Midnight Sun at North Cape

Journey via Frankfurt to Hildesheim.

Drive past Hamburg to Puttgarden and Copenhagen. City tour with a local guide. The centre of Copenhagen is the busy Town Hall Square, dominated by the town hall and its 100 m tower. This is also where the extensive pedestrian street Strøget begins, lined with shops and boutiques. Not far away stands Christiansborg Palace, which developed from a fortress into the royal palace of the Danish kings and is today the centre of Danish politics, housing parliament. The popular Queen Margrethe lives in the comparatively simple rococo palace of Amalienborg, which consists of four palaces. Nearby you will come across Copenhagen's best-known sight, the Little Mermaid. In the evening, ferry crossing to Helsingborg.

On your drive through the scenic south of Sweden you will get a first impression of Scandinavia's beautiful nature. The route continues through the wide plains of Scania and the forests of Småland, past countless small lakes, along the vast Lake Vättern and through scattered villages set amid large forest areas. Passing well-known larger cities such as Jönköping and Norrköping, you will reach the capital, Stockholm. In the late afternoon, a short city tour with a local guide takes you to the most popular sights of Stockholm. Sweden's capital is the royal seat, the seat of the government and parliament, a university city, an important Baltic port and, of course, the centre of the country's cultural life. "The city on the water" and "Venice of the North" are the best-known nicknames for Stockholm. Boat trip on the night ferry through the archipelago of skerries.

In the morning you arrive in Turku and continue by coach to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where a local guide awaits you for a city tour. The "Pearl of the Baltic" was founded in 1550 by the Swede Gustav Vasa and today has around 1 million inhabitants including the surrounding area. The main sights include Senate Square, the cathedral, the university and the government palace. A grand staircase leads up to the cathedral, which is topped by four corner towers and a mighty dome. In the evening you reach the overnight stop of Jyväskylä. This city is the main town of the Central Finland region. Finland's most famous architect, Alvar Aalto, designed more than 30 buildings for Jyväskylä alone.

Today you continue through the Finnish Lake District with its numerous forests and deep blue lakes. The landscape around Lake Pyhäjärvi is especially lovely; in Pihtipudas you stop at an old wooden church. Lunch stop en route in Finland. The road now runs along the Gulf of Bothnia to Kemi, a large port city and well-known centre of the timber industry. You then follow the Kemijoki river to Rovaniemi, the main town of the Lapland region. The town was burned down in 1944. The architect Alvar Aalto designed the present town plan, which resembles the antler of a reindeer, something you can see particularly well from the air.

Rovaniemi is also known as the "Gateway to Lapland". Shortly after Rovaniemi you reach the Arctic Circle, which lies 3,330 km from the North Pole and 6,660 km from the Equator. Passing Lake Vikajärvi, you continue to Sodankylä, the coldest place in Finland, where the oldest wooden church in Lapland, dating from 1689, stands. The road now follows the western bank of the Kitinen river through almost uninhabited country to the Sompio nature reserve and climbs through moorland and marshes to the watershed between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

On the way you cross the tree line and enter a tundra landscape, where dwarf birches and stunted pines form the only tree cover. Near Karigasniemi you cross the Inarijoki river to enter Norway. Lunch stop in Karasjok, the capital of the Norwegian Sami and a cultural hub in Finnmark. Between Honningsvåg and the North Cape lie 35 kilometres of Europe's only true Arctic landscape. The island may be bare and treeless, but it radiates a rugged beauty, which on sunny days is intensified by the clear air. After dinner you drive to the North Cape, where you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the sea far below. And if the weather is kind, you will experience the magical midnight sun.

Through the North Cape Tunnel you return to Kåfjord. The greatest impression on visitors is made by the deserted expanses: ranges of mountains and fells stretch seemingly endlessly to the horizon, silent and awe-inspiring. The coastline has a rugged beauty. Here and there the visitor's eye is surprised to rest on a patch of green or a pretty corner of land. Superlatives abound in every description of Finnmark, Norway's northernmost and largest county. Finnmark has only 75'000 inhabitants across an area of 48'000 km2 and lies at the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia. Today's overnight stop, Tromsø, is the starting point for many expeditions. Tromsø covers large parts of the island of Tromsøya and, with around 50'000 inhabitants, is the largest city in northern Norway. It is also known as the "Gateway to the Arctic", the "City of the Northern Sea" and the "Paris of the North".

Along the Balsfjord to Bjerkvik, then island-hopping to Vesterålen and the Lofoten. Discover the austere beauty of these islands, and be impressed by jagged mountain ranges rising straight out of the sea and picturesque fishing villages. (Optional boat trip) The cruise with a Hurtigruten ship from Stokmarknes to Svolvær is an experience of a special kind. Enjoy the spectacular scenery from the deck of this traditional and almost legendary coastal mail ship line, and savour one of the most interesting stretches of the "most beautiful sea voyage in the world".

You leave Svolvær and drive through numerous fishing villages. At Hamnøy you reach the last of the countless bridges on the Lofoten. In Moskenes you take the ferry in the morning and enjoy a crossing of several hours to Bodø. From Bodø, a coach journey follows the Skjerstad Fjord as far as Fauske. The quarries around Fauske supply the unique reddish marble known as Norwegian Rose. Rognan, situated at sea level, is surrounded by lush and abundant vegetation and flanked by imposing peaks. The road now climbs the Saltfjell pass to 707 m above sea level and descends to Stødi. Shortly afterwards you cross the Arctic Circle once again. The road now crosses the less dramatic landscape of Dunderlandsdalen, past the Storforshei iron mine, to Mo i Rana. Although this town may seem too modern and industrial to visitors, its steelworks provide employment for many Norwegians.

Between Mosjøen and Trofors the broad but only 16 m high Laksfors waterfall plunges down, carrying especially large volumes of water in June due to snowmelt. You reach the border of the county of Nordland and with it the end of the true North. The first larger town is Steinkjer, which was a trading centre for over 1,000 years and, like so many other towns in northern Norway, was destroyed during the Second World War. Lunch stop en route in Norway. A thousand years ago Trondheim, then still called Nidaros, was the capital of Norway. Today Trondheim is a modern city with the charming appeal of bygone days.

The old town centre of Trondheim lies quite literally on an island between river and fjord. The only connection is a narrow spit of land to the west, the former Westfort. In the old harbour, the colourful timber warehouses recall the medieval architecture of the city, although they actually date from the 19th century. You then travel through the Dovrefjell to Dombås. This place is a traffic hub and the starting point for many mountain hikes. The road follows the river Lågen for 140 km to Lillehammer. This small provincial capital was at the centre of sporting events during the Winter Olympics in February 1994. Later you reach Oslo. Oslo lies on a fjord shaped like a swan's neck, surrounded by gentle hills. Like an amphitheatre, the city spreads across the slopes between the sea and the mountainous hinterland.

City tour with a German-speaking local guide. There are few large buildings in the capital, so the cityscape is dominated by the Rådhus, the town hall. Not far from it, directly on the fjord, stands the medieval Akershus Fortress. The city's main reference points are Jernbanetorget in the east and the Slottet (the royal palace) in the west. They are linked by Karl Johans gate, which for much of its length is a pedestrian zone and shopping street. At midday you board the Color Line, the world's largest cruise ferry. Enjoy the journey through the 70 km long Oslofjord and all the amenities of a luxury ship.

Arrival in Kiel. There is time for a longer stay in Hamburg. Continue to Hildesheim.

Direct return journey to Switzerland.