Visit Scandinavia

Cathedral Storkyrkan

Storkyrkan is a cathedral with a high tower standing behind the Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet.) Dating back in 1279, it is the oldest church in Stockholm. After undergoing many renovations over the years, the interior is currently in the late Gothic style and the exterior Baroque.

Address: Trångsund 1 Gamla Stan

Tel: +46 8-723 30 16

Gotland

Visby, a town with a touch of the Middle Ages in Hansa city. Visby is the port town in the centre of the island. The town grew as an important trading point for the Hansa alliance during the middle ages and the castle walls and rows of houses are still preserved today. In 1995 it was registered as a UNESCO world heritage site. The castle walls surrounding the city are 11m high and 3.5km long. Within the castle walls there are churches remains and buildings from the Hansa alliance. Every year during the first week of August there is an event called the "middle-ages week" where the whole town transforms back into the middle ages

Website: www.gotland.info

Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet)

This museum is located on the north-western bank of Djurgården, behind the Nordiska Museet when heading from Östermalm. The Vasa, which measures 68m in length, 11.3m in width and 52m in height, was probably the largest battleship of her time, but she was sunk by a strong gust of wind shortly after setting out on her maiden voyage on August 10, 1628. The ship was left at the bottom of the sea for more than 300 years, but was salvaged in 1961 and was then displayed in a temporary museum until 1988. The present museum was opened in 1990. This ship is a must-see.

Address: Galärvarvsvägen 14, Djurgården

Tel: +46 8-519 548 00

Fax: +46 8-519 548 88

Email: registrator@maritima.se

Website: www.vasamuseet.se

Uppsala University

The Uppsala University is the oldest one in Scandinavia and it was founded in 1477. Uppsala University is internationally recognised and most Australian students studying in Sweden will most likely end up in Uppsala.

Address: Box 256, 751 05 Uppsala

Tel: +46 18-471 00 00

Website: www.uu.se

Kiruna

A town contributing to Sweden's steel industry. Kiruna is close to the arctic Lapland area. The city thrives off of the steel industry, mining the finest iron ore. The "Midnight Sun", where the sun doesn't go down all day, is visible from the end of May until mid July, and the mystical Aurora can be seen between September and early April. Sweden's Royal Space Physics Laboratory, famous for its study of the Aurora is located here.

Access: One or two flights per day from Stockholm. 1 hour 35 minutes flight. It takes 16 hours 10 minutes by rail from Stockholm.

Website: www.lkab.com

Lunds Cathedral

A Romanesque style church built in 1145 that houses the famous 14 th-century astronomical clock that receives many visitors daily at noon (13:00 on Sundays and holidays) and 15:00.

Website: www.lundsdomkyrka.org

Kalmar

The ancient capital of the Baltic sea where the Kalmar alliance was forged.

A small port town facing the Baltic sea where, in 1397, the Kalmar alliance was signed. The Kalmar Castle (Kalmar Slott) still stands. There is a bridge to the adjacent Öland Island, making Kalmar a hub for travelling.

Website: www.kalmar.se

Skansen Open Air Museum

Skansen was built in 1891 in an attempt to best utilize a hill on the western side of Djurgården. Skansen is the world's first open air museum and the idea behind this museum originally came from a Swedish folklorist named A.Hazelius who wished to preserve traditional architecture and lifestyles of various Swedish regions of the country for later generations. The museum contains about 140 furnished and decorated houses of different types and artefacts collected from different parts of the country. Here you can watch craftsmen working with textiles, ceramics, glass blowing and other types of handicrafts. You can even try freshly baked bread. Here you can also experience Swedish traditional events, such as the midsummer festival and Christmas celebrations.

Address: Djurgården

Tel:+46 8-442 80 00

Fax: +46 8-442 82 82

Website: www.skansen.se

Värmland

300km west of Stockholm, an area near the borders of Norway. Nobel prize winner Selma Lagerlof, the author of "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils", loved this land and spent most of her life here in Mårbacka. Also Nobel and Karlstad lived in a manor nearby.

Website: www.varmland.org

Gripsholms Castle

Gripsholms Castle is a very stylish castle that was built 1530. The interior shows the splendor of the Renaissance period and is now used as Sweden's national portrait gallery.

Address: Mariefred

Tel: +46 159 101 94

Fax: +46 159 108 07

Website: www.royalcourt.se

Vaxholm

Vaxholm is a small town, located in Stockholm's archipelago. It faces the sea and it is known as the "pearl of the archipelago". Vaxholm can be reached by boat, departing from Sjeppskajen in Stockholm. It is a beautiful one hour boat trip through Stockholm's picturesque archipelago. This town has cute wooden houses, a beautiful natural habitat and a great fortress museum. A Vaxholm visit is a great one day Stockholm excursion, especially in the summer.

Website: www.vaxholm.se

Djurgården

Djurgården is an island lying sideways to Skeppsholmen, which belongs to the eastern side of Stockholm. The word Djurgården means "Animal Garden" in Swedish, and the name originated from the fact that King Karl XI designated this area as the royal hunting grounds in the late 17th century. This is a popular area for both tourists and locals. Here you can both enjoy a museum visit as well as relaxing picnic in the park.

Landskrona Castle (Citadellet Landskrona)

A castle built in 1549 located in Landskrona town between Malmö and Helsingbors. During the 19th and 20th centuries, it was used as a refugee camp and a womens' prison. There is a meeting room available.

Address: Citadellet, Landskrona

Tel: +46 418-44 82 50

Website: www.citadellet.com

Lennakatten Railroad

Enjoy a train ride like it was in the early nineteen hundreds. Feel the warm steam of burning coal whilst savour the beautiful landscape of Uppland. Lenakatten is a steam engine that runs between Marielund, Lanna and Fjallnora during the summer. You can also experience a short 1-hour round trip.

Website: www.lennakatten.se

Sigtuna Museum

The Sigtuna Museum sheds light on how it was to live in the town centuries ago.

Address: Stora gatan 55

Tel: +46 8 597 838 70

Email:sigtunamuseum@sigtuna.se

Website: 195.190.203.17/museer/