Also posted in other countries:
We%26#39;re thinking of a five or six day break to Scandinavia this Autumn, coming from London. We have never been before. I know I will never get consensus on this, but where should we go?
We are my wife, my five-year-old daughter (who is a VERY good traveller and walker), and I. We typically would stay at a main city for three or four nights, and then either rent a car and drive around for another few days, or take a train to another nearby town to get a feel for more than just the city. It would be a sort of city-break-plus.
We typically walk all day long around a new city, getting in every sight in the Lonely Planet guide book, see a couple of museums or art galleries, and try to find a very good restaurant at least once. We never take guided tours or packaged holidays, except the occasional on-site or half-day tour guide.
Price isn%26#39;t really a huge factor, and we will most likely be visiting Scandinavia again in the future, but which city and/or area would be our best introduction to the area?
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You could fly to Helsinki and spend couple days there checking out sights like the Suomenlinna sea fortress, National History Museum, various art museums, unique churches and the buzzling market place to name few. Then take a train to Turku, the oldest town in Finland. The Inter City train with some double deck coaches is a nice, relaxing way to travel and there%26#39;s children%26#39;s play room as well. You could again spend a couple of days in Turku visiting for example the Turku Castle that dates back to the 13th century. In September and October (on Saturdays) there are trips by boat to the shipyard to see the latest massive cruise ship of the Royal Caribbean Cruises being built. You can%26#39;t visit the boat inside, but it%26#39;s amazing enough to see it close by from the boat, where a guide will tell you all about it and also other sights along the way.
From Turku take a ferry to Stockholm, which is my second favourite capital city (after Helsinki, of course) of the Nordic countries. There are two ferry companies, Silja Line and Viking Line, and they both have a day crossing and a night crossing. I personally prefer Silja Line, and if you%26#39;ll take the day crossing you will be able to fully enjoy the beautiful archipelago scenery all the way. You will also have a better time to enjoy an all you can eat (and drink) buffet meal, and your daughter will have more time to enjoy the children%26#39;s play area. Once in Stockholm, there are loads of museums to explore, or just stroll around the old town. One of my favourite museums is the Vasa Museum with the world’s only surviving 17th-century ship. If you like zoos, there is a really good one just 1,5 hours drive from Stockholm, called Kolmården, open at the weekends in September and first weekend in October. Animals there have plenty space, which I like to see, and there%26#39;s a nice safari bit to drive through, and also a dolphin show.
Finally either fly back home from Stockholm, or if you prefer flying back from Helsinki, then take another ferry cruise from Stockholm straight to Helsinki.
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I want to apologise for not acknowledging your help. In the end, we couldn%26#39;t go on the trip at all and then I was not logged into the web site for the longest time.
Thank you for your response. The trip is still on the books for some time in the future, so undoubtedly we will revisit this section then.
// Eric
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