Northern Europe from Copenhagen

La Capital Escandinavia Copenhague es muy vibrante y asequible y es una de las ciudades más amigables de Europa. Pequeña y acogedora, es un lugar donde la gente en lugar de coches marcan el ritmo, como lo demuestra la gran cantidad de cafés al aire libre y el número de vías que se han dado a los peatones y bicicletas. Dispuesta y relajada, también ofrece una amplia gama de entretenimiento, que desmiente su tamaño relativamente modesto. Las atracciones culturales, incluidos los principales museos nacionales, una selección de galerías de arte mágicas, una saludable variedad de eventos de artes escénicas y una de las escenas cinematográficas más interesantes de Europa.

The Warnemünde quarter in Rostock is a famous German seaside resort that you can visit when you reach the German coasts on your MSC cruise of northern Europe.

At the mouth of the river Warnow, in the Baltic Sea, Warnemünde will surprise you with its villas, hotels and the large white and silver beach. Its heart is Am Strom, next to the port, where the homes of old captains and fishermen have been turned into coffee shops and boutiques. With an excursion during the cruise, you can continue towards Schwerin.
Surrounded by lakes and with a fairytale Schloss that tickles the imagination, the town represents a pleasant surprise, given by the architecture and spirit of a historic capital. Continuing the excursion you can admire Lubeck, one of the few cities along Europe’s northern coasts that preserves the glory of medieval times.
For more than two centuries the standard bearer of the Hanseatic League, this was one of the wealthiest and most powerful of European cities, the Venice of the Baltic. The commercial opulence is best expressed in its architecture: from the oldest Rathaus in Germany to the churches with the tallest bell-towers to the merchants’ mansions.
Lubecca is the first city in Northern Europe to be included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1987. Finally, you should not leave out a visit to the cosmopolitan Berlin, the largest and liveliest city in Germany. Amongst the monuments to visit are the Brandebourgh Gate. Situated close to the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, the monument, designed on the model of Athens’ Acropolis, was built as the city’s arch of triumph in 1791 and soon became the symbol of unified Germany.
The Brandenburg Gate looms over the ornamental gardens in Pariser Platz which extends eastwards towards the wide, tree-lined Unter den Linden avenue, that means “Beneath the linden trees”, flanked by shops and cafés.

Durante su estancia en la “Venecia del Norte”, hay muchas formas de donde elegir para ver la ciudad: en bus, a pie o un paseo romántico en bote por los canales Stockholmes.

When you are on a cruise to Sweden you just have to take time out to enjoy Visby, a city made for wandering and lingering over coffees and slices of cake.

Whether climbing the ramparts of the surrounding walls, or meandering up and down the warren of cobbled, sloping streets, there’s plenty to tease the eye. An MSC shore excursion can be the opportunity to visit its old town. Here, pretty Packhusplan, the oldest square in the city, is bisected by curving Strandgatan, which runs southwards to the fragmentary ruins of Visborgs Slott, overlooking the harbour. Built in the fifteenth century by Erik of Pomerania, the castle was blown up by the Danes in the seventeenth century. In the opposite direction, Strandgatan runs north-west towards the sea and the Jungfrutornet (Maiden’s Tower), where a local goldsmith’s daughter was walled up alive – reputedly for betraying the city to the Danes. Strolling around the twisting streets and atmospheric walls is not something that palls quickly, but if you need a focus, aim for Norra Murgatan, above the cathedral, once one of Visby’s poorest areas.
The end of the street nearest Norderport enjoys the best view of the walls and city rooftops. Strandgatan is the best place to view the impressive merchants’ houses looming over the narrow streets, with storerooms above the living quarters and cellars below; most notable among these is the clearly signposted Burmeisterska huset in Donnerplats, which is attractive and in good condition. One of the most picturesque buildings on the street is the old pharmacy, Gamla Apoteket, a lofty old place with gloriously higgledy-piggledy windows; it’s at the corner of Strandgatan and Lybska gränd.
If you feel like something more educational during your MSC Northern Europe cruise, head for the fine Fornsal museum, which covers pretty well all there is to know about Gotland, and Visby in particular – and there’s a rather good art gallery close by too.

Tallin es la antigua capital de Estonia, su costa emana un sentido de la historia romántica, siendo una de las ciudades medievales más completamente conservadas de Europa. Un espíritu de misterio todavía impregna los patios empedrados del pintoresco casco antiguo. Los callejones están decoradas por originales casas de comerciantes orginales de los siglos XII y XIII, graneros, almacenes y una profusión de edificios del estado e una iglesia medieval perfectamente conservados. Tallin, liberada hace poco más de una década del yugo Soviético, desde luego no se ha quedado atascada en la Edad Media,mientras que preserva su pasado, la ciudad sigue hacia adelante con visión de futuro como cualquier otra capital Europea moderna.

Helsinki, fundada el 12 de junio de 1550, es una ciudad de múltiples facetas que es única en muchos aspectos y tiene mucho que ofrecer a cualquier visitante. Helsinki es la puerta internacional de Finlandia. La ciudad es el centro neurálgico del país para los negocios, finanzas, moda, medicina, entretenimiento, medios de comunicación, la cultura y el discurso intelectual. Hay una amplia y variada colección de museos, galerías y espacios de actuación. Helsinki se distingue de otras ciudades históricas grandes por dos factores: la gran presencia física de la naturaleza y la clara red de calles. Tanto la presencia abrumadora de la naturaleza y el patrón de las calle claras, la red de calles anchas, rectas y simétricas, que hacen que la búsqueda de cualquier dirección sea una tarea simple, son la creación de dos diseñadores principales de la ciudad, Johan Albrecht Ehrenström y Carl Ludvig Engel. Helsinki está dividido en un total de 54 distritos. Algunos de estos distritos a menudo se cuentan como uno, y a veces la ciudad está sólo dividida en el centro y los suburbios

Riga, la capital báltico más grande es el hogar de numerosos museos fascinantes – hasta 30 tipos diferentes, así como un castillo y la Iglesia de Saint Peter.

When you arrive in Klaipeda, the cruise ship will berth in the only Lithuanian port, one that has been operating since the middle of the 13th century.

The historic centre, that dates back to when the city was known as Memel, is built in the typical fashion of the German medieval towns, including the square with the majestic clock tower. Klaipeda is divided into two parts: the new town, right of the river Dane and the old town that develops on the left bank.
The latter is built in the classic chessboard layout of the 17th century German towns and still sports handsome trellised buildings like, for example, those in the artisan district: used as warehouses in the past, they now host art galleries, cafés or clubs. There is a variety of sculptures around town, starting from that of the Four Winds, in the port, at the entrance of the terminal where your MSC cruise ship is berthed.
Visit the handsome neo-classic Dramos theatre, which is the main building in the square and where you also find a statue dedicated to the poet, Simon Dach. Your MSC cruise of Northern Europe also offers two excursions, both along the coast. Palanga, in the north, is the largest Lithuanian seaside resort with a walk that ends at the long pier on the sea. This is located along the ancient Amber Road and it is not rare to find bits of this resin stone on the white beach after a heavy storm.
For sure you can admire this stone in the city’s Amber Museum. To the south instead we find the Neringa peninsula, a 98km long sand bar that separates the Curi lagoon from the Baltic Sea and where, in Nida, you find the largest dune in Nothern Europe; this is a UNESCO world heritage site for its importance in the biosphere.

La Capital Escandinavia Copenhague es muy vibrante y asequible y es una de las ciudades más amigables de Europa. Pequeña y acogedora, es un lugar donde la gente en lugar de coches marcan el ritmo, como lo demuestra la gran cantidad de cafés al aire libre y el número de vías que se han dado a los peatones y bicicletas. Dispuesta y relajada, también ofrece una amplia gama de entretenimiento, que desmiente su tamaño relativamente modesto. Las atracciones culturales, incluidos los principales museos nacionales, una selección de galerías de arte mágicas, una saludable variedad de eventos de artes escénicas y una de las escenas cinematográficas más interesantes de Europa.