Copenhagen
Christiansborg Slot is home to Folketinget (the Danish parliament), the Prime Minister's office and the Supreme Court. Visitor highlights include the…
Must-see attractions in Scandinavia
Bergen & the Southwestern Fjords
A slender spur of rock projecting into the void above Lake Ringedalsvatnet, Trolltunga is one of Norway's most-photographed features, and – along with…
Zealand
The crème de la crème of Danish cathedrals, this twin-spired giant was started by Bishop Absalon in 1170, but has been rebuilt and tweaked so many times…
Aarhus
The Danes’ seemingly limitless enthusiasm for dressing up and re-creating history reaches its zenith at Den Gamle By. It’s an engaging, picturesque open…
Around Stockholm
Home to the royal family for part of the year, Drottningholm's Renaissance-inspired main palace was designed by architectural great Nicodemus Tessin the…
Åland Archipelago
Following the war of 1808–09, Russia began building this major military structure as its westernmost defence against the Swedes. The fortress was still…
Aarhus
Don't miss the reinvented Moesgaard Museum, 10km south of the city, housed in a spectacularly designed, award-winning modern space. The star attraction is…
Dalarna
Don’t miss Sweden's 'most famous home', located 13km northeast of Falun in the picturesque village of Sundborn. After their deaths, the early-20th-century…
The South
One of the South Coast’s most recognisable natural formations is the rocky plateau and huge stone sea arch at Dyrhólaey (deer-lay), which rises…
Aalborg
The Limfjord was a kind of Viking motorway providing easy, speedy access to the Atlantic for longboat raiding parties. It’s not surprising, then, that the…
The Finnish Lakeland
One of Aalto's most admired works, this town hall was conceived as a 'fortress of democracy' and constructed between 1949 and 1952. Its sturdy brick tower…
Reykjavík
Artefacts from settlement to the modern age fill the creative display spaces of Iceland's superb National Museum. Exhibits give an excellent overview of…
Copenhagen
For a crash course in Danish history and culture, spend an afternoon at Denmark's National Museum. It has first claim on virtually every antiquity…
Skåne
If you mourn the passing of big hairy men in longboats, find solace at the fascinating Foteviken Viking Reserve, an evocative ‘living’ reconstruction…
Helsinki
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
Copenhagen
Scandinavia's largest library consists of two very distinct parts: the original 19th-century red-brick building and the head-turning 'Black Diamond'…
Skagen
Appropriately enough for such a neat and ordered country, Denmark doesn’t end untidily at its most northerly point, but on a neat finger of sand just a…
Reykjavík
This fascinating archaeological ruin-museum is based around a 10th-century Viking longhouse unearthed here from 2001 to 2002 and other Settlement-Era…
Central Norway
Built on the site of a former copper-smelting works that burnt down in 1975, this museum brings the town's mining heritage to life. Intricate working…
Copenhagen
Fin de siècle architecture meets with an eclectic mix of art at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The collection is divided into two parts: Northern Europe's…
Western Finnmark
This superb museum is in Hjemmeluft, at the western end of town. It features exhibits and displays on Sami culture, Finnmark military history, the Alta…
North Iceland
The tiny rocky islet of Drangey (drown-gay), in the middle of Skagafjörður, is a dramatic flat-topped mass of volcanic tuff with 180m-high sheer…
Åland Archipelago
One of Åland’s premier sights is this striking 14th-century castle on a picturesque inlet (signposted off Rd 2). The keep towers are 15m high in parts,…
Bornholm
Built around 1150, Nylars Rundkirke is the most well-preserved and easily accessible round church in the Rønne area. Its central pillar is adorned with…
The Western Fjords
If you're on limited time, a visit to this little island is a great way of getting a flavour of the coastline around Florø. After a quick boat ride from…
Lappland
This illuminating museum is Sweden’s most thorough introduction to Sami culture. Follow the ‘spokes’ radiating from the central chamber, each dealing with…
Svalbard
This 30km-long fjord north of Ny Ålesund is a popular detour for cruise ships, partly for the scenic beauty of Lillehöökbreen (its grand tidewater glacier…
Aalborg
The Aalborg waterfront promenade, extending east from Limfjordsbroen, is a great example of urban regeneration, taking what was a scruffy dockside area…
Skåne
One of Skåne's most intriguing and remote attractions, this place has all the mystery of England's Stonehenge without the commercialism. It's Sweden's…
The Western Fjords
Some 30km southeast of Lærdalsøyri along the E16, this 12th-century stave church was raised beside one of the major trade routes between eastern and…
Visby
Gotlands Museum is one of the mightiest regional museums in Sweden. While highlights include amazing 8th-century, pre-Viking picture stones, human…
Copenhagen
Davids Samling is a wonderful curiosity of a gallery housing Scandinavia's largest collections of Islamic art, including jewellery, ceramics and silk, and…
Odense
For train buffs, this fabulous video-rich museum is almost reason enough to come to Denmark. The core collection of over 30 engines and wagons, ranging…
East Iceland
Five kilometres past the wee church is the photogenic small-boat harbour and islet of Hafnarhólmi, home to a large puffin colony. A staircase and viewing…
Bornholm
The largest and most impressive of Bornholm's round churches dates to at least 1150, and its seven buttresses and upper-level shooting positions give away…
De Kongelige Repræsentationslokaler
Copenhagen
The grandest part of Christiansborg, this series of palace rooms and halls was used by the queen to hold royal banquets and entertain heads of state. The…
Helsinki
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
Western Finnmark
Opened in 2013, the daringly designed Northern Lights Cathedral, next to the Scandic Hotel Alta, is one of the architectural icons of the north, with its…
Ísafjörður
Part of a cluster of historic wooden buildings by the harbour, this museum is in the Turnhús (1784), which was originally a warehouse. It's crammed with…
Southeastern Sweden
Occupying the site of the world's first IKEA store in Älmhult, some 145km northeast of Malmö, is the world's first IKEA Museum, new in 2016, which should…
