Solvang, California, is known for its authentic Scandinavian culture and hospitality. A Danish getaway without a passport needed.
Imagine a village where fresh-cut flowers and warm-from-the-oven pastries scent the air. Add gingerbread architecture, twirling windmills, and exceptionally friendly people, and you’ve got the Danish hamlet of Solvang. A wine rush inspired by the 2004-bromance Sideways only added to the appeal of this quaint little tourist town in the Santa Ynez Valley. Tasting rooms, hip boutiques, and farm-to-fork restaurants like Root 246 now liven a mix of bakeries, chocolatiers, and souvenir shops. Founded in 1911 by Danish Americans from the Midwest, Solvang (Danish for “sunny fields”) also boasts an outstanding theater program, with performances in a 700-seat outdoor theater.
