Gilleleje, Denmark

GILLELEJE, along the north coast of Zealand, is an appealing fishing village that does a roaring tourist trade. It's a good place for a short stopover, though unfortunately accommodation tends to be booked up far in advance; the only hotel in town is the prefab Swiss-chalet-style Strand, Vesterbrogade 4B (Tel:48 30 05 12, Web: www.hotel-strand.dk ; Kr650-900). Alternatively the tourist office on Gilleleje Hovedgade 6F (mid-June to Aug Mon– Sat 10am–6pm; May to mid-June Mon– Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 10am–1pm; rest of the year Mon– Fri 10am–4pm, Sat 9am– noon; Tel:48 30 01 74, Web: www.gilleleje-turistbureau.dk ) has a list of affordable private rooms from 325kr upwards, plus 25kr booking fee. A budget option is also the year-round campsite, just outside the village at Bregnerdvej 21 (Tel:49 71 97 55).

While in Gilleleje, negotiate at least some of the footpath that runs along the top of the dunes, where, in 1835, Sren Kierkegaard took lengthy contemplative walks, later recalling: "I often stood there and reflected over my past life. The force of the sea and the struggle of the elements made me realize how unimportant I was." Ironically, so important would Kierkegaard become that a monument to him now stands on the path bearing his maxim: "Truth in life is to live for an idea." The tourist office has maps of the different routes he used to walk.