But you need to work out how to get there first. Ebeltoft is 50km east of Aarhus, but you’ll need to snake your way around the coast to get there. The drive is a gorgeous one — drives in Denmark tend to veer onto the stunning side of things — and should take no more than an hour. Public transport is a little trickier, with direct buses leaving Aarhus Nørreport every hour or so. The journey takes just over an hour and 10 minutes. If you can drive, we recommend that.
Ebeltoft is somewhat new to the tourism game, but this historic village is more than making up for lost time. The main attraction in town is the Jylland battleship, thought to be the longest wooden ship on the planet. It is a delight to explore, although you may be surprised to find a certain amount of luxury hiding within. The King needed to sail to Iceland once but had a hard time convincing his wife, and not even the creation of a royal suite helped. The ship is now full of examples of its uses, both the enjoyable and the being at war in the 19th century, which is another way of saying ‘miserable’.
This adorable town is also home to Denmark’s smallest town hall, which is reason enough for us to get our cameras out. It is unsurprisingly gorgeous, which goes a long way to explaining why nearly 300 couples every year choose this as the location of their wedding. The town hall is also home to historic exhibitions and examples of life in Ebeltoft, back in the day.
But our favourite thing to do in Ebeltoft is simply to wander around. This is one of those villages that is quintessentially Danish, all colourful charm and a sense of purpose that comes from confidence and character. The Dye Museum is also worth a look, and we aren’t going to turn our noses up at an old confectionary house — neither should you.
There is plenty to see outside Ebeltoft too. The sea is just a kilometre or so from downtown, and we’ll never tire of gazing out at the ocean. There are a number of zoos in the region, along with smaller animal parks and aquariums. Ebeltoft is also a great spot from which to explore the Mols Bjerge National Park, a glorious collection of nature that is home to more than half of all wild Danish plant species. A buffet of flora, to say the least.
Ebeltoft isn’t the largest place in the world, but that is its greatest characteristic. This is a gorgeous little village that is home to some very big attractions. We love it.
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