Mariager

Mariager grew around a Bridgettine convent founded in 1410 and stayed small, and its centre is a knot of cobbled lanes with low half-timbered houses, many trained with climbing roses that give the town its self-applied name. The convent church survives as the town church, a large brick building out of scale with the settlement, holding medieval fittings. The town sits on the shore of Mariager Fjord, which is long, narrow and quiet, and a passenger boat runs on it in summer. A preserved steam railway operates from the town along the fjord to Handest with restored rolling stock, and the salt centre nearby explains the underground salt dome the area sits on, with visitors allowed to float in a brine pool.

What you actually see

• Rose-covered cobbled lanes - the small centre the town is known for.
• The Bridgettine convent church - a large brick church in a tiny town.
• The heritage steam railway - restored trains along the fjord.
• The salt centre - the underground salt dome, with a floating pool.

When to go

May to September, with roses at their best in June and July. Half a day. The steam railway and fjord boat run summer timetables only. Winter is quiet and much closes.

Honest expectations

It is very small and walked in under an hour. Summer weekends fill the lanes and the parking. Heritage railway services run on limited days and must be checked. The salt centre is a separate paid attraction outside the town.

Nearby

Hobro and the Fyrkat ring fortress lie west; Randers is south.