Skagen sits at the very tip of Denmark, where the Skagerrak and Kattegat seas collide in visible, clashing wave patterns that stretch for miles. Walking out to Grenen — the actual northernmost point — you can stand with one foot in each sea. A derelict WWII bunker at the beach's edge is a stark reminder of this coastline's strategic importance.
The unique light here drew a colony of 19th-century painters known as the Skagen artists, and you can see their work at the Skagens Museum. The homes and studios of Michael and Anna Ancher and Holger Drachmann are preserved as smaller house museums. A few kilometres south of town, the Sand-Covered Church — a medieval tower engulfed by migrating dunes — stands alone in a treeless dune landscape.
Today the draw is simpler: vast pristine beaches, clear waters, and a feeling of wide-open space that is hard to find elsewhere in Denmark. The Skagen Lighthouse north-east of town, and the Skagen Bunker Museum built into an original Wehrmacht bunker on the beach, fill out a full day or two of exploration.