Faaborg

Faaborg is a coastal town with some 7,000 inhabitants (2020) in the southwestern corner of Funen island. It's an old town dating back to the Middle Ages, with some cobbled streets, a lively harbour district, and nearby forests and parks for recreation.

Understand
The local landmark is the iconic clock tower which dates back to around 1250, a great spot from where you can get a good view of the whole town. A few cobbled streets, with small town houses, from the 1700s and 1800s, and a high street are strewn around the tower.

The central square has a tourist office and two museums, a derelict prison and court, and a town house for a wealthy local family from the 1700s. The shopping high street, spills by the way of small side passages towards restaurants, cafes, bars, and cinema close to the harbour.

The harbour running parallel to the high street is especially fun during the summer months filled with life and activity. It features an outdoor harbour bath where you can swim in the sea, with facilities for both children and experienced swimmers. The local kayak club can often be seen rowing through the small passages in the harbour. Moreover, there's a smoke house for the smoking of fish, which doubles as a restaurant. Every Wednesday during summer, the owners of veteran cars meet up outside to socialize and show off their vehicles. It is also one of the harbours used in the Fyn rundt sailing event, where wooden high masted sail ships are docked.



Odense Airport (HCA Airport)
The nearest airport is in Odense. It is mainly used by charter tourists.

Billund Airport
Denmark's second busiest airport, in Jutland. It has many flights from Europe. By public transportation, take bus 43 to Vejle, a train to Odense and bus 141 to Faaborg. The journey will take about 3 hours.

Copenhagen Airport
The busiest airport in the Nordic countries with many flights from Europe and elsewhere. From the airport's railway station you can take a train to Odense, and bus 141 to Faaborg. The journey will take 3-4 hours.

By bus
There are buses from Odense (bus 141), which in turn has bus and train connections from elsewhere in Denmark. See the route planner http://www.rejseplanen.dk/ for schedules.

By car
Faaborg is at the intersection of three highways, at the end of one is Årslev at highway 43, Nyborg and Boyden, at opposite ends of highway 8 and Svendborg at the end of highway 44. They connect to other arteries, including the motorway connecting Funen to Jutland and Zealand.

By yacht
Faaborg has a marina, for those travelling by yacht.

By ferry
The harbour is close to the centre of town; there are ferries from the islands of Avernakø, Lyø, Bjørnø and Ærø. The town of Bøjden is a short drive or bus ride from Faaborg, to there a ferry travels from Fynshav a town in Als on the peninsula of Jutland.

On foot
The centre of town is easily accessible on foot. The centre of town has many small paths between buildings that you can only get to by foot or bicycle.

By bicycle
Faaborg has several bicycle paths and as everything is close by, making it an efficient way to get around. That includes some roundabouts, with up to two paths. Unless specified by a sign, you can ride a bicycle anywhere in and around Faaborg. There are many people hiring and selling bicycles in town. If you are staying for a long period of time, then it can easily pay to buy a cheap or used bicycle.

By car
It's easy to get around by car. There are many parking spaces, especially by the harbour.

By camper
There are many roads wide enough for campers to drive on and get around. The harbour also has parking places where campers can stay, including access to toilets, electricity and other services.

By bus
It's possible to travel by bus all across Funen. Faaborg has a bus terminal outside Lidl, which is close to the train station of Syd Fynske Veteranjernbane.


 * 141 Travels between Faaborg and Odense. It climbs the hills of Svanninge Bakker, going to Vester Hæsinge, followed by Heden, Nørre Søby where it stops outside, the Danish composer, Carl Nielsen's childhood home. In Odense the bus travels through Hjallese, Dalum, past Odense Zoo, the university hospital, finally stopping at Odense bus station, beside the train station. It is the fastest route to Odense.
 * 110-111 Travels between Faaborg and Odense, though also connecting to Assens and Nr. Broby.
 * 161 -162 Travels between Faaborg and Svendborg.
 * 920 Travels to Ørsted, Nyborg and Kerteminde.

Rejseplanen.dk is the main website and app for planning travel using public transport in Denmark.

Flextrafik/Teletaxi
A coordinated travel service, much like a bus it has routes, pick up points and collects passengers. Unlike a bus it is ordered online or by phone.

By bicycle-taxi
Faaborg has a bicycle taxi, which can take up to two passengers. Payment and ordering of a bicycle taxi ride works in much the same way, as a normal taxi.

By taxi
There is a holding area by the bus terminal, where taxis often hold. If there are none holding there, you can get hold of a taxi using the taxi companies' phone number, website or app.

Other


Faaborg has cobbled streets and buildings from the 1700s to modern day. A lot of the houses are unique and especially a walk down Holkegade, Torvet, Vestergade, Grønnegade and Bøjestræde will take you past many buildings that have been preserved and are historically significant. Bøjestræde was used in the filming of the TV series 1864, it has antique and art shops. During the summer, the flower common hollyhock grows up the sides of the buildings.



Statues
There are two statues by the artist Keld Moseholm, one is Toppen og bolden (the ball and top) in the court yard of Den Voigtske Gaard, the other is pige ved gynge (girl on the swing) in the court yard of torvet 8.

The town square has the statue Ymers Brønd (Ymirs well) erected in 1913 and made by Kai Nielsen. It depicts a story from the Prose Edda, where Ymir is drinking from the udders of the cow Auðumbla. It was made in sandstone, though in the 1960s it was replaced with a sculpture made in bronze.

Do
There are many options if you want to experience the outdoors, exercise and see local attractions.

Svanningebakker and Svanningebjerge, as the hills close by are called, have been used for outdoor pursuits for generations. To this day it is regularly used by enthusiasts of an active lifestyle, including mountain biking, horse riding and walks in the countryside. There are many marked routes, including Øhavsstien, which takes you on a journey across the south of Fyn, including several towns and island. It is also a perfect spot for a picnic; here you can see rolling hills, beautiful trees, flora and cows roaming free outdoors. If you lack food or refreshments, there is also a restaurant and a bistro close by.

Nature
The south funen archipeligo is an aspiring unesco global geopark.



Svanningbakker, naturlegepladsen på gåsebjergsand, sundet and pipstornskov, have all orienteering routes, some of those have objectives and quizzes. You can get an orienteering map from the tourist office or on https://www.findveji.dk and there is an orienteering app on https://www.o-track.dk/. There is an orienteering club, at the entrance to Gåsebjergsand.

There is horse riding routes in Svanning bjerge (riding card required) and Sollerupskov.

Svanningebakker has a small yet challenging BMX route.

Sollerup skov has an enclosed forest where dogs can roam free.

There are many fishing spots close to the town, including Bøjden harbour, Dyreborg, Avernakø and Lyø. Adults between 18 and 65 need a fishing license in order to fish for free, it can be bought at fishing clubs, the post office, the tourist bureau or fisketegn.dk. It costs 40 kr for a day, 130 kr for a week or 185 kr for a year. There are rules for when you can fish, where you can fish and how big the fish should be. There are a few put & take lakes close to Faaborg, they are not free and they charge often per fishing pole and per hour.

Buy
There are many places to go shopping in and around the town square and high street. There is also a local shopping center (Herregårds centret) and major supermarkets a short walk from the centre of town. Many of the shops are members of shopping Faaborg, an organisation that arranges amongst other things Christmas markets, fun runs, live music and days with late closing times. Every year there is a clean up in the spring, the employees of the local shops dress up in costumes and compete in having the cleanest area around their shop.



The high street also has some small shops with art and crafts.







In the suburbs and outside of town there are a lot of unmanned booths selling fresh produce and second hand items. They usually accept cash or mobile pay, which is an app connected to the users bank account making it possible to make small cashless transactions.



Drink
A lot of the cafés and restaurants here also serve alcoholic beverages, and there are also a few pubs, where you can enjoy a refreshing beverage. They are within walking distance. The nightlife generally ends at 02:00.

Sleep
Faaborg has many options if you need a place to sleep, this includes hotels, bed and breakfast, hostels, camping and other primitive outdoor accommodation, including tent and shelter spots close by.

Wifi
The library in Herregårds center has computers and free Wi-Fi. The buses from Fynbus have free Wi-Fi, for while you are journeying across Funen.

Post
There is not a separate post office in Faaborg. The main post office is within Føtex supermarket. There are alternative means to send and receive packages. These are usually from shops and tank stations. There are only a few post boxes; some of them are placed close to large supermarkets and the bus station.

Go next

 * Odense — The biggest city on Funen, it has a history dating to the viking age and is the birthplace of H.C. Andersen writer of fairy tales.
 * Nyborg — A town with a historic fortress from the middle ages. It was the first capital of Denmark and still has one of the oldest buildings in Denmark.
 * Svendborg — It is the second largest city on Funen, it dates back to the middle ages. It has a lot of shopping opportunities, cafes and a rich harbour life.
 * Sydfynske Øhav — South Funen Archipelago.
 * Als – Easy to reach by ferry, it is in the south of Jutland, and relatively close to Germany.