By the time they’ve danced through “There once was an ugly duckling . . .” and “The King is in the all-together . . .” I’m six years old again, madly in love with Hans Christian Andersen and everything Danish. On the way to Odense on the island of Fyn, where Andersen was born 200 years ago this month, I asked a Dane in his twenties if he knew of the film or Danny Kaye — and drew blanks.

Yet here at Andersen’s birthplace, music from the movie still floats across the garden three times a day in a toe-tapping show that skips through “20 tales in 20 minutes”.

The film was a schmaltzy take on Andersen’s rags-to-riches story. In reality he was a tall, ugly, ill-educated provincial who left Odense for Copenhagen aged 14, failed to make it as an actor, dancer or singer, and finally found fame with his 168 fairytales.

Hollywood got two things right: Andersen was a genius at writing stories, and adults love them as well as children. Many visitors here are unaccompanied grown-ups and the big new birthplace museum is serious stuff, but so well presented that it’s never boring.

Children have their own hands-on centre, The Tinder Box. The main museum has galleries of letters, photos, drawings, manuscripts, and paper cut-outs that Andersen made while telling stories. There are curiosities, such as his size 12 boots and extra-long bed. And copies of his plays, novels and stories: the third most widely translated works in the world.

Long before we step into the poor shoemaker’s home where he was born, it is clear that he wasn’t a happy Hans. He was a lonely, depressive globetrotter, desperate to escape his lowly origins.

We wander to St Knud’s Lutheran church where Hans was confirmed, and the house where he grew up. It is smaller than the birthplace and, as his family could afford only one room, he probably enjoyed his regular walk to fetch milk from the dairy that is now our hotel. Knudsens Gaard was a farm for centuries before it became a four-star hotel with a first-rate restaurant.

The island is known as “the luxurious Danish larder”. The best beef, pork and lamb, cheese, berry fruits and fish come from Fyn’s rich fields and sheltered seas. Andersen called it “the loveliest part of Denmark” and to see how it was farmed, we visit one more museum before following Hans to Copenhagen.

Fynske Landsby is a collection of old thatched and timbered buildings where the clock has been turned back to 1850. Costumed villagers work in the fields and farmhouses. Cottage gardens bloom with hollyhocks, herbs and vegetables. Old-breed animals amble about and snooze in the shade.

“He never came here but we have two buildings he knew, the inn and the toll house,” says Anders Myrtue, the curator. I’m not sure they need to tell his stories in the grassy amphitheatre. It feels as if we are walking through a pop-up book of his fairytales anyway.

To reach the capital, Hans would have caught the ferry to West Zeeland. We’re spared that since the 18km (11-mile) Storebaelt bridge opened, and in less than two hours we’re arriving in “Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen . . . ”

Nyhavn used to be where drunken sailors and their molls hung out. Now the canal is lined with umbrellas and tables, smart restaurants and hotels. It’s fun walking the streets Andersen knew and sampling his haunts. Hans would be thrilled with Copenhagen’s celebrations for his bicentenary, including an exhibition at Rosenborg Castle, and a massed-choirs musical of The Little Mermaid on a floating stage in the harbour. Mind you, Andersen already had iconic status here. Two statues as well as the Little Mermaid, plaques and streets with his name, and his diary lies side-by-side with Kierkegaard’s manuscripts among the Royal Library’s treasures.

But the happiest memorial is the Flying Trunk ride in Tivoli gardens, whose opening Andersen attended in 1843, and where he returned frequently for the fountains and fairylights.

There are no labels inside “his” ride, so you have to guess each title as you “fly” gently past the fairytale scenes. No music either, but that’s OK, I’m humming the songs again — and I bet an army of tin soldiers that I’m not the only one.

Need to know

Getting there: Sally Varlow travelled with the Danish Tourist Board (020-7259 5959, www.visitdenmark.com) and Maersk Air (020-7333 0066, www.maersk-air.com), which flies from Gatwick to Copenhagen from £87.

Where to stay: Hotel Knudsens Gaard, Odense (00 45 6311 4311, www.knudsensgaard.dk) has doubles from £96. Tours: Hans Christian Andersen-themed tours on Funen are offered by HCA Tours (6361 8088, www.hcatours.com).

Further information: www.hca2005.com; Odense (6612 7520, www.visitodense.com); Copenhagen (www.visitcopenhagen.dk).

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