Maxigray

Hi there,

I will be traveling with my wife and 3 years old kid to Denmark and Sweden for 15 days in August.

We would like to split the trip between discovering cities and relaxing and enjoying nature, we will be starting in Copenhagen and ending in Stockholm and are happy to add anything in between.

Can you please suggest an itinerary for us? As I have found a lot of information and areas in Flyertalk and Trip Advisor but don't know what's the best, also can you please recommend luxury hotels in both countries?

Thanks in advance

hkn

Hi,

I'd plan the trip a little something like this:

5 days in Copenhagen
– allowing you to enjoy the city and spend one day taking the train to Humlebæk to see Louisiana –.one of the world's finest museums of modern art (they have a house for kids there as well). Even if you're not into the art itself, the park and the surroundings are fabulous.

For hotels in Copenhagen, my vote is on the Nimb, which may be the best small hotell in the entire Nordic region. Since you're traveling with a small child, the fact that Nimb is located within the Tivoli, Copenhagen's amusement park, may come in handy. See my review of that hotel here.

- - -

Then I'd allow one day for travel.

- - -

6 days in Stockholm and its archipelago – and then fly to Gotland to spend 2-3 days on this rather special limestone island in the middle of the Baltic Sea.

The Stockholm archipelago is a world class destination with some 26,000 islands and skerries. There are numerous places to stay out there, the most developed spot being Sandhamn, well known in the yachting world. The better hotels can help you with the logistics surrounding such a trip.

When it comes to Stockholm hotels, don't expect too much. For a city that prides itself to be the Capital of Scandinavia (ho-hum...), there are surprisingly few places that will impress in terms of service.

For luxury, the obvious choice is the Grand Hôtel, with a view over the harbor and the Royal Castle (see my impressions of the Grand here) or the slightly more hip Lydmar Hotel (my review here). Less luxurious and way more boutique-y is the Rival, owned by Benny Andersson, former keyboardist of ABBA (another review here).
I have yet to stay at Ett Hem, which is a tiny but very high end hotel located in a townhouse built in 1910. More about them here.

The island of Gotland is a mere 25-minute flight away from Bromma, Stockholm's regional airport. You pretty much land in the medieval town of Visby (a UNESCO world heritage). Visby turns into a bit of a tourist trap during the summers, which is why you should rent a car and make the short drive north to Fårö, where film director Ingmar Bergman used to live. The nature in this area is out of this world – and it's quite obvious why Bergman used it as a location for several of his films.
When visiting Gotland, I recommend staying at the Furillen, where a pretty stylish hotel is located in an old limestone quarry. It's located not too far from Bergman's Fårö (which is actually another island, reached by a commuter car-ferry).

- - -

I think that is about as detailed as I want to get, knowing only that you'd like to discover the cities and enjoy a little bit of nature.

Both Copenhagen and Stockhlm are among the top foodie destinations in Europe - and since you're traveling in August, you may actually be able to enjoy some fine food. Most of the restaurants will be closed in July - an odd Scandinavian tradition that is, connected with vacations and the fact that we are desperate to enjoy the long hours of sunlight in the summertime.

- - -

If you need more input, please be a little more specific on your preferences and interests, and I'll try to help you out.

All the best,

:: hkn ::

helosc

This thread ought to be moved to the Nordic Countries Forum.

I would like to suggest a day trip from Copenhagen to the castle Kronborg in Helsingør - and a short ferry trip from Helsingør to Helsingborg in Sweden.
See this thread for more information :
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/nordi...c-24-25-a.html

There is a food festival ( Copenhagen Cooking ) in Copenhagen in August
( many different food related things happening ). See this link for more information :
http://www.copenhagencooking.com

exilencfc

I agree entirely with this post! I also really like the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde which is quite close to Copenhagen (there's a lot of reconstruction type stuff so your 3 year old would probably be happy enough for a few hours). There's a Legoland theme park somewhere in Denmark but I can't remember where. In Stockholm I really like the Vasa Museum and also Skansen which is basically a collection of historic Swedish buildings but also has animals, demonstrations of old crafts and some play areas.

We stayed in Freys hotel in Stockholm, the rooms are on the small side but the staff are lovely and the breakfast is amazing.

helosc

Legoland is in Billund, quite far from Copenhagen.
I also recommend Skansen.
See this thread for information about ways to go to Skansen, ticket systems in Stockholm etc ( maybe you haven't looked at it as the headline indicates it is about the Sheraton in Stockholm - but it went off topic ):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/nordi...stockholm.html