Ebeltoft was one of the places on Djursland where it made much more sense to leave the motorhome behind and explore on foot. It is a small town, but its old centre has far more character than its size suggests, with cobbled streets, crooked half-timbered houses, little passages, old façades and the harbour only a short walk away.
We looked at several possible places to stop around Ebeltoft, and they were certainly not all equally useful. One parking area near Vibæk Strandvej had a reasonable view and a good location, but the nearby road made it rather noisy and, more importantly for us, a sign prohibited vehicles weighing more than three tonnes. With a motorhome, that effectively ruled it out.
We eventually found a much better option at Nørrealle. We were there in the middle of the season and it was surprisingly quiet and peaceful. We parked on the small upper level: it was less panoramic than the lower part, but completely flat and partly shaded, which was far more useful to us. Parking was free and there were no real facilities apart from a few rubbish bins, but the old centre was very close and could easily be reached using the nearby steps and ramps.
That location suited Ebeltoft particularly well because the historic centre is compact. Ebeltoft received its market-town charter in 1301, making it the oldest market town on Djursland. Much of its appeal comes not from one enormous monument but from the town itself: streets such as Adelgade, Overgade and Nedergade still preserve the atmosphere of an old Danish coastal town, with irregular buildings and cobbles that make wandering around much more interesting than simply following a list of sights.
At the centre of the old town stands Det Gamle Rådhus, the Old Town Hall. The tiny building dates from 1789 and was used as the town hall until 1840. It looks almost disproportionately small for such an important building, which is part of what makes it so memorable. Inside are rooms connected with the old administration of the town, including the former court room and even the old cells.
Ebeltoft also retains one of the more unusual Danish traditions we came across during this part of the journey: the vægtere, or night watchmen. Historically, watchmen patrolled Danish towns after dark, watching for fires and other trouble while calling out the time. In Ebeltoft the tradition survives ceremonially, and during the summer the watchmen still make their rounds through the old streets, beginning at Det Gamle Rådhus and singing as they go.
Down by the water, the character of the town changes completely. The most striking sight is Fregatten Jylland, whose huge black wooden hull and forest of masts dominate the harbour. The ship was launched in 1860 as a steam-powered frigate of the Royal Danish Navy and fought during the Second Schleswig War. It later served as a royal yacht before eventually being preserved at Ebeltoft as a museum ship. Seeing a nineteenth-century warship of this size sitting immediately beside such a small and peaceful town is a rather extraordinary contrast.
The harbour is worth walking around even without visiting the ship. It remains connected with traditional wooden vessels and includes a shipyard specialising in their restoration and maintenance. Nearby is Glas – Museum of Glass Art, devoted to modern glass art and glassmaking, with a working glass workshop where the production process can sometimes be watched.
One thing we particularly liked about Ebeltoft was that it never felt necessary to turn the visit into a succession of attractions. The old streets, the little town hall, the waterfront, the enormous Fregatten Jylland and the views over Ebeltoft Vig are all close enough together that simply walking through the town gives a good sense of the place.
Ebeltoft is also unusual geographically. Although it lies on the eastern side of Jutland, the town itself faces west across Ebeltoft Vig. This means that, unlike many towns along Denmark’s east coast, it can have particularly good sunsets over the water.
For us, the practical side mattered as well. The first parking possibilities we checked showed how unsuitable a seemingly attractive coastal spot can be for a motorhome, particularly when weight restrictions and road noise are involved. Once we found the quiet, free parking above the centre, however, Ebeltoft became extremely easy to visit. From there we could simply leave the motorhome and walk down into one of the most attractive small towns we visited on Djursland.
What stayed with us most was the contrast: a maze of old cobbled streets and small eighteenth-century buildings on one side, and one of Denmark’s great nineteenth-century ships towering over the harbour on the other. Ebeltoft manages to feel historic without feeling like an open-air museum, and that made it a place where spending time wandering around was more rewarding than rushing from one attraction to the next.