Regnbuepladsen (Rainbow Square)

In 2014, Copenhagen quietly renamed the small square beside City Hall — the street signs went up overnight — as Regnbuepladsen, Rainbow Square, 'in celebration of equal rights'. The council had debated naming it for Axel Axgil, who with his partner Eigil formed the first couple in the world to enter a registered partnership when Denmark pioneered the institution in 1989, before settling on the symbol that covers everyone. The square itself, a former car park remade with granite paving and cherry trees, now flies a permanent rainbow flag within sight of the City Hall tower — a fitting address for the country that led the world on partnership rights and hosts Copenhagen Pride's civic events on the neighbouring Rådhuspladsen. What you see today: a modest, pleasant square — the flag, the trees, cafés at the edges. A two-minute stop that says something larger: here, the rainbow is simply part of the city's official furniture.