The fairytale town of Odense
A redeveloping suburb, renovated industrial buildings used as designer shops or convivial spaces where you can taste street food, a small old town that seems to have emerged from Hansel & Gretel's fairytale book, coexist in the picturesque town of Odense, located in the heart of Denmark, on the island of Funen.
It's amazing to think that this is one of the largest cities in Denmark, and the main city on the island that separates and connects the Danish peninsula from the more distant islands of Zealand and Amager, on which the capital Copenhagen stands. In fact, even one day is enough to enjoy all the facets of this charming center, which became famous for being the birthplace of one of the most famous writers of fairy tales.
If the name Hans Christian Andersen doesn't tell you anything, maybe the titles of the stories he wrote, including The Little Mermaid, The Lead Soldier, The Ugly Duckling, will do it.
His birthplace, the museum dedicated to him and the sculptures depicting his stories scattered throughout the city, are the tourist hub of Odense. If you don't like pre-packaged tourist attractions, however, as we do, take a stroll through the city's best-preserved historic district, past the Møntergården, Odense's Museum of Cultural History, and between Bangs Boder and Overstraede streets, where cobbled avenues are lined with beautiful 19th-century buildings with large red roofs and neat pastel-coloured facades.
Just walking through this district will allow you to breathe in the air of fairy tales.
The contemporary city centre, which orbits around Vestergade, is a sequence of shops and buildings of little interest, but a good place to stroll around to browse through the souvenirs on sale and to warm up in some cafés on cold winter days.
The Den Lille Smalle, for example, is a cosy café that serves good cakes, drinks and excellent muesli and yoghurt bowls for breakfast, and is located right in front of the main square, Flakhaven, from where you can take a pleasant walk in the park behind the Sankt Knuds Kirke cathedral, and then head into the neighborhoods of the old town.
CAFÈ: Den Lille Smalle
Not far from this commercial artery is the Klaedefabrik Brandts, an old industrial hub for clothing production, converted to house cultural spaces, cafes and beautiful Danish furniture and design shops. Around this building there are residential neighborhoods that are outside the tourist flow of the city, but very pleasant to cross with a walk, such as Thorsgade and the adjacent streets.
The northern part of the city is separated by the railway tracks, but it's worth crossing the newly built modern Byens Bro bridge to get to the Storms Pakhus, a former plastics factory that now houses a space for street food and crafts. In the evening it's a very pleasant place to eat, tasting different specialities of Danish, international and ethnic cuisine.
STREET FOOD: Storms Pakhus - Odense Street Food
