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Bus #8 (the "Christiania Express"). Stretching for almost a kilometre along either side of the moat north of Lille Mølle, the remarkable "Free City" of Christiania is living proof of Copenhagen's liberal social traditions. Christiania's population of around one thousand is swelled in summer by the curious and the sympathetic - although residents ask tourists not to camp here or point cameras at the weirder-looking inhabitants. The craft shops and restaurants are fairly cheap, and generally good, as are a couple of innovative music and performance art venues. For information on the district call in at Galopperiet (daily noon-5pm) right of the main entrance on Prinsessegade. Guided tours of Christiania (book on 32 57 96 70; 20kr) leave from the main entrance and are a good introduction to the nooks and crannies of this rather complicated area. Christiania spreads out on both sides of Christian IV's old moat between Christianshavn and Amager (a bridge, Dyssebroen, connects the two sides), comprising a mixture of solid old warehouses - some dating back to 1688 - and colourful and alternative new dwellings, including some unusual structures built on stilts. The main entrance on Prinsessegade leads straight into the heart of the "city". This is where you'll find most of Christiania's bars, restaurants and nightlife, along with the infamous Pusherstreet , where lines of stalls sell pre-rolled joints and an international selection of grass - wildly popular with tourists in summer. The remainder of the Free City is mainly residential, and entirely pedestrianized, dotted with the craftshops that have become an important feature of the area. The oldest structures are the bastions overlooking the Christianshavn side of the moat - Vilhelms Bastion, Carls Bastion, and Frederiks Bastion; the oldest, Vilhelms Bastion, dates back to 1688 and looks all the more solid compared to the rest of Christiania's improvised dwellings.
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