Skagen, Denmark might be a small town, but you may have heard of it! The Skagen watch company was named for the town (and I actually have a Skagen watch!), and it’s the place where the two seas meet in Denmark. I had seen photos of the seas meeting before and was dying to see it in person! So I took a day trip to Skagen with some of my classmates from Aarhus, and along with point of where the two seas meet, these are some amazing sights to see in Skagen! 🙂
About Skagen
Skagen is the northernmost town in Denmark. It started as a fishing town during the Middle Ages, and in the 1800s, it became a popular destination for Impressionist painters (and the art community is still thriving there today). It became more popular for vacations, and the royal family even built a summer house there in 1914!
Things to know about Skagen:
-Skagen is pronounced like “skane,” not “skaggen.”
-There is a bus that goes from Aarhus to Skagen but it took several hours, so I rented a car from GoMore and drove there.
-I had poor cell service the closer I got to Skagen and absolutely no service in Skagen. Make sure you save any directions and maps you’ll need before you get there!
-I had been in Aarhus for a few weeks before visiting Skagen so I was used to the unusually hot summer, but Skagen was HOT. It was incredibly hot and humid, and it didn’t help that the car I was driving didn’t have any air conditioning! So dress appropriately and definitely bring your bathing suit so you can cool off in the water.
Råbjerg Mile
Did you know that there are giant sand dunes in Denmark? The Råbjerg Mile is a migrating sand dune in Skagen, and it’s the largest one in Northern Europe. Since the sand dunes move, it became a problem for the town in the 1800s, so the government planted grasses to stabilize the dunes.
Today, you can hike up the Råbjerg Mile and see some pretty cool sights! It was VERY hot and the sand made for a good calf workout, so make sure you bring lots of water and wear sunscreen.
Climbing up those steep slopes are harder than they look!
The point where the two seas meet in Denmark
Skagen is famous for being the place where the two seas meet in Denmark, and the beaches in that area are beautiful! The ocean is a pretty turquoise color, and it definitely helped me cool down on such a hot day. We started walking along the beach from the lighthouse, but there are some little beach buses that can take you to the exact spot where the two seas meet.
The sandbar and point where the Baltic and North Seas meet is called Grenen, and it’s right at the tip of Denmark. I’ve seen some pretty epic photos and videos of where the two seas meet, but what I saw didn’t look anything like those photos. I think you need to get a drone to see the actually color different of the two oceans meeting and it might be better during high tide. But even though I was a little disappointed in the view, you could actually tell that there were two seas crashing against each other! You can see in these photos that the waves are crashing up against each other and moving in all different directions.
It was the middle of summer and the middle of the day, so it was pretty crowded when I was there. If you want to get photos without any people in your way, I recommend going off season and/or early in the morning!
Downtown Skagen
After cooling off in the water, we went to cool off more with some ice cream in downtown Skagen. We didn’t have much time to walk around, but I recommend exploring more if you have the time! The buildings are so pretty, and there are lots of shops and restaurants you can check out. And I definitely recommend getting ice cream if you’re there in the summer.
Skagen in Skagen!
The Sand-Covered Church
The last sight to see in Skagen is the famous Sand-Covered Church, or the Buried Church. The name is a bit misleading because the church isn’t actually covered in sand right now. The church was built in the 14th century, and the migrating Råbjerg Mile began covering the church and the nearby town with sand in the 1600s. It started getting so bad that in 1775, the church door had to be dug out of the sand in order to have services.
The church wasn’t allowed to be closed until 1795, and the body of the church was torn down (not currently buried in sand like some people think). The church tower is what still stands, and you can take a tour of it but we were short on time so we just peeked in for a minute.
If you are going to visit the northernmost point in Denmark, you can’t miss these four sights in Skagen! I recommend visiting for longer than a day so you can really enjoy the beach and take some time to explore downtown, and I will definitely be back to do just that 🙂
We just visited Skagen for the weekend. During the Sankt Hans festival. The city is so quaint and we loved the sand dunes, beaches and the downtown and shops. And Gelato! We were lucky enough to stay in an apartment downtown and have a friend drive us around to many different landmarks and places. He grew up in Skagen.
That sounds great! I would love to go back during the festival.
I really want to see more of Denmark than just Copenhagen (though that’s very nice too) and your photos and stories are really inspiring me. Those dunes look so beautiful.
Wow, I didn’t expect such beautiful sandy beaches in Denmark. Stunning. Kudos to your photography skills.
Thank you! 🙂
How fascinating! I had no idea that Denmark had sand dunes, and dunes that migrate, too (never heard of that!). And I love the sand church. Odd that only the tower remains but its so picturesque. I loved reading about Skagen. Sadly I hadn’t heard of it before.
I hope you can visit! With the dunes, it’s unlike any other place in Denmark!
I was only in Copenhagen when I was in Denmark…many moons ago! Your photos are so beautiful, they make me want to go back and explore the places in those pictures!
I was in Denmark last year, but not at the shore points. This area looks really beautiful and the water looks so blue. I was in Copenhagen and Alborg — both places were really fun to explore. I found Denmark to be very design oriented and sustainable.
I hope you can go back, there are so many places to see in Denmark! I didn’t get to go to Aalborg while I was there, but I’ve heard great things about it
Julia,
These photos are spectacular! Looks like you had great weather too. Definitely going to start planning my next vacation soon 🙂
– Alyssa
@doctor.cole
dailydoseofvita.blogspot.com
Thank you! 🙂