Scandinavian countries – what to see for tourists?
The Scandinavian region usually includes all the countries of Northern Europe – Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are also included here, since they are parts of Denmark, and the Aland Islands are part of Finland.
Scandinavian countries
But this formulation is erroneous, since traditionally only Sweden, Norway and Denmark belong to the historical and cultural region of Scandinavia. This region covers the Scandinavian peninsula (Norway, Sweden and part of northwestern Finland), the Jutland peninsula (Denmark) and the adjacent islands.
But usually in all guidebooks Iceland and Finland are also called Scandinavia, because they are very close, as well as history and culture are closely connected with the Scandinavian countries. And even the flags of these five countries are similar, all feature a characteristic cross, slightly offset from the center to the left. By the way, he first appeared on the flag of Denmark.
In general, therefore, now the term “Scandinavia” has actually become synonymous with the term “Northern Europe”.
Scandinavia
And in this article we will also call Scandinavia all these five countries. Indeed, they are brought together not only by geographical location, but also by culture, related languages and rich history, dating back to ancient times, when the Vikings and Goths roamed the harsh expanses of this region.
And “rest in Scandinavia” is associated with the majority of Russian tourists, first of all, of course, with our “neighbor” Finland, so how could it be without it.
WHAT TO SEE IN SCANDINAVIA
Norwegian Fjords
The main tourist “baits” of Scandinavia are the famous Norwegian fjords and ancient cities with their historical and architectural sights.
Stockholm
In addition, almost every Scandinavian country has national parks with beautiful nature and good ski resorts.
Skogafoss Waterfall in Iceland
In Iceland, in addition to this, there are also huge waterfalls, a valley of geysers and giant glaciers.
Geyser Valley in Iceland
In addition to bus tours, which are extremely common among Russian tourists traveling in the region (usually from St. Petersburg), cruises are also popular. They are divided into ferry cruises in the Scandinavian countries, one of the most popular routes is Finland – Sweden – Norway – Denmark, and cruises on the Norwegian fjords.
Famous Norwegian Fjords
The latter in general are a tourist attraction, because nowhere else in the world can you sail on a ship from the open sea for tens of kilometers inland along narrow, winding sea bays with tall rocky shores (the height of the cliffs reaches 1000 meters). And all this surrounded by amazing nature.
Norway
The most popular Scandinavian cities for cruise tourists are Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Bergen, as well as Helsinki.
Scandinavian countries: Norway, Bergen
However, the Russians come to Scandinavia not only for an interesting excursion program. In recent years, our compatriots, mainly, of course, residents of the Leningrad Region, have been actively renting holiday homes in Finland. They are rented both for the weekend and for a longer period, and for different purposes – rest on the lakes with fishing, rest in the ski resorts and just a measured family vacation in the lap of nature.
Numerous lakes in Finland
WHEN IT IS BETTER TO GO TO SCANDINAVIA
In general, tourism in Scandinavian countries is off-season, and in any case, the rest here is “not hot” – the weathers are usually moderate even in the middle of summer (+ 20 … + 23), therefore those who want to avoid the scorching sun for some reason can safely come here and high temperatures.
Winter in Finland
But in the winter months, Scandinavia turns into a real paradise for those who dream of a real snow-white winter – with fluffy snowdrifts, amazingly beautiful snow-covered forests and clear skies.
The best time to visit Scandinavia is summer or winter!
