EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

The only large city in southern Jutland is ESBJERG , which was purpose-built as a deep-water harbour during the nineteenth century and has generally been thought of as being gloomy and run-down. However, it is in the process of massive redevelopment and its environment and cultural life are being dramatically improved.

The best way to get a sense of the city's newness is by dropping into the Esbjerg Museum (daily 10am-4pm, from Sept to May closed Mon; tel 75.12.78.11; 30kr) at Torvegade 45, with its gallery devoted to amber along with a display recalling the so-called "American period" from the 1890s, when Esbjerg's rapid growth matched that of the US gold-rush towns. Also within easy reach of the centre is the Museum of Art (daily 10am-4pm; tel 75.13.02.11; 30kr), although its modern Danish artworks are fairly limp affairs; you'd do better to visit the art displays in the recently refurbished Watertower next door (April-May & mid-Sept to Oct Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; June to mid-Sept daily 10am-4pm; 15kr), or the Museum of Printing at Borgergade 6 (June to mid-Sept daily noon-4pm; rest of the year Tues-Sun 1-4pm; 15kr), which has an entertaining assortment of hand-, foot- and steam-operated presses, as well as more recent printing machines. With more time to spare, take a bus (#1, #3, #8 or #40 from Skolegade) to the large Fisheries and Maritime Museum and Sealarium on Tarphagevej (daily: July-Aug 10am-6pm; Sept-June 10am-5pm; tel 76.12.20.00, www.fimus.dk ; 60kr), where you can cast an eye over the vestiges of the early Esbjerg fishing fleet and clamber around inside a spooky wartime bunker built by the Germans. The Sealarium is part of a seal research centre, which often rescues pups marooned on sandbanks, then feeds them for the public's entertainment at 11am & 2.30pm daily. Opposite is Svend Wiig Hansen's nine-metre-high Man meets the Sea , an austere, blandly modernist sculpture of four white seated figures.

Esbjerg's tourist office is at Skolegade 33 (mid-June to Aug Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9.30am-3.30pm; rest of the year Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-1pm; tel 75.12.55.99, www.esbjerg-tourist.dk ), on a corner of the main square. The passenger harbour is a twenty-minute well-signposted walk from the city centre, and trains to and from Copenhagen connect directly with the ferries , using the harbour station. The main train station is at the end of Skolegade. The cheapest central hotels are Palads Hotel Cab Inn , Skolegade 14 (tel 75.18.16.00, www.cab-inn.dk; £25-30/$40-48/¬45-54) and the Park Hotel at Torvegade 31 (tel 75.12.08.68; £15-20/$24-32/¬27-36, not including breakfast). A little more upmarket is the Hotel Ansgar , Skolegade 36 (tel 75.12.82.44, www.hotelansgar.dk ; £30-35/$48-56/¬54-63). The youth hostel is at Gammel Vardevej 80 (tel 75.12.42.58, www.sima.dk/esbjerg ; £5-10/$8-16/¬9-18; closed Dec-Feb), 25 minutes' walk, or buses #1, #4, #12, #40 or #41 from Skolegade. There is also an excellent campsite , Ådalens Camping , with cabins at Gudenåvej 20 (tel 75.15.88.22, www.adal.dk ), reached by buses #1, #14 and #7. The Esbjerg eating options are fairly limited if you're on a tight budget, although you can get a decent two-course lunch for around 70kr at the Park Hotel , while inexpensive, but mainly meat, dishes can be found at Jensens Bøfhus , Kongensgade 9. A good place to drink is Café Christian IX , overlooking Torvet, and Skolegade in general is flooded with places to go after dark.