Visby, Sweden
 

One of our port stops will be Visby, Sweden on our Baltic cruise. Of course a couple of tours are offered from the cruiseline but would it be convenient to explore on our own? How far is the town from the harbour? Thanks.

annk: While I don't know where the cruise ship puts in, the town is on the harbor. The ferry slip, e.g., is an easy walk from town-center. I suspect the cruise ship dock is near the ferry slip. Visby is an easy to walk, very interesting village; plenty to see. It was one of the highlights of our Scandinavian Trip.

I agree with joegri. Visby is one of those towns that it's a pleasure to visit on your own. It's extremely pretty, and fun to explore. Be sure to go as far as St. Mary's Cathedral. Unless the tours offer something extraordinary, don't waste your money.

Thanks joegri & Athena39. That's exactly what I was hoping for. The cruise itself is expensive enough and I had hoped to do some exloring on our own instead of always taking group tours. Plus we don't mind lots of walking. Great, I'm looking forward to it.

My suggestions would be to stop at the information office to pick up some brochures and a map. I would stay in the old walled city; I didn't find the modern part very interesting. A little train takes one around the walls, and I think that is a good orientation. Walking this old city is a delight. If you have enough time, visit the museum.

Can you do Visby in a day?

You can see pretty much everything in Visby in a day, though we found some opening times made it a bit tricky. Can't see what possible point there would be in getting a cruise line tour of a city where everything's in easy walking distance, and everyone speaks better English than most of us.


But it's a shame to miss the interior of Gotland. It's THE perfect biking island, since there are virtually no hills, and the roads are empty, though I've never been there in the peak of the Swedish holiday season.

thanks flanneruk since it appears to take 4 hours to get there I was wondering about the logistics of getting there. I have a timetable but will probably have to make a few calls.
Arts Daughter