The Western Fjords
If you only have time on your itinerary to visit one stave church, the one at Urnes has to figure at the top of the list (along with Borgund). Dating from…
Must-see attractions in Scandinavia
Malmö
Located about 2.5km northwest of the Old Town, buzzing, bayside Västra Hamnen represents the modern face of Malmö. It's a popular spot to stroll, sip…
Skåne
While you'd never guess from its name, Krapperups Slott is one of Sweden’s oldest and loveliest estates located 5km south of Mölle. The manor has an…
Tampere
This bright, modern glass-and-steel exhibition space in the renovated Tampella textile mill hosts regularly changing exhibitions on anything from bicycles…
Bergen
This beautiful estate was built in 1873 as the summer residence of Norway’s first musical superstar, violinist Ole Bull. Languishing on its own private…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
In a tanker-sized, wave-shaped building with walls of metal and printed glass, this state-of-the-art dockside museum recounts Finland’s seafaring life…
Central Sweden
Occupying tranquil lands on the shores of Lake Hjälmaren, this outstanding castle was built in the 16th century in the Renaissance style and later…
Southern Jutland
Embrace your inner Viking (ignore any pillaging tendencies, OK?) at this fun, hands-on, open-air museum. It re-creates a slice of life in Viking-era Ribe…
Oslo
While downstairs houses a small and rather idiosyncratic museum, it's Ibsen's former apartment, which you'll need to join a tour to see, that is…
Heimaey
The 221m-high volcanic cone Eldfell appeared from nowhere in the early hours of 23 January 1973. Once the fireworks finished, heat from the volcano…
Southern Jutland
An undeniable benefit of being the oldest town in the land is the opportunity to amass an impressive art collection. Ribe’s beautifully restored art…
The Far North
This wonderful building, all slopes and soft angles, was designed and built by owners Regine and Frank Juhls, who first began working with the Sami over…
Uppsala
A wonder cabinet of wonder cabinets, the Museum Gustavianum rewards appreciation of the weird and well organised. The shelves in the pleasantly musty…
Gotland
The Bergmancenter, honouring Sweden's most famous film director, the late Ingmar Bergman, a Fårö local, was inaugurated in 2014 and hosts exhibits,…
The Northern Fjords
A classic Norwegian train ride that railway buffs definitely won't want to miss, the 114km-long Rauma Railway clatters from Åndalsnes and Dombås, high in…
Skåne
Trelleborgen is a 9th-century Viking ring fortress, discovered in 1988 off Bryggaregatan (just west of the town centre). A quarter of the palisaded fort…
Gotland
This remote island nature reserve is home to extensive bird life including thousands of guillemots and razorbills, as well as the maculinea arion (large…
Aalborg
This impressive 700-sq-metre design and architecture space, with its distinctive silver roofscape, sits pretty on the waterfront. It's the last building…
The Far North
This stunning monument, a collaboration between French artist Louis Bourgeois and Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, is dedicated to the 91 people executed…
The Golden Circle
Iceland’s most famous waterfall, Gullfoss is a spectacular double cascade dropping a dramatic 32m. As it descends, it kicks up magnificent walls of spray…
Central Jutland
Randers' most-visited attraction is this dome-enclosed tropical zoo ('regnskov' means rainforest), where the temperature is always a humid 20°C to 30°C …
Copenhagen
What looks like a colourful Greco-Roman mausoleum is in fact a museum dedicated to the works of illustrious Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844)…
West Iceland
Stykkishólmur’s jagged peninsula pushes north into stunning Breiðafjörður, a broad waterway separating the Snæfellsnes from the looming cliffs of the…
Tampere
An iconic example of National Romantic art nouveau architecture, Tampere's cathedral dates from 1907. Hugo Simberg created the frescoes and stained glass;…
Skagen
This wonderful gallery showcases the outstanding art that was produced in Skagen between 1870 and 1930. Artists discovered Skagen's luminous light and its…
Småland
Square-jawed men going hunting while their wives snuggle up to sewing machines: the Husqvarna Fabriksmuseum conjures up a vivid 1950s world and while that…
Reykjavík
The excellent Reykjavík Art Museum is split over three superbly curated sites: the large, modern, downtown Hafnarhús, focusing on contemporary art;…
The Bothnian Coast
During the Protestant reformation in Sweden in the 16th century, church attendance was demanded of all parishioners, and later in 1861, a regulation…
Reykjavík
Largely a service harbour until recently, the Old Harbour and the neighbouring Grandi area have blossomed into tourist hot spots, with key art galleries,…
Trondheim
This terrific museum is devoted to pop and rock music, mainly Norwegian, from the 1950s until yesterday. It's a dockside temple to R&B, where a huge…
Reykjavík
The placid lake at the centre of the city is sometimes locally called the Pond. It echoes with the honks and squawks of more than 40 species of visiting…
Luostarinmäen Käsityöläismuseo
Turku
When the savage Great Fire of 1827 swept through Turku, the lower-class quarter Luostarinmäki escaped the flames. Set along tiny lanes and around grassy…
Vesterålen
Around 1km south of the town entrance along the road to Bleik, this innovative space centre has a widescreen 16-minute movie and other exhibits about the…
Småland
The site of one of Sweden's original glassworks, established in 1742, the Kosta Boda complex continues to reel in coachloads of visitors. It’s touristy,…
Småland
Overlooking the lake, and considered one of the finest early Renaissance buildings in the Nordic region, construction commenced on Vadstena Slott, the…
Oslo
The centrepiece of Frognerparken is an extraordinary open-air showcase of work by Norway's best-loved sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, and is home to 212…
Lapland
Few things conjure fairy-tale romance like a snow castle. First built in 1996 as a Unicef project, this is a Lapland winter highlight and a favoured…
The Far North
Along one of the prettiest stretches of the E75 (a designated National Scenic Route; see www.nasjonaleturistveger.no), the lovely white church of Nesseby…
The Coast
Norway's favourite playwright, Henrik Ibsen, washed up in Grimstad in January 1844. The house where he worked as a pharmacist's apprentice, and where he…
Møn
Viewed from the car park, this neolithic tumulus looks little more than a grassy knoll on a contoured field. But walk 300m through the cornfield and you…
