Skagen (Denmark) is a small resort town in the northernmost part of the country. It is located on the Jutland Peninsula, on the Greben promontory.
Skagen is one of the main fishing ports in Denmark, providing fresh fish and seafood to the entire country. Additionally, it is recognized as the resort capital of Denmark, largely due to its high number of sunny days per year.
Skagen is home to about 8,000 people, but during the summer, the number of residents increases significantly due to tourists from Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.
What’s interesting to see in Skagen
Skagen surprises with the number of street cafes, where excellent fish dishes of Danish cuisine are prepared. Locals, and in the season, there are so many tourists that you have to wait a long time for a table to be freed. And in the evenings, many people go for a walk on the embankment, where every day at exactly 21:00, the flag is solemnly lowered, and at this time, a trumpeter rises to a special platform and plays the trumpet.
But people don’t come to Skagen just to sit in a cafe and listen to a trumpeter. This northernmost city in Denmark is known primarily for its location at the confluence of the Baltic and North Seas at the Grenen Cape.
Cape Grenen. The Baltic and North Seas merge
From the tip of Cape Grenen, a long sandbar has been built up over the years. In fact, it extends into the sea. Here, at Cape Grenen in Denmark, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. Each sea has its own unique salinity, density, and temperature, which prevents them from mixing and creates a distinct and visible boundary. Swimming in this area is not recommended due to the potential risks associated with strong underwater currents.
To see this phenomenon, you will have to walk 1.5 km from the parking lot to the edge of the sandbar. If you don’t want to walk, you can take a Sandormen tractor with a trailer for a small fee (about 15-20 crowns).
There are other attractions on the territory of Cape Grenen. Near the parking lot, there is an old German bunker that has been preserved since World War II. It houses a bunker museum.
Near the parking lot, there is a lighthouse that is open to the public. From the lighthouse, you can see the city of Skagen, the Grenen Cape, and the sandbar where the seas meet.
A little away from the lighthouse, there is an unusual structure whose purpose is not so easy to guess. This is the old Vippefyr lighthouse, which was built on the Cape of Grenen back in 1727. The ships were guided by the fire that burned in a large tin barrel that was raised high in the air.
Skagen Dunes
Among other attractions in Denmark, there is another one located in the north of Jutland, between the cities of Skagen and Frederikshavn. This is the moving sand dune, Rabjerg Mile.
This dune is one of the largest in Europe, with a height of over 40 m and an area of up to 1 km². Under the influence of the winds, Rabjerg Mile moves northeastward at a speed of up to 18 m per year.
The wind is very strong here, and it can easily blow a person off their feet. By the way, unlike some other drifting dunes, it is allowed to walk on Rabjerg Mile.
The sand dune has already taken over the old 14th-century St. Lawrence Church, now known as the “Buried Church” and the “Sand-Covered Church.” People had to dig out the entrance to the church before each service, and in 1795, they gave up the fight and abandoned the church. Gradually, the sand consumed the entire first floor, and most of the structure collapsed, leaving only the tower standing today.
Skagen Church
Almost 50 years after the final abandonment of St. Lawrence’s Church in 1795, a new religious building was constructed in the center of Skagen.
The building is light yellow and has a neoclassical style. It is characterized by carefully measured symmetry, large windows and a sloping tiled roof typical of Denmark. At the top of the bell tower there is a delicate dark green spire with a baroque-style clock. A bell was installed on the bell tower, which was managed to be brought from the sand-covered church of St. Lawrence.
Some interior details and church utensils, such as candlesticks and communion cups, were also transferred from the old church.
Places to stay in Skagen
The city of Skagen offers a wide range of hotels and other accommodation options.
Accommodation prices start at 55 € per night for two people. The average price for an apartment or studio with a kitchen is 90-130 €, and a 3-star hotel room costs 140-170 € per night during the summer. Prices decrease by 15-40% from the second half of autumn to the middle of spring. It is worth noting that the beaches of Skagen are popular among the residents of Denmark, so it is worth booking your accommodation a month or two in advance during the summer season, as the best options are often booked up quickly.
- For example, Skagentoppen Rooms, located a 15-minute walk from the city center, offers a room with two single beds and a shared bathroom for €64.
- A separate apartment with a private kitchen and a shared garden will cost around 120 €.
- For 150 €, the Hotel Petit, located in close proximity to the city’s main street, offers a double room with one double or two single beds.
How to get to Skagen from Copenhagen
There are several ways to get to Skagen from the Danish capital.
Plane
The nearest airport is located in the city of Aalborg, approximately 100 km from Skagen. Planes from the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen to Aalborg fly daily, but sometimes there can be up to 10 flights per day, and sometimes there is only 1 flight. The schedule can be viewed on the websites of the airlines Norwegian and SAS, and tickets can be purchased on their websites. The cost of a flight is approximately 80-100 € if you have luggage, but if you only have carry-on luggage, the ticket will be cheaper. The flight takes 45 minutes.
Right at the exit from Aalborg Airport there is a bus stop “Aalborg Lufthavn”. Here you need to get on one of the buses 12, 70, 71 and go to the stop “Lindholm Station”, where the bus station and the railway station are located. The trip by city bus lasts 5-7 minutes, the ticket costs 2 € and you can buy it from the driver.
There are no trains directly from Danish Aalborg to Skagen – at least one transfer in Frederikshavn is required. Trains in this direction run from 6:00 to 22:00, the travel time is 2 hours. The ticket will cost 12 €, it can only be purchased at the terminal at the station. By the way, the spelling of the names of cities differs in English and Swedish, for example, “Copenhagen” is written as “København”.
Car
The roads in Denmark are beautiful and completely free. However, the route to Skagen goes through a bridge that connects Zealand and Funen, and you will need to pay 20 € to cross it. To pay, you need to follow the yellow or blue lane – on the blue lane, you can pay using a bank card, and on the yellow lane, you can pay with cash.
Train
There are no direct flights from the Danish capital to Skagen, and you will need to make at least one transfer in Frederikshavn. Although trains from Copenhagen to Skagen depart almost around the clock, you can travel with only one transfer if you leave Copenhagen between 7:00 and 18:00.
You need to get off at the final stop in Frederikshavn, as the station is small and you can transfer from one train to another in a matter of minutes.
Important: When boarding a train, you should look at the display board and check which cars are going to which city. This is because most of the cars are attached!
A ticket costs from 72 €. If you buy a ticket with a specified seat, you will also pay an additional 4 €. You can purchase tickets at the following locations:
- at the ticket office of the railway station;
- at the terminal at the railway station;
- on the railway website www.dsb.dk or the Danish travel planner website www.rejseplanen.dk.
