Funen: Delicious beaches and beautiful nature experiences - from Bogense to Lundeborg

Funen: Delicious beaches and beautiful nature experiences - from Bogense to Lundeborg is written by Karen Bender

Follow along for a wonderful local guide to beautiful Funen

Everyone knows that HC Andersen is from Funen, more specifically Odense. And perhaps it is also common knowledge that there is a very beautiful and famous HC Andersen museum, where you can learn everything possible about his upbringing, literature and worldwide spread

But did you also know that Funen contains some of the most beautiful old harbor towns in the country? That the coastline is packed with blue flags and delicious bathing beaches all around? Or that on Funen you can have some spectacular nature experiences if you move a little away from the motorway? Or that Lundeborg has been voted Village of the Year 2024?

Otherwise, read along here, where our local Fynbo on the editorial staff, Karen Bender, guides you to the best beaches, most beautiful nature experiences and most beautiful coastal towns, from Bogense to Lundeborg.

Bogense: Blue waves and jetties

Before we reach Lundeborg, we have to start in Bogense on Funen. Here you will find a gem of an old merchant town, which offers life and happy days around the charming marina, the old harbor entrance, the town center and the sea bath.

In Bogense, you can take a stroll on the promenade deck along the harbor entrance and enjoy the sight of the swaying masts of the sailboats, rocking calmly in time with the waves of the sea. The enticing scents of the cafes mix with the salty sea air, and ice-cold iced waffles and sparkling white wine tempt in the summer sun.

You can also move up into the old town centre, which offers classic shop life, cobblestones and small squares.

If you'd rather dip your toes, the Bogense sea bath is fantastic. At the extreme tip of Bogense, there is a very nice bathing establishment, complete with changing rooms, toilets, sunbathing areas, a bathing bridge and a laid-out harbor pool for sea swimming. It is also possible to borrow a bathing wheelchair, so this bathing experience is also perfect for wheelchair users.

It is a particularly beautiful natural experience on a summer's evening to sit by the water and watch the sun go down while looking out over the sea.

Flysand: Pheasants and desolate nature experience

A very special nature experience is located on the far side of North Funen, namely Flyvesandet.

Once you move off the beaten track you are rewarded with a huge forest area. Here you can park the car and go exploring. Here, among tall tree crowns and sandy forest roads, you can wander through a forest landscape filled with both deep calm, pheasant cries and wingbeats.

When you have finished the forest tour, continue all the way to the tip of Funen, where there is a large car park and a campsite. Here you can either park or drive left and right out to the water's edge.

My recommendation is to drive beyond the beautiful nature area and along the water's edge around. You can also drive the route in a motorhome and there is plenty of space for both parking and hiking when you are at the very top.

Helnæs: Enthroned white pine and endless sea horizon

At Helnæs, the old white lighthouse towers like a white watchtower against the deep blue sky. If you move all the way out here, you can experience both wildly foaming sea hand in hand with the silence from the lighthouse and the open landscape, and this creates a special nature experience.

The waves break incessantly against the shore and the shoreline is perfect for collecting stones and splashing around while you let your thoughts flow with both sea and wind.

Lundeborg: Village of the Year 2024 offers plenty of charm

If you love to combine nature experiences and beaches with cafes, shopping and galleries, then Lundeborg is an obvious excursion destination.

The village of Lundeborg has just won the award Village of the year 2024 and when you walk around the small galleries, enjoy the old warehouses and get an ice cream by the beach, yes - you understand it well.

The smell of freshly fried fish meatballs hangs in the air at the old harbor area, where both yachtsmen, motorhome campers and beachgoers enjoy the sun, the many culinary temptations and the semi-circular wooden bridge that connects the marina with all the other experiences.

Here is both a marina, motorhome parking, bathing beach and restaurants and cafes within a short distance of each other, so it's just a matter of getting off and enjoying one of the most beautiful harbor towns in Funen, Lundeborg.

Æbelø: Nature experiences and water hike

One of my best nature experiences on Funen is walking along the waterway to Apple Island and it is an adventure that unfolds for both children and adults.

When you cross the glittering strait, you land on an almost abandoned island and here you can enjoy your packed lunch in the company of seagulls and other bird life. So throw on your hiking boots and set off on an exciting route that will lead you to a very nice nature experience.

It is only possible to walk at low tide, and since the route over the seabed is marked with posts, you can easily find your way around the walking route. Stay within the marked area and keep track of the times to leave and return home, then a very special experience awaits you with beautiful nature, tranquility and birdlife.

Falsled: Luxury inns and small, hip waterfront restaurants

Falsled, beautifully situated between rolling hills and the clear sea just outside Faaborg, is the place where luxury and rural idyll meet.

Here you can experience a real culinary taste experience, and whether you are after five-star luxury gourmet at Falsled Kro or a good meal of fish'n'chips from one of the local waterfront restaurants, it can be done here.

Falsled on Funen also has a cozy little harbor where you can go down and enjoy nature, while the inn has a beautiful area with both an orchard and a classic rose garden with herbs, which you can freely walk through or sit down with a book and a cup of coffee and just enjoy life.

Measure: Original half-timbered houses and beautiful beaches

In the small village of Måle on Funen, you can experience an abundance of old red-and-white half-timbered houses, combined with individual yellow, old orchards and winding small roads.

There is also a smokehouse here, where the fish lunch can be taken, or you can wander along the beach at Måle, which is a classic stone beach with plenty of opportunities to find old fossils and petrified sea urchins.

Måle is located on the Hindsholm peninsula and here you will find many special small shops, galleries, flea markets and cozy accommodation. This is also where you drive through to get out to Fynshoved, a storm-ravaged area at the far end of Hindsholm, which offers a special nature.

Fynshoved: Nature, beach and cliff

If you prefer a pure nature experience, then Fynshoved is definitely worth a visit.

The whole of Fynshoved is protected and laid out as a bird reserve, and therefore you can experience many different bird species such as eiders, crested grebes and grebes.

Because there are so many birds that breed in the early spring, the bird reserve itself is closed to visitors from 1 April to 15 July, but you can always take a walk on the cliff.

Another special thing about the nature on Hindsholm and therefore Fynshoved is that it is the driest place in the country with very little rainfall, and therefore you can find rare plants out here such as three-cleft allant, long-clustered vetch and stagroot.

Dallund castle and rose garden

On Nordfyn there is Dallund Castle, which for many years has been used for recreational purposes, and which is very beautiful and surrounded by nature and large lawns.

Here you can visit the most beautiful rose garden, developed in collaboration with selected rose nurseries on Funen, and thus get a very special nature experience.

Close to the castle is also the Glavendrupstenen, which is a historical landmark that offers nothing less than Denmark's longest runic inscription. The rune stone was erected around the year 900 by Ragnhild in memory of her husband, Alle, who is believed to have been a chieftain and priest in the North Funen area.

The stone stands in Glavendruplunden, which is actually an ancient sanctuary. The stone is part of an old ship's plan, in which it is believed that the chief was buried so that he could arrive in the realm of the dead.

It is vivid Viking history that takes place in the area around Dallund Castle, and if you think it is exciting, you can download a free app, nature adventure, where you can be sent on an adventure with the Viking boy Harald.

Rear gable

The last thing you must experience on my guide to exciting experiences on Funen is Hindsgavl zoo by Middelfart.

Here you can both play on the large nature playground, grill sausages at the outdoor barbecue area or go deer watching in the fenced zoo.

If you prefer castles and old fine gardens, then the garden around Hindsgavl castle is open to the public and here you can enjoy the beautiful kitchen gardens, the old red bathing establishment and the open spaces beyond Fænøsund.

Finally, you can lace up your hiking boots and head out on part of the Lillebæltstien, which runs along the water's edge all the way around the Hindsgavl peninsula and where you are both led through forest areas, beautiful beaches and small decorations and which can be finished inside Middelfart, if you wish to end with a bit of shopping, cafe visits and the harbor environment.

Fyn is ready for a visit

The list above cool experiences on Funen is inexhaustible and therefore a handful of extras must be mentioned that you can explore yourself: Egeskov castle, Odense zoo, Hoffmansgave, Enebærodde and the harbor bath in Faaborg.

There are therefore plenty of opportunities for an exciting nature experience and delicious culinary temptations on Funen, so put on your walking shoes and spend some great hours in the beautiful Funen nature, whether you prefer Bogense or Lundeborg.

Ten fine nature experiences on Funen

• Bogense with sea bath and marina
• Flying sand with pebble beach and deserted nature
• Helnæs Lighthouse with a view
• Lundeborg as village of the year 2024
• Æbelø with water walking route
• Falsled with local luxury and marina
• Measure with old half-timbered houses and beach
• Fynshoved with cliff and sea
• Dallund castle with rose garden and Viking experiences
• Hindsgavl with zoo and castle