Boutique hotels in Denmark

Denmark makes comfort an art form, and its boutique hotels are the proof: restored warehouses on Copenhagen's harbor, thatched country inns with Michelin kitchens, and white-painted bathing hotels on the North Sea and Baltic. Interiors are calm and tactile, with wool, oak and candlelight, and breakfast is almost always a highlight.

Copenhagen and Zealand

Copenhagen has the largest choice, from a former department store to a rooftop-pool post office, and nearby Helsingør, Hornbæk, Tisvilde and Roskilde are easy escapes for castles, beaches and a Viking ship museum.

Funen and the south

Odense, Faaborg, Svendborg and the island of Ærø form a gentle archipelago of orchards, harbors and half-timbered towns. Møn and Fanø add chalk cliffs and tidal flats, and Ribe is Scandinavia's oldest town.

Jutland and the islands

Aarhus is the lively cultural capital, Skagen the artists' tip of the peninsula, and Bornholm a rocky island in the Baltic with Michelin dining. Klitmøller, Aalborg, Sønderborg, Vejle and Samsø offer surf, harbors and quiet.

When to go

May to September is the best season for beaches and long evenings; December brings Christmas lights and candlelit cafes. Book summer rooms on the islands well ahead.