Sweden: Light, Forest, and the Northern Soul
From Stockholm's islands to the ice hotel and beyond
From Stockholm's islands to the ice hotel and beyond
Sweden stretches from the Baltic archipelagos to the Arctic — a land of long summer nights, deep forests, and a capital built on water. Whether you walk the cobbles of Gamla Stan or stand under the northern lights, the country offers space, silence, and a distinct kind of calm.
Narrow streets and ochre buildings crowd the island where Stockholm began — the Royal Palace, Stortorget square, and alleys that feel unchanged for centuries. In winter the lights along the quays turn the harbour into a storybook.
The 17th-century warship Vasa sank on her maiden voyage and was raised from the harbour mud 333 years later. She stands almost whole in a purpose-built hall — carved figures, rigging, and the sheer scale of a king's dream preserved in wood.
Thousands of islands scatter east of the capital — rocks, pines, and red summer houses reached by ferry. Kayak, sail, or hop between islands; the water is clean, the light lingers, and the city feels far away.
Every winter a hotel is built from ice and snow above the Arctic Circle — bedrooms, a bar, and sculptures that melt in spring. Sleep in a thermal bag under reindeer hides and wake to a world of ice and northern light.
The world's oldest open-air museum fills a Stockholm hill with historic buildings, crafts, and a zoo of Nordic animals. It is Sweden in miniature — farms, a church, and a town quarter — with views over the harbour.
A medieval walled town on an island in the Baltic — cobbled lanes, church ruins, and roses everywhere. The Hanseatic past is written in stone; in summer the light and the sea make Gotland feel like another country.
In Lapland, under some of the clearest skies on earth, the aurora borealis appears night after night. The Abisko sky station and the Kungsleden trailhead make this the gateway to wilderness and northern lights.
A 19th-century waterway links the Baltic to the North Sea across Sweden — locks, lakes, and slow-moving boats through forest and farmland. A cruise here is less about destination and more about the rhythm of the journey.
Sweden's third city faces Copenhagen across the sound, connected by a bridge that runs part tunnel, part bridge. The Turning Torso twists above the harbour; the old town and the multicultural streets give Malmö its edge.