Denmark Guide
Funen
Known as "the garden of Denmark" for the lawn-like neatness of its fields and for the immense amount of fruit and vegetables that come from them, Funen (Fyn) is the smaller of the two main Danish islands, and one which many visitors pass quickly through on their way between Zealand and Jutland. The island's bucolic outlook and coastline draw many, but its attractions are mainly low-profile: grand castles and manor houses, the collections of the Funen painters and the birthplaces of writer Hans Christian Andersen and composer Carl Nielsen, who eulogized the distinctive sing-song Funen accent and claimed it inspired his music. Given its diminutive size, Funen is best explored by bicycle; otherwise, you'll be getting around on buses more often than trains, since the latter are relatively scarce.
Arriving from Zealand brings you through Nyborg, a town with a heavily restored twelfth-century castle, though there's little reason to linger long on the east coast and it's preferable to stay on the cross-country railway that continues to Odense, Denmark's third-largest city and an obvious base if you want to explore villages by day but would like some urban zip by night. Close by, the former fishing town of Kerteminde retains some faded charm, and is a good base for visiting both the Ladby Boat, an important Viking relic, and the isolated Hindsholm Peninsula. To the south, Funen's coastal life centres on maritime Svendborg, possibly the top scenic draw on Funen with its good beaches and fragmented archipelago of pretty islands. This is vacation territory for the most part, well served by ferries and connected by train with Odense via the island's only branch rail line.