Guidebook Updates for ‘Rick Steves Scandinavia’

• If your passport is due to expire within six months of your ticketed date of return from Europe, you need to renew it. Allow plenty of time to renew or get a passport, especially while a backlog of applications is causing significant slowdowns — see the US Department of State's travel site for current estimated processing times.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Eurail Select Passes are no longer being sold (but similarly priced Global Passes still are) — see our 2019 rail-travel update.
• NSB railways and Nettbuss bus services are being rebranded under a new name: Vy.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• The Den Gamle Købmandsgaard market in Ærøskøbing is now open daily.
• The Ærø Museum has reopened following renovations, with new hours.
• The Hans Christian Andersen Museum has reopened after renovations at Claus Bergs Gade 11. It's now part of a 145-DKK one-day combo-ticket for adults that also includes Andersen's birthplace, childhood home, the Møntergården Museum, and the Fyrtøjet Children's Universe activity center (all sights free for kids under 18). All sights have a new website: www.hcandersensodense.dk.
• The Fyrtøjet ("Tinderbox" Children's Universe) has reopened after renovations at the Møntergården Museum. It's now part of a 145-DKK one-day combo-ticket for adults that also includes the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, Andersen's birthplace, childhood home, and the Møntergården Museum (all sights free for kids under 18).
• The Arnfeldt Hotel (formerly "Det Lille Hotel") now rents five rooms, two with en suite bathrooms, and three sharing two bathrooms. They also have a new email address ([email protected]), and a restaurant (open Fri–Sat in June and Aug; July Tue–Sat).
• Ærø Campground has a new email address: [email protected].
• Pension Vestergade has a new email address: [email protected].

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• The correct website for Marken Gjestehus is www.marken-gjestehus.com.
• The correct email address for Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz is [email protected].
• The correct email address for Citybox Bergen City is [email protected].
• KODE 4 — one building of the KODE Art Museums hosting an eclectic cross-section of both international and Norwegian artists — is closed for maintenance until further notice.
• The shuttle bus that ran from the Hanseatic Museum to the Fisheries Museum has stopped running. To link the two, it's an easy 15–20-minute walk or a 20-minute ferry ride. Buses also connect the two museums in 5 minutes.
• The Bergen Card now covers the Norwegian Fisheries Museum and gives you 20 percent off the admission price at the Schøtstuene (Hanseatic Assembly Rooms).
• Bergen YMCA Hostel has permanently closed.
• Several recommended restaurants have closed: Anne Madam, Lido, and Dickens.
• Most of the Hanseatic Museum on the Bryggen harborfront is closed for restoration until at least spring 2024. The Schøtstuene (Hanseatic Assembly Rooms) part of the exhibit, however, has reopened with new exhibits covering Hanseatic life and the history of Bryggen, as well as a medieval ruin visible through a newly installed glass floor (daily 10:00–18:00, until 17:00 May and Sept; 11:00–15:00 Oct–Dec).
• The correct email address for Thon Hotel Orion is [email protected].
• Bergen's tourist train is no longer running.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• The Maritime Museum of Denmark, near Kronborg, is now closed Monday Sept–June.
• Kronborg Castle is now closed Monday Oct–April.
• Roskilde Cathedral has new hours: June–Aug Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 13:00–16:00; May & Sept Mon–Sat until 17:00; Oct–April Tue–Sat 10:00–16:00, Sun from 13:00, closed Monday.
• Copenhagen Jazz House is now called Alice.
• Shuttle buses from the Oslo ferry terminal to the city are now marked Banegård or Nørreport. The Banegård bus drops you at Banegårdspladsen — in front of the main train station, near Tivoli, recommended hotels, and the start of Rick's "Copenhagen City Walk."
• The overnight boat to Oslo now leaves at 14:00, usually arriving in Oslo at 9:00 (same schedule for return trip).
• Both the Amalienborg Museum and Rosenborg Castle are now closed Monday except in October.
• Thorvaldsen's Museum is now open Thursday until 21:00.
• English tours of the National Museum's Victorian Apartment are now June–Aug, Sat–Sun at 12:00.
• The National Museum is now open until 20:00 on Thursdays.
• Due to changes to the bus system, buses #14, #1A and #6A are no longer useful.
• Daily City Walks by Red Badge Guides now runs May–Sept at 10:00. The price has increased to 150 DKK.
• The Museum of Copenhagen has reopened.
• Richard Karpen no longer leads scheduled Monday and Thursday Rosenborg Castle group tours (though you can still book him for Rosenborg Castle tours by reservation, [email protected]). His Hans Christian Andersen Tours also still run mid-May–mid-Sept Mon–Sat at 9:30.
• The National Museum now charges 95 DKK for admission.
• The Carlsberg brewery visitors center is closed for renovation until December 2023, as the entire former brewery complex is being transformed into a new neighborhood called Carlsberg City (Carlsberg Byen), with a hotel, restaurants, shops, housing, and public spaces, while preserving and repurposing some of the historic Carlsberg structures.
• The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde is now covered by the Copenhagen Card sightseeing pass.

• Helsinki's tourist information office has moved to a new location on Senate Square (Mon–Fri 9:30–17:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–16:00, shorter weekend hours off-season, Aleksanterinkatu 24 — at the corner with Sofiankatu street, +358 9 3101 3300). All other tourism office locations, including at the airport, have closed.
• The National Museum of Finland has reopened following an overhaul of its permanent collection.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Because of route changes, the Helsinki Tram Tour, which features a loop through Helsinki on public trams #2 and #3, now requires a transfer at the Auroran Sairaala stop (which is several stops past the original transfer point of Töölön halli).
• Helsinki's main tourist information office is now in the train station. The location near the Esplanade has closed.
• Hotel Torni, home to the Ateljée Bar, with excellent city views, has reopened.
• Academica Summer Hostel has closed.
• Linda Line has ceased ferry service between Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia.

For books printed before June 2018, the following may apply:

• Jacob's Pita Bar and Jacob's BarBQ in Aarhus have closed.
• Bus numbers in Aarhus have changed; see www.rejseplanen.dk for updated transit information.
• The Aarhus tourist information office is in Dokk1, a library/cultural center at the Aarhus Harbor (generally Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00, Fri until 17:00, Sat–Sun until 16:00); there's also a branch at the bus station (daily 7:00–19:00) and one in the main square in summer. All branches share the same telephone number (+45 87 31 50 10).

For books printed before June 2018, the following may apply:

• Hamnkrog restaurant has closed.
• O'Reilly's Irish Pub has closed.
• The Co-op supermarket at Södra Långgatan 8 has closed.

For books printed before June 2018, the following may apply:

• The telephone number for train information for Norway in a Nutshell, Oslo, and Bergen routes is +47 61 05 19 10 — press 9 for English.
• The tourist information office in Flåm no longer sells tickets for the Lustrabaatane ferry to Gudvangen. Tickets are available online, from a vendor at the dock (in summer), and onboard.
• The Fjords Tours' "Norway in a Nutshell" package is now sold at tourist information offices and train stations in Oslo and Bergen.

• OsloGuideservice has gone out of business. But licensed guide Pål Johansen offers Oslo walking tours when not leading Rick Steves tour groups, and has helped considerably with the Rick Steves Scandinavia guidebook ($280/half-day tour, $480/full-day tour, [email protected]). If Pål's not available, the easy-to-work-with Oslo Guidebureau can tailor a tour to meet your interests (+47 22 42 28 18).
• The Viking Ship Museum is closed while it undergoes a multiyear expansion, and exhibits will ultimately move into the new Museum of the Viking Age (scheduled to open by 2025 or 2026). In the interim, some exhibits may be on display in the University of Oslo's Historical Museum.
• The Munch Museum has reopened at a new location on the harbor, facing the Opera House at Bjørvika.
• The National Gallery has reopened as part of the National Museum.
• A "Munch–Bygdøy" ferry now operates April–October between Bygdøy island (with the Kon-Tiki and Fram museums, and currently closed Viking Ship Museum) and the Bjørvika neighborhood (with the Munch Museum).

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Viking Biking no longer offers walk-up rentals; you must reserve in advance (daily flat rate of 2,000 NOK for 1–10 bikes, includes helmet, lock, and map).
• On Olaf Ryes Polass, dive bar Ryes has closed.
• On Olaf Ryes Plass, Quesadilla (Mexican fare) is now Skaal Matbar (sophisticated small plates).
• Ma Poule wine bar (in the Mathallen Oslo market) is now called Galopin.
• Troy's Burger, on Torggata, has closed.
• Pisco restaurant, on Badstugata, has closed.
• Ellingson's Pensjonat is now Villa Marie.
• Comfort Hotel Karl Johan telephone number is now +47 23 01 03 52.
• Thon hotels have changed their email domain from "thonhotels.no" to "olavthon.no" For example, the new email for the Rosenkrantz location is now [email protected].
• The House of Oslo shopping mall has closed.
• Perminalen Hotel has a new website: www.perminalen.no.
• Open Top Sightseeing no longer runs hop-on, hop-off buses in Oslo.
• Båtservice no longer operates bus tours of Oslo.
• Oslo Guideservice no longer offers the "Oslo Promenade" walking tour.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• In Balestrand, the Pilgrim restaurant in the Golden House Gallery building has closed.
• Sjøtun Camping (in Balestrand) has closed for good.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• There is no longer a viable bus connection between Bergen and the ferry that departs from Kristiansand, Norway, to Hirtschals, Denmark. The ferry is still running.
• Parts of Stavanger's cathedral, the oldest in Norway, is closed to visitors for restoration through 2023 as it gears up to celebrate its 900th birthday in 2025.
• In Stavanger, Rødne Fjord Clipper is now Rødne Fjord Cruise and runs daily bus trips and cruise-plus-bus combo trips to Pulpit Rock. Bus tours from Stavanger to the Rock are now operated by Go Fjords and Pulpit Rock Tours; Tide Reiser and Boreal no longer run these buses.
• In Stavanger, the underwater Ryfast Tunnel is now open. Bus tours to Pulpit Rock and travelers with cars use the nine-mile tunnel, which burrows under the sea at Stavanger and emerges near Solbakk on the other side (140-NOK toll). From there it's a short drive on highway 13 to the parking lot and trailhead at Pulpit Rock.

• The Stockholm Pass has been replaced by the "Go City Pass," which has similar but not identical offerings (and does not have a transit option).

For books printed before July 2021, the following may also apply:

• Kaknäs Tower is permanently closed to the public.
• To reach Thielska Galleriet from Odenplan, take bus #67 (not #69).
• Stockholm no longer has a City Bikes program.
• Sushi Yama Express at Nybrogatan 18 has permanently closed.
• The Stockholm Pass no longer covers Skansen.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• Tickets for Tallinn's public transportation are now available as QR tickets for use on a mobile phone (€1.50 for any ride up to 1 hour, can purchase up to 10 rides per ticket, shareable with other riders, purchase at tallinn.pilet.ee or with the mobile app Pilet.ee). For travelers staying longer, the Ühiskaart smartcard can be purchased for €2, then loaded up with credit (€1.50 per ride, €4.50/24 hours, €7.50/72 hours).
• Linda Line has ceased ferry service between Helsinki and Tallinn.
• The Museum of Occupations is now called the "Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom." The museum has been upgraded and expanded to include a new permanent exhibit exploring Estonia's occupations, resistance, and rise to freedom. The former audioguide has been replaced with an "etour guide" mobile device that brings the displays to life.
• The KGB Prison Cells in Tallinn's former KGB headquarters are now open to the public, with a small exhibit presented, in part, in English.
• Baltic Hotel Imperial has closed.
• Rixwell Old Town Hotel is now, as part of the Rija chain, Rija Old Town Hotel.
• Recommended restaurants Grillhaus Daub and Wadabus have closed.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• Uppsala University's Gustavianum (historic collections including Viking discoveries and scientific instruments) is closed for renovations until spring 2024.
• The tourist information office on Kungsgatan 59 has closed. Instead, staffed InfoPoints move around the city, offering maps and brochures.

For books printed before July 2021, the following may apply:

• Lessebo Paper Workshop has a new website: lessebohandpappersbruk.se.
• Växjö's three main museums (House of Emigrants, Smålands Museum, Swedish Glass Museum) share this website: www.kulturparkensmaland.se.
• Växjö's hostel is under new management as Evedals Vandrarhem.
• Grill Bryggehuset in Kalmar has closed.
• Växjö tourist information office has moved to a location within city hall, at Västra Esplanaden 18, a 10-minute walk from the train station.