Three miles (5km) north of Uppsala, Gamla Uppsala was once an important town, the seat of Swedish royalty and where many important funerals were held. The Uppsala temple oversaw rites and sacrifices to the Norse gods in the pre-Christian era, and it was said that Odin himself resided there. As Christianity overtook Europe, the temple was burned and the stone church of Gamla Uppsala was built in the 12th century. The church still stands today, along with a vast grave field of 2-3,000 ancient burial mounds, and the remains of several houses. Gamla Uppsala also has a small museum detailing the rich history of the town. The town is accessible from Uppsala by bus.

Stockholm's main attractions are conveniently packaged close to the heart of the city on the island of Djurgården, crammed with entertainment options, museums, restaurants and wooded green space. Once upon a time the island was a royal hunting ground. Now visitors can hunt for souvenirs at the Handarbetets Vanner (handicraft centre); browse the art galleries; enjoy thrills and spills at Gröna Lund, Sweden's oldest amusement park; explore Sweden's past at the Skansen open-air museum; meet Nordic wildlife at the zoo; and watch folk dancing. Also on the island, accessed with a pleasant stroll along the waterfront, is the Junibacken fairy-tale fun centre, the National Museum of Cultural History and the fascinating Vasa Museum featuring a fully rigged restored 17th-century galleon raised from Stockholm harbour. Top off the day with a meal at one of the many excellent restaurants.

The official Swedish Royal residence is one of the largest and most glorious palaces in Europe, dating from 1754 (although it was built on the remains of an earlier medieval castle). The Baroque edifice is in the heart of Gamla Stan, the old city, and many of its 608 staterooms are open to the public all year round. Visitors can admire the Hall of State, the Royal Treasury, Apartment of the Orders of Chivalry, Gustav III Museum of Antiquities and the Royal Chapel. In front of the palace the changing of the guard ceremony takes place (Wednesday and Saturday 12.15pm, Sunday 1.15pm) with splendid pomp and ceremony that rivals the similar tradition played out at Britain's Buckingham Palace. Gamla Stan itself is a treasure-trove of Swedish architecture from the 17th century. Today tourists throng the alleyways, once notorious for brothels, but now lined with shops and restaurants, and admire the 13th-century Cathedral, the Storkyrkan.

Stockholm's main landmark, the distinctive red brick City Hall (Stadshuset) building, has stood on Kungsholmen (King's Island) since 1923 and become world-renowned as the venue for the annual Nobel Prize Banquet. The rather practical and austere façade, dominated by three golden crowns atop a tower, hides an extraordinary art nouveau interior. The plush council chamber itself has a vaulted ceiling resembling an inverted Viking longboat, echoing the Viking tradition of using overturned vessels as shelter in winter. Most impressive, though, is the magnificent Golden Hall, its walls covered with handmade mosaics. The view of Stockholm from the tower is unsurpassed.

Sweden's history from prehistoric times to the present day is fascinatingly laid out in the Museum of National Antiquities, which contains a hoard of archaeological artefacts and treasures, including an impressive collection of gold objects recovered from the tombs and treasure caches of the Vikings. The museum's most prized possession dates from the Middle Ages. This is the splendid gold reliquary, set with precious stones, which contained the skull of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia.

The city of Stockholm stretches across 14 islands, but the archipelago, of which they form but a tiny part, consists of more than 24,000 islets, famed for their natural beauty, wildlife, fjords and spectacular channels and straits. A highlight of any visit to Stockholm is exploring this unique natural wonderland, and summer time is the time to do it, whether individually or on one of the many organised boat tours on offer. The standard tour is the 'Thousand Island Cruise', lasting 11 hours, which takes you to the outer islands and allows passengers to spend time ashore on some of the larger islands, like Nämdö, renowned for its handicrafts. Those with less time to spend can opt for a shorter cruise from between two to six hours, or travel on the high speed 'Cinderella' waterjet boats that service many of the islands. Do-it-yourself travellers can make use of the regular Waxholmsbolaget ferries that service the inhabited islands. Bed and breakfast accommodation is available for those seeking a longer getaway and perhaps wanting to stay a few days to experience island life.

The Botanical Garden in Gothenburg is one of the largest in Europe and the most beautiful in Sweden boasting about 13,000 different species of plant. The area covers 175 hectares (432 acres), most of which is a nature reserve including an arboretum. Pride of the garden is the Rock Garden, but other worthwhile areas to visit include the Japanese Glade, the Rhododendron Valley and the greenhouses.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Sweden, Liseberg Amusement Park has been welcoming millions of visitors a year for almost 80 years. Besides popular rides like the wooden roller coaster Balderand tamer rides for the children, there are over 30 different attractions, restaurants, and entertainment venues where concerts and shows attract huge crowds. Besides the summer season, Liseberg is also open over the festive season for the biggest Christmas market in Scandinavia, as well as food specialities of the season, an ice bar and Christmas entertainment.

The well preserved, 17th century fortress is located on a small island at the entrance of the harbour, at the mouth of the Göta River. With a fascinating history of battles against the Danes, the fortress was once the mightiest citadel in Sweden for coastal defence and is highly popular with visitors. A dramatised tour is included in the admission fee.

One of the most well known attractions in Sweden, the Göta Canal was an important transport route for passengers and goods between Gothenburg and Stockholm throughout the 19th century until the building of railways and roads. It was also one of the biggest civil engineering projects to ever take place in the country. The canal stretches 118 miles (190km) from Sjötorp on Lake Vänern to the Baltic Sea at Mem and has 58 locks. Gothenburg is linked to the canal at Lake Vänern by the Göta River. The picturesque tree-lined channels are popular for cruises, which pass through the beautiful lakes of Vättern and Vänern, usually lasting about five to six days.

Boat trips to the southern and northern archipelago of Gothenburg are popular trips for both visitors and residents alike. The southern archipelago includes eight car-free, inhabited islands that boast sandy beaches, good swimming, beautiful nature, walking paths and a charm of their own. The northern archipelago is more populated and has numerous hotels, restaurants and sea-based activities.

Visitors can explore Sweden's past at the Skansen open-air museum, the oldest in the world, where historical buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries have been relocated from around the country. The exhibits include a full replica of a 19th-century town complete with craftsmen in period dress who demonstrate the art of tanning, shoemaking, baking and glass-blowing. Skansen is also home to an aquarium and the World of Monkeys within the Skansen Zoo, which focuses on Scandinavian animals such as reindeer, wolverines, elk, lynx and brown bears. Every December the central square hosts a Christmas market that attracts thousands of visitors every weekend.

Located 124 miles (200 km) inside the Arctic Circle and 7.5 miles (12 km) from Kiruna Airport, the amazing Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi was first opened in 1990. The hotel is built anew each year, usually around mid-November, when ice is collected from the Torne River and moulded into magnificent bricks, sculptures, ice furniture and even a bar with ice glasses! It may be made of ice, but this hotel is a warm welcome to those visiting for a night. Guests can curl up in soft, warm reindeer hide blankets in one of the many themed rooms, sip on an ice-cold glass of schnapps in the bar, or dine on anything from whitefish roe and venison to cloudberries and arctic raspberries in the Icehotel restaurant. Guests also have the option of booking a warm room as well, should the novelty of sleeping on a bed of ice wear off and the Icehotel is also open to day visitors throughout the winter season.

An innovative attraction in Stockholm for parents with young children is the Babybio. At this unique cinema, the latest movie releases are shown in their original language, and the lighting and sound are lowered so as not to get the kids too excited. There are changing tables, free nappies and a microwave available for mothers to use, and individual cinema seats for each child.

Gröna Lund is Sweden's oldest amusement park and an amazing attraction for kids. Built in 1883, the park features a number of rides including bumper cars, carousels and Ferris wheels. The fun house and Kvasten (Broomstick) rollercoaster are also favourites, and there is an on-site baby care centre for parents to use.

The Junibacken theme park is inspired by Pippi Longstocking and other children's books by local authors. The storybook landscape can be traversed on a fun train ride, and kids can also explore and play in Pippi's house, Villa Villekulla. Storytelling and a lovely bookstore are other highlights at Junibacken.

The biggest church in Scandinavia at 390 feet (119m), the Uppsala Cathedral, also called the Uppsala Domkyrka, dominates the city's skyline. The church was built in the 14th century for royal coronations, and is now the seat for the Archbishop for the Lutheran Church of Sweden. A number of Swedish kings and other prominent citizens are interred inside. The exterior of the cathedral is made of red brick, with a French Gothic interior featuring murals of St Erik, the patron saint of Sweden. There is also a small museum housing ecclesiastical relics, and a graveyard with elaborately-carved tombstones.

The Linnaeus Garden was founded in 1655 as the first botanical garden in Sweden. It wasn't until the 18th century that Carl Linnaeus (also known as Carolus Linnaeus or Carl von Linne), a prominent Swedish botanist zoologist, physician, and father of modern taxonomy and ecology, redesigned the garden and began cultivating plants under his own system. It now contains roughly 1,300 species, and is maintained by Uppsala University. Within the garden is the Linnaeus museum, which was the scientist's home for 35 years.