Help me plan: Sweden and Scandinavia

The cruises from Stockholm over to Helsinki are more like overnight ferries. They take about 12.5 hours.

The ferry from Helsinki to Tallin is about 55 miles, and it takes about 3.5 hours. We really enjoyed our day in Tallin as it's a very green and lush city.

Travel, rooms and restaurants around Scandinavia are deadly expensive, and we have found cruises the best way to visit cities. We were supposed to go back to St. Petersburg a year ago, but we may now never return.

Travel, rooms and restaurants around Scandinavia are deadly expensive.

I would not say that, surprisingly Sweden is mostly cheaper than in the USA I've found, especially since you do not have to add extra tax and tip after the price you pay like in the USA.

I'm not a fan of Goteborg myself, it felt chaotic, lots of car traffic, a tad claustrophobic. and the city itself is not too attractive, but there are excellent day trips around - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/sweden/day-trip-to-gothenburg

I liked Gothenburg a lot (I spent 4 nights there during summer 2022; see sight list at end of this post), but Stockholm is in a different league, I think, so I'd spend the extra time in the capital, possibly with a side-trip to Helsinki or Tallinn. Won't you have some spare time during the conference to do some local sightseeing in Gothenburg?

Rick lists his top sightseeing targets for a lot of major cities right on this website:

Stockholm sightseeing - click on At a Glance

Helskinki sightseeing - click on At a Glance

Tallinn sightseeing - click on At a Glance

You should buy ferry tickets from the ferry company(ies), but you can find all the schedules on the DirectFerries website.

The major ferry companies in the area are Viking and Tallink Silja. You'll probably want a cabin for any overnight trip. I've done two overnights between Stockholm and Turku, Finland, and one daytime trip between Helsinki and Tallinn. The cabins are small but comfortable, with their own toilet and shower. Fares are like airline fares--variable with demand. The cost is likely to escalate as the travel date approaches. It may double or nearly triple if you wait to buy you ticket until a week or two before you travel.

The ferry companies use different docks. In Stockholm they're in different parts of the city. Viking was more convenient, overall, for me, but there's nothing wrong with the Tallink ships. Public transportation will get you to any of the docks you need to reach.

Helsinki and Tallinn are both very worthwhile side trips; I spent over 10 days in each. Unless you are nutso about Art Nouveau architecture (prevalent in Helsinki), I'd prioritize Tallinn, which retains a lot of old architecture and is more distinctive.

Gothenburg Sightseeing

Kungsportsavnyn (Avenyn): heart of the city, with outdoor cafes, boutiques, restaurants.

Roda Sten Konsthall: Contemporary-art special exhibitions in old boiler house.

Kuggen, Lindholmsplatsen 1: Colorful geometrically tiled building

Linne: Gentrified area with cafes, antique shops and craft shops. Between Jarntorget and Slottskogen, including side streets like Prinsgatan.

Haga: Oldest suburb (17C). Beautifully restored 17C wooden houses on winding cobblestone streets. Cafes, antique shops and craft shops.

Vasastan: District with intricately decorated late-19C apartment buildings (some National Romantic and Art Nouveau) and appealing cafes. See Vasagatan and Engelbrektsgatan (especially low number near W end).

Kronhuset: 17C grand brick building now living craft center used for concerts and exhibits. Underwhelming in 2022 but may have developed since then.

Stadsmuseum: History museum.

Centralstation: 1856; oldest train station in country. Grand interior.

Tradgardsforeningen: Park with manicured gardens and paths. Magnificent Rosarium and Palm House.

Stora Nygatan: Nice walk with neoclassical buidings to W and park (across canal) to E.

Paddan sightseeing boats: 50-min Stromma tour from Kungsportsplatsen bridge to inner harbor.

Rohsska Museet: Excellent museum of design and applied arts. Asian influence prominent.

Carl Milles fountain, Gotaplatsen.

Konsthallen: Exhibitions of contemporary Art. Next to Goteborgs Konstmuseum.

Konstmuseum, on hill above city: Nordic art and Hasselblad Center for photography. Sweden’s best collection of 19C-20C French art.

Varldskulturmuseet, Sodra Vagen 54: Interesting museum of world cultures with temporary exhibitions.

Botaniska Tradgarden, Carl Skottsbergs Gata 22A, Slottskogen: Sweden’s largest botanical garden.

What do you want to see and do and what are you interested in? Spending a few days extra in Gothenburg is not a bad idea, but it also depends a bit on how much free time you have during the conference. There are a few Michelin star restaurants that might be good places to visit if you are interested in that, especially if you like seafood. But in general there are many good places for seafood in the city, even without stars. It's a good place to try a prawn sandwich, most restaurants in the city serve them. From cheap café versions to upscale posh ones. Personally I like Gothenburg, but there is also a lot to see in Stockholm.

A cruise across the Baltic sea is not a bad idea. They are ridiculously cheap, offer great views of the archipelago and is a nice way to see some other cities. All ferry companies offer cruises, which is basically a cheap return ticket. The benefit of them is that you can leave your luggage in the cabin during the day. At least that used to be the case, but Viking has been a bit creative with their routings since they sold a ship recently. The cabins come in different sizes, from tiny ones to huge suits, depending on how much you are willing to pay. Some have very strong opinions on which company is best, but to be honest they are pretty similar. Some like Silja's promenade ships, other likes Viking's restaurants. Don't stress too much about it. But I agree that Tallinn should be higher on the list. Better to take a trip to Tallinn and to a day trip to Helsinki than vice versa in my opinion.

A visit to Uppsala is also worth it. And if you are a foodie, you should not miss the cafés in Uppsala. A great place for a fika.