Four Nordic Capitals: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Copenhagen

   Copenhagen Airport (CPH) to your hotel, then an evening walk to Nyhavn and the Lakes

   • Environ 18 min de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Copenhagen
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup, about 8 km from the centre, and a driver meets you in arrivals for the short ride to the hotel. Plan to land by about 3 pm to make the evening briefing; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary. If you land early, the city is easy on foot, and your guide can point you to a first coffee or a bike-hire shop. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the ten days ahead: the three train days, the overnight ferry, what to pack and how the days are paced. Then we walk through the old centre to Nyhavn, the 17th-century canal lined with painted townhouses and moored wooden boats, and sit down together for a welcome dinner of Danish food. On the way back we loop past the Lakes, where the old neon signs on Sortedam Dossering, including the Irma hen, light up the water once it gets dark (late on summer evenings).

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Copenhagen Airport (CPH)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk to Nyhavn and the Lakes
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

   Activité : Land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing; the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

2. Jour 2 : Copenhagen: Rosenborg, Christiansborg and the canals

   Rosenborg Castle, then Christiansborg, the harbour by boat, Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Copenhagen
   Détail du jour 2

   We start at Rosenborg Castle when it opens, before the tour groups, for the crown jewels in the vaults and the rooms of Christian IV's 17th-century summer house, then cross the King's Garden towards the centre. Lunch is smørrebrød, the open rye sandwiches Copenhagen does best, at a sit-down table. After lunch we visit the Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace, still used by the monarch for state banquets, and walk past Børsen, the old stock exchange with its dragon-tail spire, which lost its roof and spire to fire in April 2024 and is being rebuilt. From the canal by Christiansborg we take an hour on a harbour boat, passing the Opera House, Christianshavn and the new bridges, which shows how much of this city faces the water. The boat drops us near Nyhavn, and we walk on to Amalienborg, the royal residence, and along the Langelinie promenade to the Little Mermaid. The evening is free.

   Compris

   • Rosenborg Castle and the crown jewels, at opening
   • Smørrebrød lunch
   • The Royal Reception Rooms at Christiansborg Palace
   • An hour on the harbour by boat
   • Amalienborg and the Little Mermaid on foot

   Activités en option

   • Tivoli Gardens in the evening (open in season)
   • Bike hire

   Option plus facile : Take the boat back to Nyhavn and skip the walk to the Little Mermaid, about 2 km each way.

   Option plus active : See the old town by bike in the morning with a local cycling guide instead of on foot, and meet the group at Rosenborg.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 8 to 10 km on foot over the day, on cobbles and pavements, with seat breaks at lunch and on the boat.

   

3. Jour 3 : Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, a free Copenhagen afternoon

   Copenhagen to Helsingør by train and back

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Copenhagen
   Détail du jour 3

   A local train runs from Copenhagen Central and Østerport up the coast of the Øresund to Helsingør in about 45 minutes, and we take it mid-morning, after the commuters. Kronborg Castle sits on the point where the strait narrows to about 4 km, with Sweden in plain view across the water. For centuries Denmark charged a toll on every ship passing here, and the money built the Renaissance castle you see today, which Shakespeare used as Elsinore in Hamlet. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We walk the ramparts, the great ballroom and the dark casemates below, where the stone statue of Holger the Dane is said to sleep until Denmark needs him. Lunch is in Helsingør's old town, a few streets of half-timbered merchant houses by the harbour. We are back in Copenhagen by mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day is yours: the National Museum, a swim at a harbour bath, Tivoli or the free town of Christiania. Pack tonight: tomorrow is the first train day.

   Compris

   • Return train to Helsingør
   • Kronborg Castle with your guide: the ramparts, the ballroom and the casemates
   • Lunch in Helsingør

   Activités en option

   • The National Museum of Denmark
   • Tivoli Gardens (open in season)
   • A harbour swim at Islands Brygge

   Option plus facile : Stop on the way back at Humlebæk for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and its sea-view garden, then take the train into the city on your own.

   Option plus active : Rent a bike in the afternoon and ride out along the harbour to Refshaleøen and Reffen street food.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Copenhagen

   Activité : Kronborg has steep stairs and uneven floors in the casemates; you can wait in the courtyard.

   

4. Jour 4 : North by train to Oslo, lunch in Gothenburg

   Copenhagen to Gothenburg by train, lunch, then on to Oslo by train

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Oslo
   Détail du jour 4

   Today is the longest travel day, and it is spent on trains, not in a coach. There is no direct train from Copenhagen to Oslo, so we cross the Øresund Bridge into Sweden and ride up the west coast to Gothenburg, about four hours, then on to Oslo, about four more. The first train leaves after 8 am, with seats reserved. In Gothenburg we leave the cases in station lockers if they are free, or your guide arranges storage, and walk ten minutes into the city for a sit-down lunch of west-coast seafood, then along the canal and through Kungsparken before the afternoon train. North of Gothenburg the line runs past Trollhättan and the lakes of Dalsland, crosses into Norway and comes down to Oslo in the early evening. Your guide handles the platforms and helps with the bags at each change. Hotel check-in is close to Oslo Central Station, and dinner is free tonight. Guests who would rather fly can ask us for a Copenhagen to Oslo flight, about an hour, at the time of booking.

   Compris

   • Train from Copenhagen to Gothenburg, seats reserved
   • Sit-down seafood lunch in Gothenburg
   • Train from Gothenburg to Oslo, seats reserved

   Option plus facile : Stay at the station café and on the train; the Gothenburg walk is short and optional.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Oslo

   Activité : About 8 hours on trains, broken by a 2-hour lunch stop. You lift your own case onto the trains, with your guide to help.

5. Jour 5 : Oslo: the Opera House roof, Akershus and Munch

   The Opera House and Bjørvika, Akershus Fortress, MUNCH, then Vigeland Park

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Oslo
   Détail du jour 5

   We walk up the sloping marble roof of the Oslo Opera House early, before the crowds, for the view over the inner harbour and the new Bjørvika waterfront. From there it is a short walk along the water to Akershus Fortress, a medieval castle rebuilt as a Renaissance palace, still a military base, with ramparts looking over the harbour and City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is presented each December. Lunch is at a waterfront table in Aker Brygge or the Vippa food hall, depending on the season. In the afternoon we visit MUNCH, the museum that holds most of Edvard Munch's work, including versions of The Scream, on a timed entry. The tram then takes us to Frogner Park for Gustav Vigeland's more than 200 sculptures in granite and bronze, free to wander in long summer light. The evening is yours.

   Compris

   • The Oslo Opera House roof and Bjørvika
   • Akershus Fortress with your guide
   • MUNCH on a timed entry
   • Vigeland Park in Frogner Park
   • Tram tickets for the day

   Activités en option

   • The harbour ferry to Bygdøy for the Fram Museum and the Norwegian Folk Museum (summer)
   • A floating sauna in the harbour

   Option plus facile : Skip Vigeland Park and spend the late afternoon at your hotel or in a café on Karl Johans gate.

   Option plus active : Take the metro up to Holmenkollen for the ski jump and the view over the Oslofjord, about 30 minutes each way.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 8 to 10 km of walking, with tram rides between the far points.

6. Jour 6 : By train to Stockholm

   Oslo to Stockholm by train through Värmland, then an evening walk in Gamla Stan

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Stockholm
   Détail du jour 6

   The direct train from Oslo to Stockholm takes about five and a half hours, through the forests of eastern Norway, across the border and past Karlstad on the shore of Lake Vänern, Sweden's largest lake, then through Värmland and the farmland of the Mälaren valley. It is a long day, but you sit in a reserved seat with a window and a table, not on a coach, and you can get up and walk about, with a café or bistro service where the train has one. Lunch on board is included and ordered by your guide ahead of the busy hour. We leave after a relaxed breakfast, mid-morning, and arrive at Stockholm Central in the late afternoon. After check-in we take a short walk across the bridges to Gamla Stan, the old town on its island, while the light lasts late into the evening in summer. Dinner tonight is free, and your guide will suggest places in the old town and on Södermalm. Guests who would rather fly can ask us for an Oslo to Stockholm flight, about an hour.

   Compris

   • Train from Oslo to Stockholm, seats reserved
   • Lunch on board the train
   • Evening walk to Gamla Stan

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : About 5.5 hours on the train, with a seat and a table. You lift your own case onto the train, with your guide to help.

7. Jour 7 : Stockholm: the Vasa, City Hall and Gamla Stan

   Djurgården and the Vasa Museum, then City Hall, then Gamla Stan and fika

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : Stockholm
   Détail du jour 7

   We are at the Vasa Museum on Djurgården when it opens, before the cruise groups (8:30 am in June to August, 10 am in May and September). The Vasa sank in Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised in 1961, and she is the most complete 17th-century ship anywhere, with most of her carved figures still in place. From there we cross the water to Kungsholmen for a guided tour of City Hall, built between 1911 and 1923, with the Blue Hall where the Nobel Prize banquet is held and the Golden Hall covered in gold mosaic. City Hall closes for official events, so the time of the tour is confirmed close to departure. Lunch is on your own near City Hall, where your guide suggests places. In the afternoon your guide walks you through Gamla Stan: Stortorget, the narrow lane of Mårten Trotzigs gränd and the outside of the Royal Palace, one of the largest palaces in Europe still in use. We end with fika, coffee and a cinnamon bun, in an old-town café. The rest of the afternoon and the evening are free.

   Compris

   • The Vasa Museum at opening
   • Stockholm City Hall on a guided tour
   • Gamla Stan on foot with your guide, past the Royal Palace
   • Fika in an old-town café
   • Public transport tickets for the day, including the Djurgården ferry

   Activités en option

   • The Royal Palace state apartments
   • Skansen open-air museum
   • ABBA The Museum
   • The Nobel Prize Museum

   Option plus facile : Take the Djurgården ferry back and rest at the hotel between City Hall and the old-town walk.

   Option plus active : Walk the cliffs of Monteliusvägen on Södermalm for the view back over Gamla Stan and City Hall, about 2 km from the old town.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon and evening free

   Activité : About 7 to 9 km on foot, with ferry and metro rides between Djurgården, Kungsholmen and the old town.

   

8. Jour 8 : The archipelago, then the night ferry to Helsinki

   Stockholm by boat to Vaxholm and back, then the overnight ferry to Helsinki

   • Environ 18 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Overnight ferry to Helsinki
   Détail du jour 8

   Stockholm sits at the edge of an archipelago of tens of thousands of islands, and we spend the morning out in it. The boat leaves from Strömkajen, in front of the old waterfront hotels, and threads between wooded islands and red summer houses to Vaxholm, about an hour away. We walk the little harbour town of wooden houses, look across to Vaxholm Fortress on its islet, and sit down to lunch by the water before the boat back. Our bags are collected from the hotel during the morning. In the afternoon a short transfer takes us to the ferry terminal for the overnight sailing to Helsinki, which leaves in the late afternoon. You have an outside cabin with a window and your own shower, and from the deck you watch the inner archipelago slide past for the first two hours or so. The boat calls at the Åland Islands in the night. Dinner is the Scandinavian buffet on board, included.

   Compris

   • Archipelago boat from Strömkajen to Vaxholm and back
   • Lunch in Vaxholm
   • Transfer to the ferry terminal with your bags
   • Overnight ferry to Helsinki in an outside cabin with its own shower
   • Dinner buffet on board

   Option plus facile : Stay in Stockholm for a slow morning instead of the Vaxholm boat, and meet the group at the hotel for the transfer.

   Option plus active : Walk out to the far side of Vaxholm island, about 3 km each way, before lunch.

   Temps libre : Free time on deck and on board in the evening

   Activité : Ferry operator, cabin grade and sailing time are confirmed with your final itinerary. Cabins are twin share; solo travellers have a cabin of their own with the single supplement.

   

9. Jour 9 : Helsinki: the waterfront, the Rock Church and a sauna

   Helsinki ferry terminal to the Market Square, Senate Square, Uspenski Cathedral and the Rock Church, then a public sauna

   • Environ 18 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Helsinki
   Détail du jour 9

   Breakfast is on board as the ferry threads through the islands into Helsinki, arriving at about 10 am. A short transfer takes the bags to the hotel, and we start on foot at the Market Square on the South Harbour. Your guide walks you up to Senate Square and the white Lutheran cathedral above its steps, across to the red-brick Uspenski Cathedral on its rock, the largest Orthodox church in western Europe, and along the Esplanadi park. Lunch is in the Old Market Hall, open since 1889, with stalls of smoked salmon, rye bread and soups. In the afternoon we take the tram to Temppeliaukio, the Rock Church, cut into a granite outcrop in 1969 under a copper dome. Then we do what the Finns do: a session in a public sauna on the waterfront, with a dip in the Baltic Sea for those who want it. In the evening we sit down together for a farewell dinner of Finnish food.

   Compris

   • Breakfast on board the ferry
   • Helsinki on foot with your guide: the Market Square, Senate Square, the cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral and the Esplanadi
   • Lunch in the Old Market Hall
   • Temppeliaukio Rock Church
   • A public sauna session on the waterfront, towel included
   • Farewell dinner

   Activités en option

   • The Ateneum art museum
   • The Oodi central library

   Option plus facile : Skip the sauna and spend the late afternoon at the Ateneum or the hotel.

   Option plus active : Swim in the sea between sauna rounds, or walk the shore path from the Market Square to Kaivopuisto park.

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free before the farewell dinner

   Activité : About 6 to 8 km on foot. The sauna is mixed and swimwear is worn; the sea is cold even in summer.

10. Jour 10 : Suomenlinna and home

    Market Square by ferry to Suomenlinna and back, then Helsinki Airport (HEL)

    • Environ 30 min de route
    • Petit-déjeuner
    Détail du jour 10

    The public ferry from the Market Square takes about fifteen minutes to Suomenlinna, a sea fortress built over six islands from 1748, when Finland was part of Sweden, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. We go out after breakfast, while it is quiet, and walk the main route over the bridges between the islands, past the dry dock and the church that doubles as a lighthouse, to the King's Gate and the bastions facing the open sea. About 800 people still live on the islands. We are back on the mainland by late morning, and a driver takes you to Helsinki Airport, about 20 km north of the city, or to the station if you are staying on. Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to see Suomenlinna. For an earlier flight we take you straight from the hotel. If you would like more time, ask us to add nights in Helsinki or a day trip by ferry to Tallinn, about two hours each way.

    Compris

    • Ferry to Suomenlinna and back
    • Suomenlinna sea fortress on foot with your guide
    • Drop-off at Helsinki Airport (HEL)

    Option plus facile : Stay on the shorter loop near the ferry pier and the church, about 2 km.

    Activité : Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm to see Suomenlinna.

Faune et météo : May to September brings long light, with daylight until about 11 pm in Stockholm and Helsinki in June, and daytime temperatures of about 15 to 25 C. Rain is possible in every month, boat decks are cool even in July, and the Baltic stays cold for a swim. Some old hotel rooms lack air conditioning in a heatwave.

• Copenhagen3 nuits
• Oslo2 nuits
• Stockholm2 nuits
• Overnight ferry to Helsinki1 nuit
• Helsinki1 nuit