Solvang: A Danish Fairyland

If Disneyland was a real place, Solvang is what it would look like. As a Danish settlement located about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara, this small little town has the most charm and character you'll find this side of the Mississippi. Here's how to thrive when you visit Denmark (in California).

Where to stay: Hotel Corque

Hotel Corque living room in our Grand Suite-it really isn't that big but it does the job!

There's no question about this one. Hotel Corque is a beautiful boutique hotel located within easy walking distance to the main village of Solvang. It has a great staff and service, a couple restaurants, a nice outdoor pool and rooms that include all the amenities you would expect. The only annoying thing that happened during our stay was that we were given a room that was advertised to be one with views over vineyards but instead had a great view from the first floor of our car. We were only staying for the night, so we weren't about to ask for a new room, but to have gotten that room was definitely a bummer. Other than that, the Hotel Corque has truly prime location, along with features to make this a place to comfortably stay a night or a week. 

Lobby of the Hotel Corque

What to eat: Literally any bakery

There are so many cute bake shops all around the main town, and you really can't go wrong with any of them. Serving up all the Danish goods you can think of, breakfast options are seriously endless. But what happens as a result is that the town is filled with closed bake shops when the sun goes down, and options for dinner are somewhat limited. We ate at an Italian restaurant called Cecco and it was just average overall. Salty pizza, chewy calamari, just nothing necessarily to write home about. What really is special here is the breakfasts and pastries, so allocate your culinary expectations to the earlier part of your day and lower your expectations once the bakeries all close up shop.

What to do: Hike!

It doesn't get much better than this, a private experience below a 50 foot waterfall

Look out for some unique trees like this one!

Obviously, this is Southern California's wine country (might be California's wine country for the time being thanks to the Napa fires). So of course, take a day to get tipsy off grapes and full off cheese, but don't miss out on a fantastic, easy-to-find and easy-to-conquer hike just a 15 minute drive from the main village. The hike is called Nojuqui Falls Trail, and the relatively flat path meanders through a beautifully green forest while hugging a calming creek. But the best part of the trail isn't the interesting tree trunk formations or the vibrant foliage. The best part is what is at the end of the approximately 20-minute trek into the forest-a stunning, massive waterfall. We went pretty early on in the day, and I'm not sure how crowded this hike tends to get, but nevertheless we were able to spend the better part of a half hour just sitting at the bottom of this massive waterfall-which during this time of the year had been reduced to a simple trickle of water down a powerfully green rock wall. Easy, beautiful, and engaging, this hike checks off everything you want in a casual hike, and truly is a must do on any visit to Solvang or Santa Barbara for that matter.