Scandinavian city recomendations

grizzly

I've not been anywhere more northerly then Amsterdam.

For a 5 night city break (not renting a car). Which of the following would you visit?

Copenhagen
Stockholm
Helsinki
Reykjavik

losthorizon

grizzly wrote: »

I've not been anywhere more northerly then Amsterdam.

For a 5 night city break (not renting a car). Which of the following would you visit?

Copenhagen
Stockholm
Helsinki
Reykjavik

Never been to Copenhagen but I would choose Stockholm. However If you were renting a car I would choose Reykjavik. The sights outside of it in the countryside are awe inspiring. Actually Reykjavik is really a sleepy place but a good place for a night out, it has the blue lagoon, a very creepy ghost tour ( seriously). But its the sights outside you would want to see.

Brian

Spent a week in Stockholm and liked it, but all the locals there said that Gothenburg / Göteborg on the west coast is much nicer. It's probably cheaper too.

ElChe32

Lived in Gothenburg for 3 years and have to say it's a truly lovely place. People are very friendly (much more so than Stockholm). Stockholm is beautiful and full of museums and good places out, just a bit pricy! Early spring or summer is a great time to go.

GSF

Helsinki is one of the most boring places on earth. Stockholm's much better.

mosstin

grizzly wrote: »

I've not been anywhere more northerly then Amsterdam.

For a 5 night city break (not renting a car). Which of the following would you visit?

Copenhagen
Stockholm
Helsinki
Reykjavik

Copenhagen's lovely.
Never been to Stockholm but Goteburg is a lovely city too.
Helsinki.....pretty but pretty dull.
Reykjavik - loved it. Small, compact but if you're going to make the effort to go to Iceland you really should rent a car and drive around the Icelandic countryside. Stunning.
Reykjavik all the way for me.

Lapin

Any reason you left out Oslo OP ?

Great city to visit but ludicrously expensive.

I'd opt for Copenhagen from your list with a night Malmo thrown in.
Worth it for crossing the Oresund Bridge alone.

But bring a few bob. Everywhere in Scandinavia is expensive, especially Norway.

jjbrien

Lapin wrote: »

Any reason you left out Oslo OP ?

Great city to visit but ludicrously expensive.

I'd opt for Copenhagen from your list with a night Malmo thrown in.
Worth it for crossing the Oresund Bridge alone.

But bring a few bob. Everywhere in Scandinavia is expensive, especially Norway.

+1 on Oslo

Actually found Olso cheaper than Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Cavehill Red

Norway's miles too pricey for most budgets.
Stockholm, like the Swedish people (and it was a Swede who told me this before I experienced the truth of it), is beautiful but cold.
Little to do in Helsinki I'd argue.
That leaves Copenhagen or Reykjavik.
If it were me, I'd go to Iceland everytime, no harm to the Danes. It's a very unique part of the world.

BuffyBot

Helsinki is pretty uneventful. In some respects I like it, but I don't know that I'd recommended it as a tourist destination.

I like Copenhagen (and you can also do Malmo in Sweden by train in a couple of minutes, just so you can say you've been to two countries).

Norway can be expensive for sure.

Absoluvely

jjbrien wrote: »

+1 on Oslo

Actually found Olso cheaper than Stockholm and Copenhagen.

Not sure what decade it was when you were in Scandinavia. Norway's been the richest and priciest country up there since their petroleum economy got going, and Oslo is the most expensive Nordic city. Norwegians even drive across the border to do their shopping at Swedish prices.

I recommend Stockholm!

rossie1977

copenhagen is nice and within easy reach of malmo

nicest scandinavian city i have been to is bergen, the surrounding area is stunning

jjbrien

Absoluvely wrote: »

Not sure what decade it was when you were in Scandinavia. Norway's been the richest and priciest country up there since their petroleum economy got going, and Oslo is the most expensive Nordic city. Norwegians even drive across the border to do their shopping at Swedish prices.

I recommend Stockholm!

Last time I was in Norway was this decade 2010. Oslo can be expensive if you hit the tourist areas. If you go where the locals go you can get pints at Dublin prices. In 2010 that was the last time I was in Olso a pint was 42 kr which is about 5.50 euro. Went to Troindheim and could not believe how much cheaper it was and had one of the best nights out of my life the people were amazing they invited us a group of 3 Irish lads to their student digs after the bars closed pints there if you drink the local stuff was 35 kr around 4.70.

Also flying to Norway has advantages that flying to Denmark or Sweden doesnt have i.e Norway is not in the EU so you can get duty free

Absoluvely

^ Good point about the dutyfree.

I would still say that a five-day trip to Norway would cost noticeably more than an equivalent trip to Sweden or Denmark though. You might get an extra day in Sweden/Denmark for the same price.

And I think Stockholm is a better city for most people to visit anyway.

jjbrien wrote: »

this decade 2010

It can be argued that 2010 is part of the previous decade. The "201st decade" spans 2001 to 2010 and the 202nd spans 2011 to 2020.

Amy33

I visited Helsinki last May and absolutely loved it there. You could also take a day trip from Helsinki to Tallinn in Estonia which is another beautiful city.

zeirtz

Another option could be the St. Peter Line cruise. You get four nights on the ship and one day each in St. Petersburg (no visa required with this ferry), Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn.

Here are the 2013 prices here for the trip.

http://anastasia.stpeterline.com/en/Prices/Roundtripcruise/Cruiseprices2013.aspx