Viking Venus - Baltic Discovery

Where this cruise calls, day by day

5 ports and 4 sea days over 8 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Stockholm

   SwedenDepart

   Built across 14 islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic, and reached through a two to three hour approach past thousands of skerries that is worth being on deck for. The old town, Gamla Stan, is a tight grid of ochre buildings on its own island; everything modern happens on Norrmalm and Södermalm around it.

   • The Vasa Museum and its salvaged 1628 warship, raised almost whole
   • Gamla Stan and the Royal Palace guard change
   • Skansen open-air museum on Djurgården
   • Stockholm City Hall, where the Nobel banquet is held

   Getting ashore

   Stadsgården berths are a 15-20 minute walk to Gamla Stan; Frihamnen is about 4 km out and needs a shuttle or bus, and a few very large ships use Nynäshamn, an hour south by coach or train.

   Best months

   May-Sep

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Tallinn

   EstoniaPort

   The best-preserved walled town in the Baltic, and compact enough to do properly in a day. The lower town of merchant houses sits inside its ring wall and towers; above it, on the Toompea limestone bluff, are the cathedral, parliament and two viewing terraces looking over the red roofs to your ship. Outside the walls Tallinn is a working tech city, which is a jolt.

   • Town Hall Square and the 15th-century Raeapteek pharmacy
   • Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the Kohtuotsa viewing platform on Toompea
   • The Seaplane Harbour maritime museum in its concrete hangars
   • Kadriorg Park and Peter the Great's baroque palace

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the Old City Harbour; the Old Town gate at Viru is a flat 15-20 minute walk, and most lines run a shuttle for the first stretch through the port.

   Best months

   May-Sep

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Riga

   LatviaPort

   The largest of the three Baltic capitals and the least tidied up, which is part of the appeal. The medieval core around the Daugava is small; the real surprise is the Art Nouveau district north of it, several hundred facades of screaming faces and stylised figures, much of it by Mikhail Eisenstein. The Central Market operates out of five reused Zeppelin hangars.

   • Alberta iela and the Art Nouveau facades of the Quiet Centre
   • House of the Blackheads and Town Hall Square
   • Riga Central Market in its Zeppelin hangars
   • St Peter's Church spire lift for the rooftop view

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside on the Daugava at the passenger terminal on Eksporta iela, a 10-15 minute walk upriver to the Old Town.

   Best months

   May-Sep

6. Day 6

   Klaipeda

   LithuaniaPort

   Lithuania's only seaport, at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon, and German Memel until 1923 - the timber-framed old town on the south bank still looks it. Ships pass the narrow strait to reach the berths. The real draw is across the water: the Curonian Spit, a 98 km sandbar of pine forest and drifting dunes shared with Russia.

   • The ferry to Smiltynė and the Curonian Spit dunes
   • Nida's coloured fishermen's houses and the Parnidis dune
   • The Hill of Witches wooden sculpture trail at Juodkrantė
   • Theatre Square and the Ännchen von Tharau fountain in the old town

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the cruise terminal on the Danė waterfront, roughly a 10-15 minute walk to the old town; the Spit ferry leaves from a pier nearby.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Copenhagen

   DenmarkArrive

   Denmark's capital works as both a Baltic turnaround port and a day call, and which berth you get changes the day completely. The city is flat, cycle-mad and easy to cover on foot once you reach it: harbour swimming pools, the pastel warehouse fronts of Nyhavn, and a royal quarter at Amalienborg where the guard still changes at noon.

   • Nyhavn canal and a harbour boat tour from its head
   • Tivoli Gardens, opposite Central Station
   • Rosenborg Castle and the crown jewels
   • Christiansborg's tower, free and the best rooftop view in the city

   Getting ashore

   Most large ships dock at Oceankaj, about 6 km north of the centre and needing a shuttle or bus (roughly 20-25 minutes); smaller ships use Langelinie, a 10-minute walk from the Little Mermaid and 25 minutes from Nyhavn.

   Best months

   May-Sep