Visby, Gotland

After Carcassonne in southwest France, Visby lays claim to the most important and best-preserved medieval city walls in all of Europe. The town’s citizens began building the original six-meter-high (20-foot) fortified walls in the 13th century, and they eventually grew to over 11 meters (36 feet). Today, the wall still stretches for 3.4 kilometers (2.1 miles). Walk in its shadow and explore the 36 intact medieval towers as well as numerous gateways. The North Gate offers the most impressive view of the wall, providing a sense of its enormous scale. St. Mary’s Cathedral, a few blocks inland, also dates to the 13th century.

Bronze Age stones and jewelry, Viking artifacts, pre-Viking picture stones and ancient coins are among the fascinating items on display at this excellent museum in Visby. But the highlight is the Spillings Hoard—a collection of Viking treasure discovered on the north of the island in 1999. The largest Viking treasure cache ever found, with 67 kilograms (148 pounds) of silver coins and other items and 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of brass ones, it will take your breath away. After viewing the exhibits, visit the Fornsalen Café, the museum’s lunch-only restaurant serving salads, coffee and cake.

Don’t be put off by the fact that Visby stands on an island in the middle of the Baltic. A flight to Gotland from Bromma airport close to central Stockholm takes just 40 minutes, making it entirely plausible as a day trip. The walled medieval town is a remarkable place, recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which states, “Its 13th-century ramparts and more than 200 warehouses and wealthy merchants’ dwellings from the same period make it the best-preserved fortified commercial city in northern Europe.” If time allows, hire a car and explore the rest of Gotland and its neighboring island Fårö, reached in a couple of minutes by ferry. For many years Fårö was the home of Ingmar Bergman.

A short flight from Stockholm or 2-3 hour ferry ride will take you to the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Officially a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, the medieval town of Visby, on the southeastern island of Gotland, is a well-preserved example of a European Hanseatic League trading route from the 12th to the 14th century. You’ll see a great deal of history here, from well-preserved fortresses, defense walls, wooden houses, and medieval church ruins to the Gotland Historical Museum—housing artifacts like engraved steles, axes, daggers, sickles, swords and spears, stones, skeletons, Viking silver, and more, all from the Stone Age, Middle, Bronze, Viking, and Medieval Ages Today, Visby and the island of Gotland remain a top tourist destination for Swedes.