25km (16 miles) W of Svendborg; 179km (111 miles) W of Copenhagen; 37km (23 miles) S of Odense
Far removed from the commerce and industry of Svendborg, Faaborg is more a sleepy dream of long ago. It's a "Gone with the Wind" situation, as its heyday was in the 1600s when it was a thriving harbor town containing one of the country's biggest commercial fleets.
Today you can wander those same streets where wealthy merchants and shipbuilders lived. The best collection of these crisscrossed, half-timbered houses in pastel colors is along Adelgade, Tarngade, and Holkegade. For some reason, many homeowners like to plant hollyhock around their doorways.
Funen has more attractive villages, but Faaborg is its most beautiful small town, lying on the sunny south coast and a magnet for Danish and German sunbathers in summer.
In the Middle Ages, Faaborg was a fortified town, with a castle and defensive walls, which were torn down, although you can still see some of the fortifications in the western gate on Vestergade. The West Gate, dating from the 1400s, lies 500m (1,640 ft.) north of Torvet.
Gamle Stan (Old Town) is centered around the Torvet (market square), where you can enjoy a coffee in a cafe while taking in Funen's most controversial sculpture, the bronze fountain, Ymerbrønd, by Kai Nielsen. For more information about the original, refer to the Faaborg Museum.
