Christiansborg Slot is home to Folketinget (the Danish parliament), the Prime Minister's office and the Supreme Court. Visitor highlights include the glorious royal reception rooms, 11th-century ruins and royal kitchen, all of which can be visited separately or by joint ticket. Admission to the palace grounds, public galleries (during parliamentary debates only) and tower is free. The tower (11amt to 9pm Tuesday to Saturday, to 5.30pm Sunday) offers sweeping views of the Danish capital.
Several short bridges link Slotsholmen to the rest of Copenhagen. If you walk into Slotsholmen from Ny Vestergade, you'll cross the western part of the canal and enter the large main courtyard of Christiansborg Slot, which was once used as royal riding grounds and still maintains a distinctively equestrian feel, overseen by a statue of Christian IX (1863–1906) on horseback and flanked to the north by stables and to the south by carriage buildings.
The stables and buildings surrounding the main courtyard date back to the 1730s when the original Christiansborg palace was built by Christian VI to replace the more modest Copenhagen Castle that previously stood there. The grander west wing of Christian VI's palace went up in flames in 1794, was rebuilt in the early 19th century and was once again destroyed by fire in 1884. In 1907 the cornerstone for the third (and current) Christiansborg palace was laid by Frederik VIII and, upon completion, the national parliament and the Supreme Court moved into new chambers there.
In addition to the sights listed here, visitors can enter Christiansborg Slotskirke, the castle's domed chapel, which was set ablaze by stray fireworks in 1992 and has since been painstakingly restored.