Even though I am from Europe, I have never been to Scandinavia. Wife and kids have plans for Thanksgiving with family and I have miles to burn. Suddenly things worked out at work and viola, I am free Thanksgiving week and right now planning a trip.
I plan to fly into Oslo first. Spend 1 or 2 days there and then head to Stockholm. Stay 2-3 days there and finish the trip at Copenhagen after spending 1-2 days there.
For those of you who visited these cities, what are some of your recommendations? I read that Stockholm is much nicer. So shall I cut either Oslo or Copenhagen and just do 2 cities? Or shall I spend less time at Oslo and Copenhagen and spend more time in Stockholm?
Yes it will be cold but I am from Northeast and used to some cold. Not sure if Christmas markets will be around Thanksgiving week but really looking forward to this trip. All suggestions welcome
@ArdenNJ i hope you don’t mind but I moved this to the Parent Cafe…which is where you likely will get more and better responses…plus it’s not about college…so the cafe is a great place!
I have not been to Oslo or Copenhagen, but I’ve been to Stockholm several times, including in November, and I highly recommend it. It is a very vibrant city with lots of interesting places to visit. Just walking around Gamla Stan the old town is so much fun. I’d skip the Nobel Museum… both husband and I are science nerds but we found that place underwhelming. Just a bunch of photos on the walls… Vasa Museum is my number one recommendation. As my friend put it, only in Sweden people can turn an epic fail into a national treasure! We also enjoyed the Swedish Army Museum. Went there with low expectations and only because our friends dragged us in but came out pleasantly surprised. I’d say 2 days is the bare minimum you’d need to explore the city! We still have not visited the Abba Museum, but folks who did raved about it.
Swedes are meat/fish and potatoes kind of people, so traditional Swedish dishes reflect that, but there is plenty of other cuisine available if you are not into Swedish fare.
Copenhagen is great. My husband’s company is headquartered in Copenhagen and we go a few times a year. It’s a small city so the sights will only take a couple days, mostly we go now to eat! The restaurants are fabulous, the best in the world.
A recent favorite
This one was more casual (I think) and lovely
And The Olive Kitchen and Bar was also nice.
Traditional Danish food (herring!) go to Restaurant Schønnemann
See Nyhavn, go to the Rosenborg Castle and the National Museum. Go see the hippies at Christiana Freetown and climb the spire at Church of Our Savior.
Thanks all. Really great recommendations. Truly appreciate it. I am also watching some youtube videos. Loved Stockholm and Copenhagen but Oslo somehow underwhelmed me. But still want to do Oslo and do a Hop on Hop Off bus for a day. I will stay one night and will fly to Stockholm and spend 3 nights. From there I will do 2 nights in Copenhagen and return back to States. Right now working on my itinerary for both Stockholm and Copenhagen. Keep recommendations coming please
I have been to all three and enjoyed all three, but probably Copenhagen and Stockholm more than Oslo. Copenhagen has a great bus system and is also walkable. Stockholm is very walkable. Looks like Tivoli Gardens would be open and decorated for the holidays.
S and I traveled to Stockholm late last December/early January. Second the recommendations for Gamla Stan and the Vasa Museum. We went to the ABBA museum and loved it (I am a huge fan). We also did a guided winter kayaking tour which was quite fun and toured the Royal Palace.
It was cold but we bundled up and it didn’t bother us. We were a bit surprised at the early sunset (dark at 3PM in late December), so we planned our days so that most of the sightseeing was in the morning/early afternoon. We stayed in a Clarion and it was not only reasonably priced but well located and much nicer than the Clarion here.
Of the 2 in the running, I know why people like Stockholm, but Copenhagen is my preference. Lovely old town, interesting museums (something for everyone!), very navigable, awesome food. Even in cold weather when Tivoli is closed!
I recall being able to buy a multi-day pass for entrance to pretty much everything. If that exists, it could be worthwhile – it was very liberating to be able to go into a museum or site without having to know we’d like it enough to justify the entrance fee. There were a few pleasant surprises as well!
We stayed at the Sheraton in Stockholm because I needed hotel with a gym with a treadmill to train for my race (was not sure how much running I could do in the city when the weather was not great). It was not super expensive. We walked everywhere.
You really can walk just about everywhere in Stockholm. My grandmother was Swedish and I was most interested in Stockholm going into the trip. But, if I had to rate the cities i enjoyed the most, I would say Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo. But, I loved them all and am very glad I was able to get to Scandinavia.
Tivoli Gardens looks like it is open from November 17- December 31. And decorated for Christmas. I really enjoyed Tivoli Gardens. Also in Copenhagen, Nyhavn, Rosenborg Castle, Christiansborg Slot.
In Stockholm, Vasa Museum, Old Town and City Hall. In Oslo, Vigeland Park, Frogner Park, Munch Museum.
They are all just pleasant cities to walk around in and enjoy what’s going on around you. Have a great trip!
I tagged along with my husband when he went to Copenhagen on a business trip (8-9 years ago). We stayed in the Hotel d’Angleterre for 3 days. I did a fair amount of sightseeing on my own and really enjoyed the city. I toured Rosenborg Castle and Kronborg Castle (which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List). I’m a fan of gardens and spent the better part of a day at the Botanical Garden (it’s part of the Natural History Museum). I went to Palm House, which has a small mangrove swamp!!
I went on a canal tour and saw the Little Mermaid (a bit underwhelming after all the hype). I thought the same about Tivoli Gardens. H and I went on a bus to Freetown Christiania, an independent community (and hippie haven back in the day) with its own rules (separate from the rest of Denmark). We went to the Green Light District (legal marijuana–when it wasn’t legal in the rest of Denmark). My husband’s a jazz fan and there’s a jazz club in Freetown where he wanted to go to listen to music (can’t remember the name). One thing I loved was that so many people rode bicycles, not just to go cycling but to commute to work, shop, etc. I read there were more bicycles than cars in Copenhagen. We went to some great restaurants too; my favorite was Kong Hans Kaelder.
If you like art, the trip out to the Louisiana Museum of Art is worth it. The art museum in the city is also enjoyable. There are museums of design, a museum of war, etc. The botanical garden has greenhouses so isn’t just a nice weather place. Not sure how you will do it all in 3 days!!!
Sounds like we did similar tours when I visited Copenhagen with D2 few years ago.
We went in the summer, so it was great the days were long. I am wondering if you would get as much out of it in November when it’s going to be quite dark.
I’ve been to all. TBH, unless you’re doing Norway in a Nutshell (which is great, but I did it in the summer), you’re better off splitting time between Copenhagen and Stockholm. 1-2 days is really not doing Copenhagen justice. I imagine Tivoli at that time is gorgeous.
The last time I did a week in Copenhagen, it was very early March. Tivoli was closed. It rained. And we had a great time. These cities keep their population happy in the cold and dark of winter. It’s the land of hygge!
I’ve been to Copenhagen and Oslo. Copenhagen is wonderful and the Christmas Markets will be in full swing, so that’s actually a great time to go. I agree with the suggestion to head up to the Louisiana Museum; we went to the Kronborg Slot (Castle) on the way. If you get a Copenhagen Card, you get free admission to most sites in Copenhagen, but also the Louisiana museum and Kronborg as well. This includes transportation, so it is an easy train ride and short walk to both. Agree that Copenhagen restaurants are fabulous. I can also recommend two more casual options - the Torvehallerne, or glass market, in Copenhagen center is a market place with many various food dining options and also fresh produce, fish, coffee, flowers etc. We had several good things there. And a bus (again the Copenhagen card works) or bike ride away is Reffen, an outdoor street food marketplace. Lots of options there, but we had some delicious African food. Worth a visit.
Oslo is not as beautiful of a city as Copenhagen, but it is still an impressive coastal city. We got the Oslo Pass, which gets you free public transportation and admission to most of the city’s highlights. Although the Oslo opera house (where you can walk up the sloped roof to get great views of the city) and the Oslo city hall (with impressive murals and architecture) are both free to visit. You can take a ferry to the Bygdøy peninsula to see a few museums there (all free with Oslo card), but there are many other sculpture parks and museums in central Oslo as well. we only gave ourselves a day and a half, but I wished we had more time…we barely had time to tour the National Museum which was most impressive. Good food is easy to find there as well, although I preferred the options in Copenhagen. Fun shopping areas as well. We definitely plan to visit Norway again…
We also enjoyed the Swedish Army Museum. Went there with low expectations and only because our friends dragged us in but came out pleasantly surprised. I’d say 2 days is the bare minimum you’d need to explore the city! We still have not visited the Abba Museum, but folks who did raved about it.