Raahe Guide Raahen Esittely
Clean, beautiful and peaceful Sweden is a country of cultural diversity, with a mix of Danes and the wild arctic north. Sweden is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian peninsula and is the fifth largest country in Europe. Its western neighbor is Norway, in the northeast Finland, the southwestern border is surrounded by the Skagerrak and the Kattegat, and the western coast by the Baltic Sea and the North Bay.
Most of the area is forest and there are thousands of lakes mostly in southern Sweden. Its area is approximately 450,295 square kilometers. Sweden has approximately 10.42 million inhabitants and the official language is Swedish.
Attractions in Sweden
If you plan a visit to Sweden, here is a list with top tourist attractions to include on your itinerary.
Gamla Stan
If you arrive in Stockholm, the best place to start your exploration tour is the lovely Old Town called Gamla Stan. The area abounds in beautiful medieval architecture reminding of the 13th century when the city was born. The charming Scandinavian-style buildings are thoroughly maintained and regularly painted in vivid hues of red, yellow and green.
The eye-pleasing architecture lines narrow cobbled streets and small stone-paved squares where you can stroll for pleasure. This neighborhood also features many shops, restaurants and hotels, a couple of museums and churches.
Vasa Museum
With over one million visitors annually, the Vasa Museum is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sweden. The museum presents the story of the Swedish Imperial fleet’s warship Vasa that sank in 1628.
After centuries of laying on the bottom of the icy sea, the ship was raised to the surface in a full-scale salvation operation in 1961. Since 1990 the vessel is displayed in the Vasa Museum. Visitors can see the mighty ship and learn how it was built, sank and salvaged. There is a restaurant on the grounds of the museum, as well as a shop that sells replicas of the items found on board.
Stockholm Subway
Dubbed the world’s longest art exhibition, Stockholm Subway offers much more than the convenience of moving around the city. The walls and platforms of each of the one hundred stations are decorated with unique art. You will find spellbinding murals, statues and mosaics.
Allow a couple of hours to take a self-guided tour of the underground art gallery. The best time to take the tour is on a weekday after the morning rush hour or at night. That way you will avoid crowds and have much time to take photos.
Göta Canal
Göta Canal is one of Sweden’s engineering marvels built in the 19th century. The canal is 190 kilometres long and connects by water the main city on the east coast, Stockholm, and the main city on the west coast, Gothenburg. Along the Göta Canal route, you will find lakes, fields, castles, manors, aqueducts, locks and Viking towns.
Among not-to-be-missed locations is Läckö Castle situated on the shore of Lake Vänern. Built in the 13th century as a fortified bishop’s residence, it was revamped into Baroque style in the 17th century.
Aside from the beautiful scenery behind it, the castle boasts a rich cultural life which you can get familiar with on a guided tour. Another highlight is the fairytale-looking Drottningholm Palace that boasts a theatre, a museum, a Chinese pavilion and a park with alleys lined with perfectly-manicured shrubs and bronze sculptures.
Ice Hotel
Located 17 kilometres from the town of Kiruna, the first ever built ice hotel is the reason many tourists head to Sweden’s far north. The hotel features furnishings and art decor beautifully sculpted out of ice blocks collected from the river Torne. Besides sleeping on an ice bed, you can enjoy an art exhibit featuring ice sculptures and have a drink from an ice glass in the famous ice bar.
