Islands and Cities, from the North Sea to the Baltic

Embark on an 8-night cruise aboard Le Lapérouse to discover iconic islands and towns of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Finland. Throughout your journey, you will benefit from an excursion included per person per port of call, to choose from a selection offered by Ponant. On this cruise, you can stroll through the countryside and villages of Bornholm, attend an Estonian folk show in Tallinn and discover the Suomenlinna sea fortress in Helsinki. The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab)....read more />
The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab). From Oslo, Norway's capital with its extraordinary energy, you head for Marstrand. In this medieval town, now highly popular for sailing trips, you can admire majestic, richly decorated wooden houses with verandas, colonnades and turrets.

Le Lapérouse then heads for the Danish capital, Copenhagen, before reaching Gudhjem, a charming village lying on the small Danish island of Bornholm, much admired by Danes for its varied landscapes of granite and long sandy beaches. Le Lapérouse will then sail to the Swedish island of Gotland and call at Visby, a site that was important for the Hanseatic League in the Baltic Sea around the 13th century.

A UNESCO Heritage Site, this once-opulent city still has remarkably well-preserved ramparts, public buildings, merchant houses and warehouses. On Saaremaa, dive into the complex history of this island, Estonia's largest. First invaded by the Vikings, it became Danish then Swedish before being taken by the Russian Empire and later occupied by the Germans. In 1991, it finally became Estonian when the country gained its independence. You will visit Tallinn, emblematic city of the Hanseatic League, the large trading network that dominated the Baltic Sea for several centuries.

Listed as UNESCO Heritage Site, this once opulent city still have remarkably well-preserved public buildings, merchant houses and warehouses. You will then head to Helsinki. Located on a peninsula surrounded by almost 300 islands, the verdant capital of Finland will charm you with its Art Nouveau architecture. Finally, you will then chart a course for Stockholm. Built on water, the Swedish capital embraces nature, which is omnipresent there. Its blend of medieval architecture, colourful houses and trendy neighbourhoods makes it a particularly enjoyable city to visit.