Varde

Varde is a town in West Jutland. The municipality is the largest coastal tourism municipality in Denmark and especially attracts tourists to the coastal destinations of Blåvand, Vejers Strand and Henne Strand. The tourists who stay in Varde Municipality primarily stay in seaside cottages.

Understand

Varde is an old town of uncertain age, but the town's history can be traced back to the early middle ages, when the town was named in written sources as early as around 1100. Varde gained its municipal charter in 1442.

Although Varde has suffered a number of major fires over the ages, including in 1821, there are many attractive well-preserved buildings, among them Sct. Jacobi Kirke (St. James’s church) from 1150 on the town square, and the merchant houses Den Kampmannske Gaard from 1781, Den Palludanske Gaard from 1821, Den Schultz’ske Gaard from 1795, and Sillasens Hus on the town square from 1797. Many of the street layouts in the inner town are still as they were in the Middle Ages, and houses which have preserved their original character can be seen here.

In 2020, it was home to 14,000 people.

Get in

By car

Most traffic from and to Varde goes via primary route 11, which starts in Tønder, and goes via Varde all the way to Aalborg in northern Jutland. Primary route 11 crosses the E20 (the Esbjerg highway) near Korskro, from where there is approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) to Varde via primary route 11.

By train

It is possible to reach Varde via Esbjerg or Skjern. Apart from that the "Vestbanen" connects Varde with Oksbøl in the western and Nørre Nebel in the north-western part of the municipality.

• 1 Varde railway station. (updated Jul 2024)

By bicycle

• 20 km (12 mi) of bicycle road from Nørre Nebel
• 10 km (6.2 mi) from Næsbjerg
• 25 km (16 mi) of bicycle road from Blåvand via Oksbøl
• 20 km of bicycle road from Esbjerg.

See

• 1 Museum Frello, Kirkepladsen 1, Varde, ☏ +45 75 22 08 78. Sep-Jun: W-Su 10:00-16:00: Jul Aug: daily 10:00-17:00. Denmark's largest collection of Otto Frello's whimsical paintings. Adult 85 kr, under 18 free when accompanied by an adult. (updated Feb 2023)

Tirpitz Museum

• 2 Tirpitz Museum, Tirpitzvej 1, 6857 Blåvand, ☏ +45 75 22 08 77. 10:00-17:00; Jul 1-Aug 15 09:00-19:00. Museum in old World War II German bunker. Learn about the Atlantic Wall, life on the western coast of Denmark and an amber collection, and hear personal stories from the surrounding areas. DKK 125, under 18 free. (updated Jul 2018)
• Varde Minitown in the Arnbjergparken in Varde is a miniature of Varde anno 1866 in the scale 1:10, which is maintained and built by 12 voluntary "mini-masons," whose work, making the miniature houses, you can observe from May to October at their workshop in Varde.
• 3 Blåvands Huk (the lighthouse of Blåvand). The western tip of Denmark, overlooking the wind farms of Horns Rev. (updated Feb 2023)
• The beaches along the shores of Varde are among the top crowd pullers/attractions in Varde. Among these are the broad white beaches of Blåvand, Vejers Strand and Henne Strand.
• (Wadden Sea National Park, UNESCO world heritage). Mud flats from Varde in the north to the Netherlands in the south.
• 4 Vesterhavet/North Sea Nature Park.  
• 5 Skallingen.  Skallingen – the demining of the Westcoast – Skallingen is a relatively newly formed landmass, which was created by/after a storm surge in 1634, by sediment left behind by the retracting ocean. It was home to the last minefield in Denmark. Post 2000 the area was demined and opened to the public.
• 6 Oksbøl Refugee Camp.  

Do

Hiking

• The North Sea Trail goes through the municipality of Varde.
• The bicoastal "kyst til kyst stien" goes from Blåvand in the west to Vejle in the east
• There is a variety of local hiking trails.

Eat

• 1 Høfde 4, Hvidbjerg Strandvej 27, Blåvand (at the beach just south of Blåvand, about as far west as you can get in Denmark), ☏ +45 75279089. 12:00 until the last guest leaves. Informal but stylish restaurant with Danish food made with fresh ingredients. Mostly seafood. 250 kr main. Three-course menu 420 kr. (updated Jul 2018)
• 2 Henne Kirkeby Kro, Strandvejen 234, Henne, ☏ +45 75255400. Lunch Th- Sa 12:00-15:00, Dinner W-Sa 18:00 - 21:30. Gourmet restaurant. 1300 kr dinner menu, 1300 kr wine menu. (updated Jul 2018)