America’s most famous mock-European tourist trap, the Danish-style town of Solvang (pop. 5,332) was founded in 1911. Set up by a group of Danish immigrants as a cooperative agricultural community, Solvang found its calling catering to passing travelers. The compact blocks of cobblestoned streets and Old World architecture, highlighted by a few windmills and signs advertising the “Hamlet Motel” among many more suspicious claims to Danishness, now attract tourists by the busload. Many other U.S. towns (Leavenworth, Washington, and Helen, Georgia, to name two) have been inspired by Solvang’s success, but to be honest there’s nothing much to do here apart from walking, gawking, and shopping for pastries.
Just east of Solvang’s windmills and gables, the brooding hulk of Mission Santa Ynez stands as a sober reminder of the region’s Spanish colonial past. Built in 1804, it was once among the more prosperous of the California missions, but now is worth a visit mainly for the gift shop selling all manner of devotional ornaments.
Pop singer Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch lies here in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Valley, southeast of Solvang via the truly scenic Hwy-254, which loops inland south to Santa Barbara.
