Nexø's harbour is the working heart of the town and one of the most genuinely active fishing harbours on Bornholm. Unlike the more picturesque harbours at Gudhjem or Allinge, which cater primarily to tourists and leisure boats, Nexø's quayside is dominated by commercial fishing vessels and the infrastructure that supports them — fish processing facilities, net sheds, fuel pumps.
An early morning visit when the boats return from overnight trips is the best time to see the harbour at full activity. Smoked fish — herring especially — is sold directly from stalls near the quay, and it is as fresh as fish gets. The harbour also handles some ferry and cargo traffic from mainland Denmark, giving it a workaday energy that the more popular Bornholm ports have largely lost.