The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. With many sharing their histories of culture and politics, they are all unique in their own way. Three of them, Norway, Denmark and Iceland also feature in the top ten most expensive countries in the world so don’t expect a cheap trip.

We set off to see the capitals and found a wealth of things to see and do.

Denmark – Copenhagen

The city is easy to navigate round and has an excellent transport network for places slightly further away. The archectecture is wonderful with something new to see at every corner.

Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 18th century townhouses, bars and wonderful wooden ships. An excellent place to grab some food and watch the world go by.

Head over to Osterport to see the iconic statue of the Little Mermaid on the S Train, a couple of stops from the centre it makes for a lovely walk through the park and along the waterfront.

The Round Tower, formerly Stellaburgis Hafniens, is a 17th century tower and one of the many architectural projects of Christian IV of Denmark, built as an astronomical observatory. Worth going up to the top to see the views over the city.

Rosenborg Castle was built as a pleasure palace by one of the most famous Danish kings, Christian IV, in the 17th century. The beautiful castle comes complete with a moat and a fantastic interior, well worth a look round.

Tivoli Gardens is an amusement park and pleasure garden opened on 15th August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world. Displays in the park change throughout the year, we were lucky to see the Halloween decorations and the millions of pumpkins used.

We stayed at the:  Bedwood Hostel in the Nyhaven area, a great location within a five minute walk of the metro that offers a bar and small menu.

Sweden – Stockholm

A much larger city with a huge number of modern buildings and a good public transport system. Covering fourteen islands there is always water around.

Head over to the Island of Djurgården for many of the city’s museums.

The Vasa Museum has the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64 gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. It’s easy to understand why it’s the most visited museum in the country as the ship is spectatclur.

A few minutes’ walk away is the Abba Museum, dedicated to the supergroup, it charts there rise to fame it has plenty of interactive exhibitions for the whole family to enjoy.

There are plenty more museums to see in the same area including:

Skansen Open-air Museum with farmsteads & a zoo, Gröna Lund, Theme park with rides & live shows, Nordiska Museet Museum charting Swedish cultural history, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde Art museum in a prince’s former palace, the Viking Museum with Viking ships & artifacts and the Museum of Spirits – Alcohol museum in former naval building.

Check out Gamla Stan or the Old Town of Stockholm with it’s small, cobbled streets and interesting squares.

You can also find the Royal Palace in the area with an opportunity to see the Swedish Crown Jewels and some of the official rooms within the palace complex.

Close by is Storkyrkan otherwise known as Stockholm Cathedral is the oldest church in Stockholm dating from the early 1300’s. The interior is lovely and it holds a beautiful statue of St George and the Dragon.

The Grand Square is an excellent place for lunch.

Head into The German Church, sometimes called St. Gertrude’s Church, for a glimpse of the gold and the wonderful stained glass windows.

We stayed at the: Lodge 32 Hotel, a very busy hostel with basic facilities, don’t expect a quiet dorm room, it is however close to many of the sights.

Finland – Helsinki

Easy to walk round, the capital blends the new and the modern with the much older buildings. Keep your eyes open for Moomin’s.

Senate Square is an excellent place to start with it’s pristine white cathedral, sadly the interior didn’t live up to the exterior.

The Museum of Finland gives an insight to how the country has developed and become independent and how a mobile phone saved it from bankruptcy.

The Temppeliaukion Church or the Rock Church as it is known, a1960s church excavated into rock is worth a short detour for, a peaceful and unique place to sit for a while.

Uspenski Cathedral or the Russian Orthodox cathedral is well worth a look, beautiful both inside and out.

We stayed at the: Hostel Diana Park, one of the best hostels we have ever used. Very clean with absolutely everything you could need and very central.

Norway – Oslo

Founded as a city during the Viking times there is a huge mix of cultures and buildings to be found. Everything is walkable. There are a number of notable buildings including the Palace (only open in the summer months), National Theatre and the Parliament Building.

Akershus Fortress is set in a great park alongside the harbour area. The castle and church are only open on the weekend though.

If you have time head over to the Oslo Opera and Munch Museum.

Oslo Cathedral although small has some beautiful ceilings and is close to Karl Johan’s gate the busy main throughfare of the city.

There is area good number of museums in the city which do require the use of public transport, The Fram Museum and the Kon Tiki Museum. We had hoped to visit the Viking Museum but that has sadly closed until 2026. Instead we headed to Viking Planet a fully digital museum, it didn’t do it for me but we did learn a few interesting things about Vikings.

We stayed at the: Anker Hostel, a large hostel which although close to the main areas didn’t have good facilities and only ten lockers for over five hundred beds.

Iceland – Reykjavik

A tiny capital in comparison to the others, it was easy to navigate round, and we loved the corrugated buildings and Rainbow Street.

The Sun Voyager is one of the most iconic pictures for the city and is easy to spot on the shoreline.

The Settlement Experience main focus is the remains of a Long House which had been inhabited during Viking times, the museum was built round this historic site.

If you’re looking for something different then you could investigate the Punk Museum or the Penis Museum or The Icelandic Phallological Museum to give it it’s proper title.  We choose the late, it was an interesting place and we certainly learnt a few things about the genitalia of many animals, humans included.

At the top of Rainbow Street is the cathedral, Iglesia Hallgrímskirkja, very modern in design it’s huge tower can be seen across the city.

There are tonnes of day trips from the capital, we choose to do the –

Golden Circle and Northern Lights Tour: Covering a rift in the earth, a field of Geysers and an incredible waterfall the Golden Circle was brilliant. Sadly the Northern lights weren’t so good, our guide didn’t take us to a great place and unless you have very modern camera/phone equipment then your not going to get a photo.

We also went on a Whale Watching Tour which although bitterly cold was incredible to see White Beaked Dolphins and Hump Backed Whales. Dress up very very warm for this one.

We stayed at the: Kex Hostel, a great location with a spectacular view across the bay it’s a very busy hostel but we still felt as though we had our own space. Excellent facilities and a buffet breakfast that can be purchased made it ideal for our needs.