Our Ports of Call

Gothenberg, Sweden

Goethenberg is the largest university city in Scandinavia, boasting some 60,000 students. Once a major industrial center and Sweden’s premier port of exit, Goethenberg more recently spurred the development of its cultural centers. Its most famous attractions now include the Goethenberg Botanical Garden, considered one of the best gardens in Europe; the Liseberg amusement park – the largest in Scandinavia that sees over 3 million visitors per year; and the Goethenberg Opera, relatively recently inaugurated in 1994.

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Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany

Warnemunde is a delightful sea resort located on the Baltic Sea at the estuary of the river Warnow. Founded in 1200, Warnemunde became an important vacation spot in the 20th century, and is now filled with charming shops and lovely restaurants where regional specialties may be sampled. From this port you can visit Berlin – a two hour train ride away. Majestic Berlin is home to hundreds of art galleries and one of the most diverse and vibrant nightlife scenes in Europe. The city also houses 153 museums, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Museum Island, as well as over fifty theatres, three major opera houses, two major symphony orchestras (including the world-famous Berlin Philharmonic), two zoos, and the largest botanical garden in Europe.

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Visby, Sweden

Arguably the best-preserved medieval town in Scandinavia, Visby is the largest city on the Swedish island of Gotland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Affectionately called “City of Roses and Ruins” by some, Visby is most noted for the three and a half kilometer long stone call called “Ringmuren” that encircles the city, and for its old church ruins, some of which date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The city’s industry today centers primarily around its harbor, and the tourism that accompanies its annual Medieval festival week.

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Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is the capital city and main seaport of Estonia, located about 80 kilometers south of Helsinki in the Gulf of Finland. Its picturesque old towns (The Toompea and the Lower Town) have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is the destination of many tourists. Major attractions in the city are in the old towns, and include St. Olav’s Church, once the tallest building in the world from 1549 to 1625; the Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, named after a Russian hero from the 13th century; and the Raekoja Plats Town Hall square, which houses the most famous symbols of the city.

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St. Petersburg, Russia

Founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703, St. Petersburg served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two hundred years. Today, the city remains Russia’s second-largest city and the most important Russian port on the Baltic. Known as the “City of Palaces,” St. Petersburg houses dozens of baroque and neoclassical palaces, and is home to St. Isaac’s Cathedral – one of the largest domed buildings in the world. The Hermitage museum, one of the world’s largest and richest collections of Western European art, is also found here. St. Petersburg's position below the Arctic Circle causes twilight to last all night in May, June, and July - a phenomenon known as the "White Nights of St. Petersburg" that regularly draws thousands of tourists each year.

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Stockholm, Sweden

Reputed for its natural beauty, Stockholm has been Sweden’s most significant city since the 13th century. The city is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Royal Palace Drottningholm and the Forest Cemetery Skogskyrkogården – and still features its original medieval street net in the Gamla Stan, the “Old Town.” The Royal Dramatic Theatre – one of Europe’s most renowed theatres – is also found here, as well as the Royal Swedish Opera, and the Stockholm Globe Arena, one of the largest spherical buildings in the world. Stockholm is also home to the Swedish Museum of Fine Arts, containing Sweden's largest collection of art, with over 16,000 paintings and 30,000 objects of handicraft.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The capital of Denmark and the country’s largest city, Copenhagen is the seat of the national parliament and the monarchy. Free entertainment in the form of musicians, magicians, jugglers, and other street performenrs can be had in the late afternoon along the Strøget, a pedestrian shopping street in central Copenhagen. More formal destinations include Amalienborg Palace, home of the Danish monarchy; the Copenhagen Zoo; the National Museum of Denmark; and the famous amusement park Tivoli Gardens, which receives millions of visitors every year from around Europe.

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