Kerteminde

Kerteminde sits where Kerteminde Fjord opens into the Great Belt, and it kept a working fishing harbour and a core of low half-timbered streets behind it. Its cultural draw is Johannes Larsen, the painter and bird illustrator who lived here from the 1890s, whose house and studio are preserved as a museum with his work, his collections and the garden he planted, and around which a modern art museum has grown. Larsen and his circle made Kerteminde a small artists' colony. Nearby at Ladby lies a Viking ship burial of about 925, excavated and left in place under a mound with the impression of the vessel and the remains of horses and dogs buried with the chief. The town beach faces the belt.

What you actually see

• Johannes Larsen's house and studio - preserved with his work and garden.
• Half-timbered harbour streets - the old fishing town behind the quay.
• The Ladby ship burial - a Viking vessel left in place under its mound.
• The fjord mouth - where the water opens into the Great Belt.

When to go

May to September. Half a day for the town and the museum, longer with Ladby. Museums close on Mondays outside high season. The harbour is at its best in the morning.

Honest expectations

The town centre is small and modern development around it is unremarkable. Museum opening is reduced out of season. Ladby is a few kilometres away and needs transport. The beach is modest.

Nearby

Ladby is a short drive west; Odense lies south-west.