Gilleleje

Gilleleje is the northernmost town on Zealand and remains a working fishing harbour, with boats landing daily, smokehouses along the quay and fish sold direct, alongside the summer trade. Behind the harbour are lanes of low thatched and tiled cottages. Its history includes one episode that the town museum covers directly: in October 1943, when the occupying authorities moved to deport Denmark's Jewish population, Gilleleje was one of the main crossing points to neutral Sweden, and local fishermen carried well over a thousand people across the Kattegat from here. Some sheltered in the loft of the church while waiting, and a group hiding there was discovered. The clifftop walk west and the harbour front are the other reasons to come.

What you actually see

• A working fishing harbour - boats landing and smokehouses on the quay.
• The church loft - the hiding place used during the 1943 crossings.
• The town museum - the escape route across the Kattegat explained.
• Thatched cottage lanes - the old fishing town behind the harbour.

When to go

May to September for the harbour at its liveliest and the coastal walks. Half a day. The fish stalls are best in the morning when the boats come in. Winter is quiet with limited opening.

Honest expectations

The harbour is a working one and parts are industrial rather than picturesque. Summer weekends crowd the quay restaurants. The museum keeps limited hours out of season. There is no beach in the town itself; the sand is further west.

Nearby

Hornbaek is east along the coast; the Rudolph Tegner Museum is a short drive.