Stockholm Old Town
Explore the historic centre of the capital (www.visit-stockholm.com), with its collection of well-preserved historic buildings lining cobbled streets. Its main streets, Österlånggatan and Västerlånggatan, are pedestrian precincts with a host of boutiques, handicrafts and antique shops.

Djurgården
Take a ferry to Stockholm's Djurgården Island area, to see the Nordic Museum (www.nordiskamuseet.se), Waldemarsudde House (www.waldemarsudde.se), which was the home of royal artist Prince Eugen until 1947, and Liljevalchs Konsthall (www.liljevalchs.com).

National collections
Explore the Historical Museum (www.historiska.se), which features prehistoric collections and medieval art. The National Museum (www.nationalmuseum.se) houses the country's national fine arts collection.

Naval and folk history
Delve further into Sweden's history at the Vasa Museum (www.vasamuseet.se), which contains a restored 360-year-old wooden warship recovered from Stockholm's harbour in 1961, and relive past culture at the nearby Skansen open-air folk museum (www.skansen.se).

Gothenburg
Göteborg is the home of Volvo cars - visit the company's museum (www.volvo.com). Relive the city's seafaring traditions at the Maritime Museum (Sjöfartsmuseet) (www.sjofartsmuseum.goteborg.se) and the Nordstaden Kronhuset area, location of the City Museum (www.stadsmuseum.goteborg.se).

Malmö
Don't miss Malmö (www.malmo.se). City sights include Malmöhus Castle and St Petri Church. Also see the Konsthallen (www.konsthall.malmo.se) and Rooseum (www.rooseum.se) art museums, and the remarkable Turning Torso skyscraper (www.turningtorso.com).

Island hopping
Head offshore - Gotland and Öland are Sweden's biggest islands, in the southeast of the country. On Gotland are the Lummelunda Caves (www.lummelundagrottan.se) with spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, and a preserved medieval town at Kattlundsgård.

Glassworks
Learn about glassmaking - German immigrants founded Sweden's crystal and glass-making industry in the southern province of Småland (www.gotosmaland.se) and 16 glassworks in the area are open to visitors.

Medieval and modern
Head south to Skåne, which offers the medieval town of Lund with its 12th-century cathedral and 14th-century astronomical clock. There is also the spectacular Öresund Bridge, the world's longest single span bridge, between Denmark and Sweden, close to Malmö.

The Lakelands
These form a large part of Sweden with a mixture of open water, vast lakes, plains and meadows and large areas of wild natural scenery. Ideal for those wishing to get away from it all

Winter refreshment
Experience the ‘ice beds' and enjoy a well-earned thirst quencher in the far-northern Absolut Icebar at the sculpted Ice Hotel (www.icehotel.com) in the small northern village of Jukkasjärvi, Lapland. It is rebuilt every winter after the summer.

Sami experience
Meet the Sami people at Jokkmokk (www.jokkmokk.se), where there are collections of Lapp art and culture, and a Lapp Staden, an old village of 70 cone-shaped Lapp huts. Arjeplog also has an interesting Lapp museum, Silvermuseet (www.silvermuseet.arjeplog.se).

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.