Sweden

Stockholm is built across islands where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, so water and boats are never far away. Its medieval Old Town, Gamla Stan, is a maze of ochre and red houses around the Royal Palace; the Vasa Museum holds a seventeenth-century warship raised from the harbour; and thousands of islands stretch out into the archipelago beyond the city.

In winter, Swedish Lapland offers the ICEHOTEL at Jukkasjärvi, rebuilt from river ice each year, along with husky rides, Sámi culture and the Northern Lights. Sweden fits naturally into a Scandinavian tour: trains link Stockholm with Oslo and Copenhagen, and overnight ferries cross to Helsinki.

Stockholm is clean, safe and easy to explore, with parks, museums and boat trips that families enjoy. Vegetarian food is widely available and the city has many Indian restaurants. Sweden is one of the most cashless countries in the world, so cards are all you need.