingly. Beer tastings are included but limited. The new residential blocks are unremarkable.

Nearby

Valby is around it; central Copenhagen is a short S-train ride.