Stockholm & The Baltics In Winter

As cold winter nights descend over Northern Europe, the pretty capitals of Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia come alive. We start our tour in Stockholm, here there is a delightful old town to explore; alternatively there are plenty of galleries and museums to enjoy. The highlight being the Vasa Museum, housing the 18th century warship of the same name which sank on her maiden voyage, raised in 1961 and painstakingly restored to its former glory. The fairy-tale old towns of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn take on a charming quality, filled with market stalls selling everything from hand crafted wooden decorations to local tipple. However these markets are not the only highlight of this trip. In each city we will enjoy fantastic guided tours, learning how they have changed through the ages. From leading centres of commerce, to closed communist states for a large part of the 20th century, to the proud modern independent nations they are today. Outside the cities we visit the unique Hill of Crosses, the spectacular Rundale Palace and Trakai Castle. For any fans of Tolstoy’s War and Peace and the recent hit TV series, this trip offers a fantastic opportunity to wander through some of the spectacular filming locations which were used throughout the show. The beautiful old town of Vilnius was used extensively throughout filming and many of the locations visited on our city tour are immediately recognisable. The Rundale Palace was also a popular location for the show as the grand interior acted as the perfect backdrop for many scenes.