Wind turbine wakes are analyzed by both experimental and numerical means. A lidar simulator is applied on large-eddy simulations to test several experimental layouts to cope with the limitations of scanning lidar technology (e.g. spatial and volume averaging) in wake measurements. The effects of wake meandering are identified in real lidar measurements along a fixed radial direction at each one onshore and offshore site. The average wind speed profile in the wake is estimated by a nacelle-based lidar. A three-dimensional formulation of a shear layer engineering wake model is presented to overcome the limit of axisymmetric wakes and enable simulations of merging wakes. First, the model is calibrated using offshore lidar measurements of a single wake. Second, the model is validated against large-eddy simulations of single and multiple wakes. The results demonstrate the possibility to study wakes with lidars and highlight improvements and limitations of the new model.