Our road trip California continued with a two-night stay in a town we’d never heard of, Solvang. Just 45 minutes from Santa Barbara, this quaint and charming small town in the Santa Ynez valley, evokes the feeling of being in a Danish village. It’s like travelling internationally without leaving the country. Flower lined streets, half-timbered houses, art galleries, four windmills, restaurants, bakeries, sweet shops, craft breweries, a replica Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen can all be found here. Considered to be the Danish capital of America, this town with a population of just over 6000 is considered to be one of the prettiest small towns in America, it’s even had visits from Danish Royalty.

There are plenty of reasonably priced hotels in and around Solvang which is great for overnighters and weekenders. The town also attracts visitors from around the world, especially from the region of Scandinavia. Our hotel of choice was the Royal Copenhagen Inn, a cluster of two-story buildings, each one with its own unique style. This 2-star hotel offered rooms that were simple, basic, motel like but comfortable. A small breakfast was included but just around the corner was Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery. Established more than fifty years ago, it’s the oldest bakery in town and one of the many authentic Danish bakeries and coffee shops, so we ended up there.

As we entered the family-owned Olsen’s Bakery, we were greeted by the aroma of freshly baked Danish pastries and other treats. The atmosphere felt genuinely authentic and was very welcoming. The recipes, I understand, have been in the family for several generations and they have won many awards throughout the years, even the half-priced day-old baked goods were pretty good. After breakfast, we stocked up on a few snacks for the road then checked out the onsite gift shop where you can purchase a wide variety of Danish inspired souvenirs and gifts.

Evening street scenes. We visited in the off season just after the Holidays when the crowds were small, the temperatures cool, and the vibe still festive. Although it’s a very popular tourist attraction, most businesses keep regular hours and close around five o’clock, something to be aware of if you’re keen to do a bit of shopping. Restaurants, however, are open in the evening. Solvang reportedly gets over one million visitors a year, it’s not hard to see why.

The town was founded in 1911 by Danish immigrants looking to establish a farming community in a more desirable location. The Santa Ynez valley turned out to be the perfect area. Escaping the harsh winters of the mid-west where many had settled, and with the purchase of several thousand acres of land, they started out with just a few buildings, a church and school. Building in the authentic Danish style didn’t take shape until the end of World War II and after A Saturday Evening Post article in 1947 about this quaint, rural village, “Little Denmark,” a tourism boom emerged, and it hasn’t slowed.

Denmarket Square with a replica of the famous Little Mermaid statue.

More scenes from the street.

On Mission Drive, which is the main thoroughfare through town, and across the street from Denmarket Square, you’ll find the Book Loft. On the second floor of this bookstore there’s a museum dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), the famous Danish author whose literary works include fairy tales, plays, novels, poetry and travel books. For book lovers, a visit here is a must. Just steps away there is a small park with a bust of this literary giant.

As we continued to explore this very walkable little town, we marveled at the architecture of the buildings, each one with its own unique style. Through the side streets, you’ll find small souvenir shops with Danish themed items like wooden clogs, cuckoo clocks, holiday ornaments, porcelain figurines and plenty of other hand-crafted gifts. You’ll also find plenty of mom-and-pop restaurants, cafes, wine and olive oil tasting rooms.

Throughout the year, there are many festivals like Danish Days in September, featuring Viking reenactments, parades with traditional costumes, horse drawn carriages and artisan markets. In December, there’s Julefest to mark the Christmas holiday season. A trip to Solvang is definitely worth it, no matter the time of year.

With just one day, we barely scratched the surface of the things to do in and around Solvang. Golfing, hiking, wine tasting, food and photography tours to name a few. We didn’t get to see that fourth windmill but with limited time, we squeezed in as much as we could. We did manage a trip to the nearby Ostrich Land USA. which was quite interesting. We don’t normally patronize animal attractions because most of the time, the animals are not well taken care of and are in some sort of non-sustainable captive situation. This seemed different. There’s vast acreage that mimics their natural environment and the birds are able to roam freely. There are designated areas for hand feeding which we did, you really get up close and personal. The birds attack the feed quite aggressively.

Our trip continued as we worked our way along the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco.