HonoraryOrange

I'm looking to get out of town for Christmas (few days before+after) this year and I'm looking for some suggestions on where to go between some of the following destinations:
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Oslo (Some other options: Stavangar, Bergen, Trondheim)

I've never been to any of the Nordic countries, so this is definitely a first for me. Admittedly these are some pretty different places, but that's why I'm here

I generally prefer larger cities, and bits of history to see/experience, but this time I'm also open to just relaxing and enjoying atmosphere and snow and just, well, chilling out. Not overly concerned around pricing.

Anyone have suggestions on where to go, or favorite things they've seen/done in any of these locations that they'd suggest over Christmas?

Helsinki Flyer

There´s a rather small probability to enjoy snow in any of those cities. You need to get away from the coastline or up north.

fassy

From personal preference I would rate Copenhagen > Stockholm > Oslo. Also from a financial point of view. Oslo is obscene expensive on everything, Stockholm a bit better but Copenhagen wins again.

All of the cities are not that big, I think Stockholm is probably the biggest one (at least the hardest to get around on foot) with Olso being the smallest. Copenhagen is very walkable and in three days with a bit hop on hop off using the subway you can easily cover the whole city.

In the end I would probably do 3 to 4 days in Copenhagen and 2 or three days in Stockholm. There are daily a few dozens of cheap flights between the Nordics capitals (about an hour flight), might be a good alternative.

As Helsinki Flyer said, 'enjoing' snow might be difficult in the cities. Best bet for snow is Olso, followed by Stockholm with Copenhagen at the end, but even in Copenhagen in 2007 we had so much snow we didn't know where to put it But again, it is very easy to go from CPH, ARN, OSL on a flight to the winter wonderland for a couple of days, e.g. OSD.

In general take note that all those cities over the Christmas period are rather slow... not the busy Christmessy buzzing you have in some other European capitals.

vanillabean

How about the lovely towns of Kiruna and Kirkenes?

tsastor

Instead of going to the deserted Scandinavian capitals, why not stay at home, light a fire in the fireplace, warm up some glühwein, sit in your favorite armchair and watch a nice classic Christmas movie with lots of snow.

ksu

Norway is expensive for dining, but tends to be cheaper than the other Scandinavian countries when it comes to hotels, and the Norwegian currency has slumped this year, so Norway is actually around 10 - 20% cheaper for USD/EUR based travellers.

I would not recommend coming to Norway for Christmas unless visiting friends/family. Norwegian Christmas is very family oriented. Most hotels and restaurants are closed 24/25 Dec. Some nightlife late at night (get-away-from-it-all), all shops closed from (at latest) 3PM on Dec 24 until Dec 28 (this year, as 27 is a Sunday). Museums won't be open. Some smaller towns (Røros) do a brisk business in Christmas tourism, with concerts, sleigh rides and open hotels. But Oslo/Bergen/Trondheim will be more or less closed,

MSPeconomist

Would spending a night in an ice hotel be of interest? That's one of the unique things about visiting this region in the winter. However, it's possible that ice hotels don't open until later in the winter and advance reservations would certainly be required.