East Jutland — Fjords & Lake District
The East Coast of Jutland is the gentle counterpart to the wild North Sea: sheltered fjords, green hills, beech forests, and picturesque coastal towns. The terrain is hillier than elsewhere in Denmark — the Søhøjlandet (Lake Highlands) around Silkeborg is Denmark's "Alpine country" in miniature.
Highlights in East Jutland
- Silkeborg & Søhøjlandet — The lake district around Silkeborg is Jutland's most beautiful landscape: Denmark's largest lakes, Himmelbjerget (147 m — one of the "highest" mountains!), the historic steamship ride on the Gudenå River, and the Tollund Man in the Silkeborg Museum — a 2,400-year-old bog body with a face so perfectly preserved that it seems he is sleeping. Museum: 80 DKK.
- Ebeltoft — One of Denmark's prettiest towns on the Djursland peninsula: cobblestone streets, half-timbered houses, the old town hall (1789), and the Frigate Jylland — Scandinavia's longest wooden ship, now a museum ship in the harbor.
- Vejle — The town on Vejle Fjord is surrounded by green hills and forests. Highlights: the Jelling Stones (20 min. away), the Vejle Windmill, the architecturally award-winning Vejle Bølgen (The Wave) — a residential building shaped like a wave.
- Djursland — The peninsula east of Aarhus offers Denmark's only rainforest zoo (Randers Regnskov), the Mols Bjerge National Park with hilly heathland, and family-friendly beaches at Grenå and Ebeltoft.
East Jutland is ideal for family vacations and bike tours: hilly landscapes (by Danish standards!), many bike paths, family-friendly beaches on the fjords, and enough culture for rainy days.