Lulea Sweden
Sweden

8 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Ponant (8 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

At the town quays, at the very head of the Gulf of Bothnia, on a peninsula surrounded by a maze of islands. This is Norrbotten, Sweden’s northernmost province, about a hundred kilometres from the Arctic Circle. The centre is an easy walk from the waterfront.
It is the excursion not to miss, ten kilometres from the centre: more than 400 red wooden cottages packed around a late-medieval stone church. These cottages were never homes — parishioners from distant farms slept in them for Sunday services and major feasts, when the round trip could not be made in a day.
Because it is the best-preserved church town in the world. The system existed across northern Scandinavia; Gammelstad remains the most complete example, with its grassy lanes and numbered shuttered doors. A visitor centre tells the story and runs guided tours in summer.
Because the land is rising. Founded at Gammelstad in 1621, it relocated in 1649 to its present site: released from the weight of the glaciers, the ground here rises almost a centimetre a year and the old harbour was becoming too shallow for ships. The town followed the sea.
Gammelstad first — that is the essential piece — then the centre: the pedestrian Storgatan, the red-brick neo-Gothic cathedral, a few old wooden houses that survived the nineteenth-century fires. The heart of town takes about fifteen minutes to cross, which leaves ample room for both.
Yes: Teknikens Hus, an interactive science centre devoted to northern technologies, from mining to space. It is the ideal fallback in poor weather and the natural complement to a morning in the church town.
One of Sweden’s best-kept secrets: more than 1,300 brackish-water islands, almost deserted, frequented mainly by seals and summer cabins. Some calls offer boat trips out to these flat islets covered in pine and blueberry. The sailing is peaceful, with next to no swell.
Almost. At the head of the Gulf of Bothnia the great rivers dilute the Baltic so much that the water tastes sweet — a curiosity that surprises passengers used to salt seas. It is also what gives the archipelago its particular character.
Summer. The sun lingers late into the night and golden light stays on the waterfront façades, boat trips operate and Gammelstad guided tours are available. At this latitude, outside the season, daylight shortens very fast.
Norrbotten specialities: Arctic char, chanterelles, small local cheeses and cardamom buns. The cafés on Storgatan and the waterfront tables serve them as the seasons allow.