Visby, Gotland, Sweden

Any suggestions on on your own adventures in Visby? We will be there in late June on Sea Dream.

Visby is absolutely specatular. We were there last July, and got off the boat on our own. It was about a 5-10 minute walk from port. It is such a cute town (to me it was like a Swedish version of Carmel, CA) and you can get around easily. It is on a hill, so there will be some incline walking. My husband and I just strolled around and amired the cottages and the gorgeous flowers. We weren't in port for too long, and a storm blew in late in the afternoon -- but we thoroughly enjoyed meandering around, browsing in the shops and enjoying a local beer ("Lazy Bulldog" or something like that - it is brewed on Gotland). There are several gates along the medieval wall that are neat to see...and I heard the botanical garden is lovely. There are many old churches you can walk in and explore. I'm sure your ship's "desination services" desk will have a map - so just grab it and enjoy!

Thanks for the info! Sounds like a great little place to explore on your own. We are looking forward to it!

Thanks for the info! Sounds like a great little place to explore on your own. We are looking forward to it!

Yes indeed. Visby is one of those pleasant surprises, like Tallin, in my opinion. Many folks have never heard of it.

Have a great time.

Al

Hi!

Visby is a small and charming town on the island of Gotland. The old part is surrounded by an old ring wall from the 12th century. The town is particularly beautiful when the roses are blooming. Almost everything is in walking distance as long as you stay inside or just outside the ring wall. There is plenty of restaurants, cafes and bars. The selection and variety is good even though the population is quite small. A lot of tourists visits Visby at summertime, especially from the city of Stockholm from which you can travel by fast ferries (3h 20 min).

If you want to taste something local to your coffee you can try "saffron pancake". You eat it like a cake with cream and dewberries (like blackberries). You can also ask for local wine from "Gutevin" (http://www.gutevin.se/kontakt/english/29-english) or beer from Gotland's Brewery (it is a small brewery owned by a larger Swedish brewery).

There is a lot of small-scale and organic farming on the island of Gotland so many restaurants serve dishes made of this local food.

If you like caves you can visit the Lummelunda caves (http://www.lummelundagrottan.se/english.pab) north of Visby.

There is a beach in Visby but the water temperature in the Baltic sea is maybe nothing to write home about :). In any case, a lot of people go to Visby and Gotland for the beach- and party life.

Definitly a great stop. We were there (touring Sweden by car) several years ago and I've been looking for a cruise with a stop there. Would love to visit again because of what others have posted above.

Royal has a 7-day Baltic in July 2011 that stops there. Vision of the Seas out of Stockholm

There are several gates along the medieval wall that are neat to see...and I heard the botanical garden is lovely.

The botanical garden is indeed lovely (although it won't be in full bloom in late June) - I was married there about four years ago! Look for the small gate at the east exit of the botanical garden - this is the lovers gate.

Cars are not allowed in the old city during the summer, so walking around is quite pleasant, although be warned, it can be very steep in some places. Visby is known as the city of roses (and is a World Heritage Site due to its prominence during the Hanseatic Trading League), and in late June, those roses should be in full bloom. For a very Swedish lunch, head to Stortorget where you will have a wide selection of trendy to classic to even the Swedish pizza.

Thanks again for all of your great suggestions! We are really looking forward to our visit to Visby. Glad to hear there is plenty to do and see on our own.

We loved Visby! We rented bikes right near the tender drop-off, and took them around for the day. When it got really steep, I had to walk the bike uphill, but we had a lot of fun with the bikes exploring the town.

Hi,

Here is a link to a website there you can order a brochur over Gotland for free. http://www.tbshopen.se/service/Region.aspx?r=gotland

Another link, is to the Tourist Office http://www.gotland.info/language/eng/

the Tourist Office is situated just across the street from where the tenders are adding.

We are living in Visby so feel free to ask us questions.

Just checked out the Tourist Office site and it looks really good. Will read it in more detail. Can you easily do the old part of town and the Botanic Gardens in a day, walking on your own. If you have only one day, are those two things the must sees or should you explore the island. We really love to wander old towns , visit local markets (vegetable, fish, antique, crafts, etc) so I think we would be fine with exploring Visby, but since you live there I would love to have your opinion.

Thanks for your help!

Sorry for this late answer, have been on holiday in Germany.

The wall around Visby is 3,5 km long.

You will easily make Visby in one day. I think you will love our little town. It's not so much markets in Visby, it's one one "Stora Torget" - the big square. You will find things from Gotland but also a lot of knick-knacks.

Inside the wall it's a street called "Adelsgatan" - there you will find a lot of small shops.

The Botanic Garden is a loveley place -don't miss it.

I'll be glad to help you if you have more questions.

Hi Camilla and others familiar with Visby!

We have a day in Visby this July 9am-6pm and hoping you can help!

Is it simple to walk from the tender to the town without getting lost? I'm not worried about the hills, more so on directions - do you have any?

I have found a do it yourself walking tour online, that we plan to walk. It takes you around the walls, by the various ruins and churches, as well at to like Donnersplatsen and Stora Torget. We also plan to visit the Botantical Gardens. Any idea the approx time this would take? I'm thinking with a little bit of souviner shopping, maybe 3-4 hours total? What direction is the port from the gardens and approx time to reach the port by foot?

I also found online a 30 minute walking tour from Visby (starting at Norderport) to Galgenberg. I could not find Galgenberg on a map, so I am curious if this is a loop walk or a one-way walk where I would need to walk 30 min out and 30 min back? Any ideas? Also, would you recommend such a walk?

Lastly, based on the above, are there any beaches that we could easily detour to by foot or do all beaches require a taxi? If we went to any beach, what is the best beach to go to in Visby to walk around/shop/scenery/etc. I doubt we would have our swimsuits with us.

Thanks!!

Hi Camilla and others familiar with Visby!

 

We have a day in Visby this July 9am-6pm and hoping you can help!

 

Is it simple to walk from the tender to the town without getting lost? I'm not worried about the hills, more so on directions - do you have any?

The habour is in the town. When you leave the tender you have the town in front of you.

I have found a do it yourself walking tour online, that we plan to walk. It takes you around the walls, by the various ruins and churches, as well at to like Donnersplatsen and Stora Torget. We also plan to visit the Botantical Gardens. Any idea the approx time this would take? I'm thinking with a little bit of souviner shopping, maybe 3-4 hours total?

If you walk around the wall it takes about one hour, it's 3.5 km. Donners Plats is nothing special to see. For shopping I think Adelsgatan is the best place. In the south end of it (on the left side if you walk from Stora Torget) is a good shop with things made on Gotland. It's not so cheap but if you like quality and handmade things, this is the place. If you reach Södertorg you have walked about 100 m to long.

There are some souvenirs on Stora Torget also, but be careful so it's made on Gotland, not in Taiwan.

What direction is the port from the gardens and approx time to reach the port by foot?

When you get of the tender you walk left and walk past the small boat harbour. Keep left and walk until you see the sea. Then walk Strandpromenaden it's a "walking road" close to the sea, when you reaches the little gate in the wall (Kärleksporten = Love gate) walk through it and you have the Botanic Garden in front of you. It's about 10 minutes walk from the tender. If you are in love you should kiss the person in Kärleksporten, then you will merry him/here. This was the worst thing when we walked around the wall in school, you run through it the quickliest you could so no boy could catch you ,-)

Then you can keep on walking outside the wall.

If you choose to go in through the big gate (just before Kärleksporten) and walk the street to the left you will se a little street on your right side, Fiskargränd, it's just lovely with all the roses. You see the street on a lot of postcards. Then you just walk a little longer on the big street and then you are at Botanic Garden. You just walk inside the wall instead of outside.

I also found online a 30 minute walking tour from Visby (starting at Norderport) to Galgenberg. I could not find Galgenberg on a map, so I am curious if this is a loop walk or a one-way walk where I would need to walk 30 min out and 30 min back? Any ideas? Also, would you recommend such a walk?

Don't take time on that, its a one-way walk. Not much to see. There are three stone hangers, but you will have a lovely view over the sea.

It's better to just stroll around inside the wall.

Lastly, based on the above, are there any beaches that we could easily detour to by foot or do all beaches require a taxi? If we went to any beach, what is the best beach to go to in Visby to walk around/shop/scenery/etc. I doubt we would have our swimsuits with us.

 

Thanks!!

When you walk to the Botanic Garden you walk by a place called Kallbadhuset (cold bathing house). There are a little beach and you can walk out on a pir and take a dip. A lot of people who works in Visby bring there lunch and eat it there and take a dip on the lunch.

Hope this will help you. Ask more questions if you want I'm glad if I can be to any help.

I saw on the Tourist office homepage that they have a walking tour in Visby in english, I think is was about 100 SEK (€11, $17).

Camilla - Thank you so much! I appreciate all the help!

cruiseequalsfun!

Have you been to Visby?

Did you have a nice day?

cruiseequalsfun!

Have you been to Visby?

Did you have a nice day?

Hi! Yes, we were in Visby last Friday and it was a perfect day! I loved Visby. What a great old town city. And the weather was perfect!

We ended up walking the outside of the walls and then walked all throughout the inside of the old city seeing all the ruins and churches, botanical gardens, squares, and everything in between.

We did see the area that you could swim, but did not bring our swimsuits with us.

I very, very much enjoyed the day!

Thanks for your help in answering all my questions!!

I'm so glad that you liked our wonderful town.

Happy that I could be to help.

Our ship tendered in Visby. We walked the town and loved its beauty. We went up to the old town and took the tram...a wonderful commentary. This day was sunny and warm and our ship, Oceania Insignia did not stay past 3PM...could have used more time.

Camilla, if you're still monitoring this thread, I have some questions. I'm really looking forward to coming to Visby in mid-August on a cruise (9 to 5). I found a pretty good map of Visby (planetware.com) and marked all the ruins, walls, possible places of interest to me, etc. I've made many notes, but now I'm not sure exactly what some of them mean. Here are my questions:

Is it true that you can exchange money at the Tourist Information office on Skeppsbron?

I copied the following, and was wondering if you knew anything about it - is it true? Worth doing? "Dalman Tower (Dalmansporten) is defensive tower built around original port of Ring Wall. Via stairs inside tower you can climb up several stories and look at view from tower openings. There is also a small screen display which tells of tower and Ring Wall history. Tower is often locked, but key that goes to Dalman tower and six church ruins and tower can be rented at Gotland Museum for a fee."

Wall where you can climb: "Väktargången the city wall is reconstruction of what it was like 700 years ago when ring wall was used as protection. Väktargången opened in May 2009. It is a fantastic vantage point with unobstructed views of Norder Graves, ocean in the west and inner city buildings. Latitude: 57.646715, or 57 ° 38 '48 174 "N Longitude:18.296292, or 18 ° 17 '46.6512 "E"

I'm trying to figure out just where this is. It looks to be right at Silverhatten outside the Botanical Gardens, at tower, when the street does its big turn to right. (Looks like it is next tower over from Norderport tower.)

I copied this info: "Visit Trappgatan near Österport If you want to get a good view over Visby. Jungfrutornet (Maiden’s Tower) can be climbed." Is this one of the places mentioned before, or a completely different tower?

Do you think the booklet you mentioned on Gotland is partly in English? I didn't want to order it if it isn't! I really would just like something on Visby (although I'd LOVE to go to Faro - but no time on a cruise!) but perhaps I can pick that up when I get there.

I know the Galgenberg walk is long, with not a whole lot to see at the end unless you have a good imagination for those gallows or whatever they were. However, it still intriques me, so if I end up having much time after photographing all the walls, towers, roses (still in bloom mid-August, or gone?), church ruins and a light lunch (but little shopping - not a shopper) so if I have time, and that's a big if, I might take a walk there. How do you get there, though? That is one thing I wasn't able to determine.

Thanks for any help you can give me, and sorry to bombard you with questions!

Hello Camilla and all,

I would have some questions too and would be very thankful for advice.

We will be in Visby in august (Vision ots) with our boys, 7 and and 2. Is is possible/easy to walk ariund with a stroller? Would you have an idea, what to do with the kids after exploring the old town? I read about Kneippbyn- is it worth a visit? How can we get there if so? Is it possible to rent a car in/near town? I only found offers at the airport.

Thank you so much!!!!

Hi. I'm not Camilla, but I DO know one thing that might interest you. Visby holds a medievel (spelling?) week in early August where there are lots of activities, presumably free, too. I don't remember exact dates other than it was just a bit too early in August for us. I also don't know the title of the fair but I suppose you could google it and find it pretty easily - or check the gotland site that Camilla posted (much) earlier. Personally, I was fascinated by the island of Faro, and the abandoned, wood, weather-beaten fishermen's shacks that are somewhere up there, right near the road by the water. There is a video or two on Youtube, and of course, you can also use google maps to look at various places of the world by going to a city (for example, Visby - not sure if Faro would do) and then dragging the orange man to a place you want to view - fun and a nice preview of what you can see!

I looked at car rentals briefly, and thought there was one (really just a booth or small storefront) near where the ferries come in. However, I didn't save the info as we are now planning to stay in Visby (only there for a day), so can't help with that. Perhaps the TI can help if Camilla is no longer following this thread. As to the streets and cobblestones, I believe there are quite a few, but not sure....although I've seen a picture of the "tram" that someone mentioned. It is really just one of those multiple-car golf cart-like trams that are sometimes used for tourism. I don't know where it goes on its route, but it might make things a little easier for you with a stroller!

Enjoy!

I'm still following this thread. I have to look for some answers.

I will be back.

The medival festival is 5-12 August.

http://www.medeltidsveckan.se/eng/index.pab

Have you ever seen a Jousting Tournament, do it, specially if you have kids. They will love it.

camlev-We will be in Visby Saturday August the 11th. I am excited to be in Visby for the Medival festival. We will miss the Jousting event later that night, our ship is only in Port from 10 am till 4 pm. Is there any Medival event that day that we should not miss? Looking forward to viewing your town and Festival.