Bornholm

The impressive ruins of Hammershus Slot, dramatically perched on top of a cliff 74m above the sea, are the largest in Scandinavia. The castle was thought to have been built in the early 1300s, and a walk through the evocative site, enjoying the views, is a must for Bornholm visitors. The grounds are always open and admission is free. A smart new visitor centre is being built, sympathetic to the surrounds (opening 2018; likely with an admission fee for exhibits).

Book ahead to experience one of Denmark’s most exciting and innovative destination restaurants. The menu is a confident, creative celebration of Nordic produce and foraged ingredients, including wild herbs from the adjacent beach and woods. Lunch options are limited but inspired; the tour de force is dinner, where exquisite dishes celebrate Bornholm's nature and harvest and will leave you swooning.

Several of Bornholm’s top chefs praise this smokehouse as the island’s best. Not only does it serve a bumper buffet of locally smoked fish, salads and soup (ice-cream dessert included), but its waterside setting makes it the perfect spot to savour Bornholm’s Baltic flavours.

If you think Bornholm is as remote as Denmark gets, you’d be wrong. Even further east, way out in the Baltic, is tiny Christiansø, an intensely atmospheric 17th-century island fortress about 500m long. It's an hour’s sail northeast of Bornholm (departing from Gudhjem), and makes an idyllic day-trip destination.

There is something of the Faroe Islands about Christiansø’s landscape (on a much less epic scale), with its rugged, moss-covered rocks, historic stone buildings and even hardier people. There is a real sense, too, that you are travelling back in time when you visit here, particularly if you stay overnight at the charming Christiansø Gæstgiveri and get to experience the island once most of the day-trippers have gone.

Dueodde, the southernmost point of Bornholm, is a vast stretch of breathtaking beach backed by deep-green pine trees and expansive dunes. Its soft sand is so fine-grained that it was once used in hourglasses and ink blotters.

There’s no real village at Dueodde – the bus stops at the end of the road where there’s a hotel, a steakhouse restaurant, a couple of food kiosks and a boardwalk across the marsh to the beach. The only beachside ‘sight’ is a lighthouse on the western side of the dunes; you can climb the 197 steps for a view of endless sand and sea. For more views, head 1km back to the main road to visit Bornholmertårnet tower.

Occupying a svelte, modern building and overlooking sea, fields and (weather permitting) the distant isle of Christiansø, Bornholms Kunstmuseum echoes Copenhagen's Louisiana. Among its exhibits, the museum displays paintings by artists from the Bornholm School, including Olaf Rude, Oluf Høst and Edvard Weie, who painted during the first half of the 20th century.

The grounds are a delight – take a walk past grazing highland cows to reach the photogenic Helligdomsklipperne, high and rugged rock formations by the sea.

The largest and most impressive of Bornholm's round churches dates to at least 1150, and its seven buttresses and upper-level shooting positions give away its former role as a fortress. The roof was originally constructed with a flat top to serve as a battle platform, but the excessive weight this exerted on the walls saw it eventually replaced with its present conical one. The interior is largely whitewashed, although a swath of medieval frescoes has been uncovered and restored.

A fifth of Bornholm is wooded, making it the most forested county in Denmark. Beech, fir, spruce, hemlock and oak are dominant. There are three main areas, each laid out with walking trails (pick up free maps at tourist offices). Bicycle trails connect them all; the beautiful route 22 takes you through Almindingen and Paradisbakkerne.

Almindingen, the largest forest (6000 hectares), is in the centre of the island and can be reached by heading north from Åkirkeby. It’s the site of Bornholm’s highest point, the 162m hill Rytterknægten, which has a lookout tower called Kongemindet from where you can view the surrounding countryside.

A small herd of European bison have successfully been introduced to a fenced enclosure within Almindingen, by Svinemose bog. You can visit the area and try some bison-spotting off Chr X Vej, north of Åkirkeby.

Paradisbakkerne (Paradise Hills) contains wild deer and a trail that passes an ancient monolithic gravestone. It’s 2km northwest of Nexø.

Rø Plantage, about 5km southwest of Gudhjem, has a terrain of heather-covered hills and woodlands.

Food has become a key reason for visiting Bornholm – its food scene is positively booming. It's all about local, seasonal flavours, and products that grow well here due to the fertile soils and sunny microclimate.

Travel your taste buds through Michelin-starred creations, ice creams and juices rich in local fruits (sea buckthorn, rhubarb, elderflower), artisan chocolate and caramels, microbrewed beer, delectable charcuterie, and smoked-fish buffets at waterside røgerier (smokehouses).