Solvang, a Danish-American community in the Santa Ynez Valley less than an hour's drive from Santa Barbara, has windmills (lit at night with strings of white lights) and shops built in the Danish style (and selling imported Danish china and traditional Danish foods). You'll also find horse-drawn carriages, golf courses, horse ranches, wineries and racing museums.
The town is touristy but charming with rows of little houses with crooked chimneys, small-paned windows, and roofs made of thatch or copper.
If you have a sweet tooth, be sure to try Danish waffles—pastries that look like hot-dog buns, filled with buttercream and raspberry jam.
The Hans Christian Andersen Museum exhibits memorabilia of the Danish author (the town even has a Little Mermaid statue). You can get a bird's-eye view of the landscape via a hot-air-balloon ride.
