Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major streets in Frederiksstaden, a Rococo district laid out in the middle of the 18th century to commemorate the tercentenary of the House of Oldenburg's accession to the Danish throne.

Many law firms, trade unions, fashion stores and art galleries are based in the street.

[1] When the course of the Eastern Rampart was changed over the first century, the whole area, now known as New Copenhagen, was incorporated into the fortified city.

At that point Bredgade was renamed Norgesgade (English: Norway Street) to commemorate the King's possessions to the north and escape the rural connotations of the old name.

[1] The name Norgesgade never gained popularity and in 1877 the street's official name was finally changed back to Bredgade.