What to see, where to stay and the best time to visit Skagen, Denmark.
Photo: marsjo / Pixabay
Skagen is a small coastal town in Denmark, home to about 7,394 people. It is a beach destination near Grenen, the northern tip. Visitors come for the coast, the sand at Råbjerg Mile and the painters' homes and art at Skagens Museum and Anchers Hus. The harbour suits seafood lovers. June and July are the best months to go and the main beach season.
The town-centre sights fit together easily: Skagens Museum takes 2–3 hours, and Anchers Hus and Drachmanns Hus take 1 hour each. Grenen, Råbjerg Mile and the Sand-Covered Church lie outside the town, so allow extra time for them.
Northern tip, north of the town
Grenen is the sandy northern point of Denmark, where the Skagerrak and the Kattegat seas meet. You can stand with a foot in each sea and watch the waves cross each other. Walk out along the beach or take the tractor-pulled bus called Sandormen. Swimming here is not allowed because the currents are strong.
Town centre
This art museum shows work by the Skagen Painters, the artists' colony that painted local fishermen, beaches and the special light here. It is the best place to understand why Skagen became famous with artists.
South of Skagen
Råbjerg Mile is one of the largest moving sand dunes in Northern Europe. The wind slowly pushes it across the land. You can climb it barefoot and see open sand in every direction, a bit like a small desert.
South-west of the town
Drifting sand slowly buried this old church, and only the whitewashed tower still stands. It is a short walk through dunes and heath from the car park. It shows clearly how much the sand has shaped life in the area.
Town centre
This is the home of the painters Michael and Anna Ancher, kept much as they left it, with their furniture and paintings. It is close to Skagens Museum, so many visitors see both on the same day.
Town centre
Skagen is still a working fishing port. Along the quay there are red warehouses with fish restaurants and smokehouses. It is a good place for lunch or an evening walk while the boats come and go.
West coast, west of the town
Gammel Skagen is the old fishing village on the west coast, now a quiet area of yellow summer houses and wide beach. People come here in the evening to watch the sun set over the North Sea.
Town centre
This is the former home of the poet and painter Holger Drachmann, one of the best-known members of the Skagen artists' colony. The house holds his paintings and personal things and gives a quieter look at the colony's life.
Between the town and Grenen
The tall grey lighthouse stands in the dunes on the way to Grenen. Inside there is an exhibition about the lighthouse and the birds that pass the tip of Denmark, and you can climb up for wide views over both seas.
Average weather and our month score, from 10 years of climate data.
| Month | High / low | Rain days | Sunshine | Sea temp | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C / 2°C | 13 days (67 mm) | 3.3 h/day | 5°C | 0.9/10 |
| February | 5°C / 2°C | 12 days (58 mm) | 4.9 h/day | 4°C | 1.4/10 |
| March | 6°C / 2°C | 11 days (58 mm) | 7.4 h/day | 5°C | 1.9/10 |
| April | 9°C / 5°C | 8 days (44 mm) | 11.1 h/day | 7°C | 2.4/10 |
| May | 14°C / 9°C | 10 days (52 mm) | 12.9 h/day | 12°C | 2.1/10 |
| Best month: June | 18°C / 13°C | 11 days (56 mm) | 14.0 h/day | 16°C | 2.9/10 |
| Best month: July | 19°C / 15°C | 13 days (73 mm) | 13.4 h/day | 18°C | 3.0/10 |
| August | 19°C / 15°C | 14 days (86 mm) | 11.3 h/day | 18°C | 2.8/10 |
| September | 16°C / 13°C | 12 days (83 mm) | 8.8 h/day | 17°C | 2.3/10 |
| October | 12°C / 9°C | 15 days (88 mm) | 5.7 h/day | 13°C | 1.1/10 |
| November | 8°C / 6°C | 14 days (76 mm) | 3.1 h/day | 10°C | 0.7/10 |
| December | 6°C / 3°C | 15 days (72 mm) | 2.2 h/day | 7°C | 0.4/10 |
Cold and grey, with highs of 4.5°C, lows of 1.5°C and 13 rain days. It scores 0.9, one of the weakest months for weather here.
Still cold, with a 4.5°C high, 11.5 rain days and only 4.9 sun hours. A low score of 1.4 reflects the chill and the lack of sun.
Highs creep up to 5.7°C, with 11 rain days and 7.4 sun hours. It scores 1.9. The air is still cold and the sea is 4.6°C.
The driest month, with 8 rain days and 44 mm of rain. Highs reach 9°C. It scores 2.4: cool, but brighter with 11.1 sun hours.
Highs of 13.8°C and 10.4 rain days. It scores 2.1. The air turns mild, but the sea is still cold at 11.7°C.
Highs of 17.8°C, 10.6 rain days and the most sun of the year at 14 hours. A score of 2.9 makes it one of the best months here.
The top-scoring month at 3. Highs of 18.8°C, 12.6 rain days and a sea temperature of 17.6°C.
The warmest highs at 18.9°C and the warmest sea at 17.7°C, but 14.1 rain days and 86 mm of rain. It scores 2.8.
Highs fall to 16.4°C, with 12.4 rain days and 83 mm of rain. The sea stays mild at 16.6°C. It scores 2.3.
Wet and cooling, with highs of 12.1°C, 14.5 rain days and 88 mm, the most rain of the year. The score drops to 1.1.
Highs of 8.2°C, 14.1 rain days and just 3.1 sun hours. A score of 0.7 reflects dark, damp weather.
The lowest score of the year at 0.4. Highs of 5.9°C, 14.8 rain days, the most of any month, and only 2.2 sun hours.
Climate averages 2015–2024 · Best time to visit Denmark →
The best areas to base yourself and who each one suits.
Good for first-timers, no car
The pedestrian streets around Sankt Laurentii Vej hold most of the shops, cafés and the main museums, with the train station close by. You can walk to the harbour and cycle to Grenen from here. In summer it gets crowded, and rooms book up early.
Good for seafood lovers, nightlife
The working harbour has rows of red warehouses now used as fish restaurants and bars, plus fishing boats coming and going. It is the liveliest place to stay on summer evenings. That also means music and noise late into the night in high season.
Good for couples, quiet, art lovers
This older eastern part of town has low yellow houses with red tile roofs and narrow lanes, close to the area linked to the Skagen painters. It feels calmer than the centre but is still walkable to shops and the harbour. Choice of places to stay is small, and many are holiday homes with minimum stays in summer.
Good for families, longer stays
The western side of town is mostly residential, with holiday houses and gardens and easy cycle paths to the beaches. It is a good base if you want space and a kitchen. You have a longer walk to the harbour and centre, so a bike helps.
Good for nature lovers, quiet, drivers
A small dune settlement south-west of Skagen, close to the moving sand dune Råbjerg Mile and long empty beaches. It suits walkers and people who want silence. There are almost no shops or restaurants, so you will rely on a car or bike for most things.
Small cold-water prawns landed by local boats. Locals buy them cooked from fish shops and harbour stalls, then peel them by hand and eat them with bread, mayonnaise and lemon.
An open sandwich piled high with peeled prawns, usually on white or rye bread with mayonnaise, lemon and dill. It is a classic lunch at harbour restaurants and cafés.
A Danish open sandwich topped with fried plaice, prawns, mayonnaise and lemon. It is a popular lunch in coastal towns like Skagen, where the fish arrives fresh from the boats.
Herring, mackerel and salmon smoked over wood. Locals buy it at smokehouses and fish shops near the harbour and often eat it on rye bread for a simple lunch.
Danish fish cakes made from minced white fish, fried in a pan. They are served with remoulade sauce and rye bread, at home and in casual harbour eateries.
Pan-fried plaice, a flatfish caught in the waters around northern Jutland. It usually comes with boiled potatoes and parsley sauce or melted butter in traditional fish restaurants.
August is one of the milder months but still not the top pick, scoring 2.8 out of a possible best in the data. The high is 18.9°C and sea temperature reaches 17.7°C, the warmest of the year, but rain falls on 14.1 days with 86 mm total, so pack for showers between sunny spells.
June and July are the best months according to the scoring data, though both are still rated 'avoid' overall. July has the highest sun hours at 13.4 and a high of 18.8°C, while June is slightly drier with 10.6 rain days versus July's 12.6. Sea temperatures climb from 15.6°C in June to 17.6°C in July.
Two to three days covers the main sights comfortably. Grenen, Skagens Museum, Råbjerg Mile, the Sand-Covered Church, Anchers Hus, the harbour, Gammel Skagen, Drachmanns Hus and the Grey Lighthouse each take 1 to 3 hours, so a traveller can see most of them without rushing in that time.
Only in summer, and even then it stays cool. Sea temperature peaks at 17.7°C in August, close to July's 17.6°C, after rising from 15.6°C in June. Outside June to September it drops sharply, falling to around 4–5°C from December through March.
Rain is common for much of the year. Rain days range from 8 in April to 14.8 in December, and monthly totals run from 44 mm in April up to 88 mm in October. Even the sunnier summer months, July and August, see 12 to 14 rain days, so a waterproof layer is useful whenever you visit.
Enter to search · Esc to close