Stockholm

Stockholm is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful national capitals in the world. The Old Town is particularly spectacular, and walking around the city’s waterways and parks is a glorious way to spend a week-long stretch of European summer.

Visitors and residents alike enjoy strolling along the streets and lanes in the medieval section of Gamla Stan, or exploring its many museums. The city is compact and easily explored on foot, although its watery nature, and many islands and archipelagos, may have you looking around for a boat.

Gothenburg

After Liseberg the collected museums are the strongest attractions. The central museum Ostindiska huset has archaeological, local and historical collections. Konstmuseet has impressive collections of European masters and is notable for paintings by Rubens, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. The main museum of maritime history is Sjöfartshistoriska museet. Gothenburg is easily accessible by air, bus, train and boat and, once you’re there, a bunch of spanking new hostels in the city centre awaits your weary head.

Vadstena

Set along Lake Vättern, beautiful Vadstena is one of the most pleasant towns in Sweden. The Renaissance castle Vadstena slott looks straight over the harbour and lake beyond. It was a mighty family project of the early Vasa kings, and it houses in the upper apartments some items of period furniture and paintings, including a Van Dyck. The equally impressive 15th-century klosterkyrkan or abbey is a combination of Gothic and Renaissance features. Inside are the accumulated relics of St Birgitta and late-medieval sculpture, including a depiction of the saint during revelation.

Visby

The walled and cobbled medieval port of Visby is a living relic: more than 40 proud towers and the ruins of great churches attest to Visby’s former Hanseatic glories. The contemporary ruins of Drotten, St Nicolai, St Lars and St Carin are all within the town walls and contrast with the old but sound cathedral of St Maria. Gotlands Fornsal is the historical museum with a fine collection of the Gotland picture stones of the pre-Viking period. During the second week of August, costumes and re-enactments commemorate medieval week. Visby is on the island of Gotland, which is serviced by flights from Stockholm and ferries from a number of mainland cities.

Öland

Öland is a small island containing ruins, fortifications and 400 windmills. The biggest Iron-Age ring fort on the island, Gråborg - with a diameter of 200m (656ft) - is an incredible sight. Nearby, Eketorp has been partly reconstructed as a museum to show what a fortified medieval village must have looked like. Equally impressive are the ruins of Borgholm Castle, which was eventually burned and abandoned early in the 18th century. Also prominent are the lighthouses at the northern and southern tips of the island. Öland is reached from Kalmar via a 6000m (19,680ft) bridge, the longest in Europe. Öland is a popular place to celebrate Midsummer.