considering short city break trip from Rotterdam in early June

Posted by lindsey.mccann on 02/20/22 09:21 PM

We have booked a furnished suite for 11 nights in Rotterdam to use as our base. We are thinking of doing a short (2-3 days max) trip to one of the following Scandinavian cities: Helsinki Finland, Copenhagen Denmark or Stockholm Sweden.
Our criteria was:
- somewhere we had not been before (so not Berlin, Paris, Lyon, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Porto, Lisbon, Sintra, Rome, Venice, or UK)

under 6 hours flying
we are interested in history, walking, cycling, architecture, museums, gardens, and wandering about getting lost.
we are active, and in our mid 60s.

Any recommendations?

Posted by wendy

toronto

02/20/22 09:31 PM

351 posts

I loved Copenhagen it is now one of my favourite cities. Lots to see in the city and fun day trips. Spent 7 days and could have spent more.
My second choice would be Stockholm.

Posted by Suki

02/20/22 09:44 PM

11569 posts

Hopefully while in Rotterdam you are visiting Kinderdijk by river boat. The 19 windmills are amazing.
I would choose Stockholm followed ny Copenhagen but both cities are worth a trip.

Posted by lindsey.mccann OP

02/20/22 10:52 PM

20 posts

Thank you for your suggestion. We visited Kinderdijk in 2018 as part of a bikebarge trip, and yes it is wonderful.
What in particular did you like about Stockholm?

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

02/23/22 10:38 PM

6970 posts

Both Stockholm and Copenhagen are excellent choices. And you will find history, walking, cycling etc in both. Is there anything in particular you prefer?

Posted by lindsey.mccann OP

02/23/22 10:44 PM

20 posts

Badger,
Thank you for your reply.
I think we are going to go to Stockholm as it looks very interesting and is less expensive than Cophenhagen. We plan on 5 nights and 4 days there. I understand that early June is shoulder season and the weather may be iffy, but I still think it will be very interesting. I want to go to Uppsala, visit the Vassa and ideally visit the some of the islands/parks in and around Stockholm.
From what I have read, credit cards are the preferred method of payment. Now I just have to figure out how easy it is to find gluten free meals.

Posted by Badger

Uppsala, Sweden

02/24/22 02:53 PM

6970 posts

I might be biased, but that sounds like a great plan! SAS and KLM has several daily flights between Amsterdam and Stockholm, KLM has a bit more frequent flights but SAS planes are (imho) a bit more comfortable. Early June is not a bad time to visit, there will probably be reasonable temperatures during the day, but a bit chillier when the sun sets. What would you consider iffy weather?

Uppsala is doable as a day trip from Stockholm, but you are willing to spend a night there you will get to see a bit more of it. In that case, the first or last night is probably the best since it is pretty easy to get from Uppsala to Arlanda and vice versa. The Vasa Museum is a great museum, prebooking a ticket can be a good idea but to be honest probably not that important in early June.

Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted. Regarding gluten free meals, it is not that hard to find. This it what a gluten intolerant US journalist found in Sweden: https://www.self.com/story/im-a-foodie-with-celiac-disease