3 Best Hotels in Side Trips from Stockholm, Sweden

A hotel since 1855, parts of the tall, thin building that's now the Clarion Hotel Wisby date from the 1200s, and the hotel sits at the junction of two narrow medieval streets. Its light floral-patterned fabrics, dark wood, and vaulted ceilings give it an old European grandeur. There is an excellent bar in the hotel, housed in a glassed-in courtyard, while there are two restaurants, one where breakfast and brunch are served and the other, Kitchen & Table, which combines American and Swedish influences.

Head to Hotel Helgeand if you want a room that evokes the Middle Ages, when Visby’s importance was at its height. Every room is different, fitting around the exposed limestone or plaster walls of the historic buildings, with a mix of dark-wood furniture, wrought-iron details, wooden floors, and deeply set windows. The building itself retains its original medieval character, some parts dating back to the 13th century and "newest" from the 1850s.

The rooms are large and well laid-out here, with traditional furniture resembling that found in a Swedish farmhouse—lots of old pine and comfy, plump cushioning. Choose between a room in one of the main hotel buildings or an apartment in one of the 30 cabins on the grounds. The restaurant has a grand wooden ceiling lighted with chandeliers. The food is eclectic, ranging from creamy fish soup infused with saffron to moose meatballs.