Located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Hamburg will fascinate you from the moment you first set eyes on its elegant and austere buildings looking onto the port, one of the largest in Europe. When you reach this destination on an MSC Cruise of Northern Europe, you can get a taste of its glorious history. Hamburg is a cosmopolitan, wealthy and fashionable city, with an aggressive economy, that still prides itself of the title “free Hanseatic city”. It has, in fact, never cut its umbilical cord with maritime trade that has its heart in the port where your cruise liner will be waiting for you. Many tourist come here to visit the Reeperbahn, the red light district, but if you want to take in the atmosphere of the city, you shouldn’t miss an excursion to Speicherstadt (Warehouse Town), where the cobbled streets, gables and turrets combine to make the area on the other side of Zollkanal (Tax Canal) a world apart from the city opposite. Another city icon, St Michaelis, at the weste…

Måløy is one of the most important fishing ports in Norway. In 1997, Måløy was granted town status by the municipality

The thrill of reaching Cape North, Nordkapp in Norwegian, the northernmost stretch of land in the European continent, on an MSC cruise, will impress even the most distracted traveller. When the ship anchors in Honningsvåg, the sky decorated with permanently iridescent clouds and illuminated by the sunlight that shines 24 hours a day from mid-May to July, offers the most incredible spectacle. We cannot fail to realize we’re in a special place, on the last stretch of continental land before the end of the world. To understand the spirit and lifestyle of the fishermen living in these extreme lands, you should visit the Honningsvåg museum: as well as offering a display of everyday objects, you will find a section that illustrates the consequences of the Second World War on these lands. During your MSC cruise of Northern Europe you should not miss an excursion to Cape North, where you will find a cliff that is 500 million years old and rises 307 metres above sea level, dominating the Baren…

The thrill of reaching Cape North, Nordkapp in Norwegian, the northernmost stretch of land in the European continent, on an MSC cruise, will impress even the most distracted traveller. When the ship anchors in Honningsvåg, the sky decorated with permanently iridescent clouds and illuminated by the sunlight that shines 24 hours a day from mid-May to July, offers the most incredible spectacle. We cannot fail to realize we’re in a special place, on the last stretch of continental land before the end of the world. To understand the spirit and lifestyle of the fishermen living in these extreme lands, you should visit the Honningsvåg museum: as well as offering a display of everyday objects, you will find a section that illustrates the consequences of the Second World War on these lands. During your MSC cruise of Northern Europe you should not miss an excursion to Cape North, where you will find a cliff that is 500 million years old and rises 307 metres above sea level, dominating the Baren…

When vacationing in Norway on an MSC Cruise, you can visit the largest complex of wooden buildings north of Trondheim, just four kilometres from the port, in the centre of Tromsø. One of the first attractions to visit during your MSC cruise of Northern Europe is Polaria. In this Arctic aquarium, you can watch the feeding, twice a day, of the sociable, peaceful bearded seals, and also admire the great variety of fish species that live in the Barents Sea and on the Svalbard. The most handsome building in Tromsø is undoubtedly the Arctic Cathedral, built in 1965. Its triangular prism shape, with its glass mosaics, mirrors the landscape of this remote region of Norway. Another excursion during your MSC cruise of Northern Europe will take you to the top of the mountain above Storsteinen with the Fjellheisen funicular to enjoy the view, 420 metres above, of the city and the lovely surrounding landscape. Here one also finds the northernmost botanical gardens in the world, where there are spe…

Founded in 997 by Olaf I of Norway, the Viking proponent of the conversion of Norway to Christianity, Trondheim was the capital of the country for over two hundred years and takes its name from the fjord on the shores of which it was erected. Doing an MSC cruise to Northern Europe, you will be able to visit what remains of the city’s medieval centre and admire the vivacious university life. The imposing Nidarosdomen (Nidaros Cathedral) dates back to the 12th century and was a pilgrimage site throughout the entire Medieval period. It is an impressive Gothic structure of grey-blue rocks with a main façade decorated in minute detail, “protected” one either side by two proud bell towers. What we see today is the result of meticulous restoration lasting one hundred years that was completed in 1970. The Gamle Bybro (the Old Town Bridge), also called the Portal of Luck, was constructed to allow access to the Kristiansten Fortress, which is situated on a hill from where a splendid view can be…

Molde is the most highly populated city in Norway which you can visit during your MSC cruise of Northern Europe. When you get to the city centre, you could visit the Romsdal museum where there is a model of a part of town as it was before the second world war and in which there were 35 buildings built between the 16th and 19th centuries. You can see for yourself on this vacation whether Norway has changed much or little! From Molde, a footpath takes you through the natural landscape to the panoramic viewpoint of Varden (407 metres a.s.l.) from where you can see the whole town and the splendid Romsdalsfjord. From Varden you have a full view of all 222 peaks, covered in snow all year round, that crown this area protected by UNESCO as a world heritage site. If you want to reach one of the most beautiful and wild settings found in these latitudes, during your MSC cruise, you can climb up Mount Romsdalseggen. The view is breath taking: mountains, waterfalls and rivers will appear in front…

Bergen’s maritime tradition is age old and your MSC Cruise of Northern Europe will lay anchor in a setting which exudes history. An excursion on land will give you the opportunity to visit the Hanseatic quarter, where you find the oldest buildings in Bergen, built along the Bryggen docks, one of the most active and lively parts of town. Included by UNESCO amongst the world heritage sites, this quarter has preserved the old buildings of the port, and is, with its narrow alleys and dark, open galleries, one of the best preserved Medieval boroughs of the country. A vacation in Norway with an MSC cruise will give you the opportunity to explore this fascinating land. A visit to the Hanseatic Museum and the Schøtstuene, the merchant navy league assembly will help you get to better know this intriguing town. Håkon Hall in the royal palace built by King Håkon Håkonsson in the mid-14th century and the adjacent Rosenkrantz tower (1270) reflect to this day the power of the Hanseatic League in th…

Located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, Hamburg will fascinate you from the moment you first set eyes on its elegant and austere buildings looking onto the port, one of the largest in Europe. When you reach this destination on an MSC Cruise of Northern Europe, you can get a taste of its glorious history. Hamburg is a cosmopolitan, wealthy and fashionable city, with an aggressive economy, that still prides itself of the title “free Hanseatic city”. It has, in fact, never cut its umbilical cord with maritime trade that has its heart in the port where your cruise liner will be waiting for you. Many tourist come here to visit the Reeperbahn, the red light district, but if you want to take in the atmosphere of the city, you shouldn’t miss an excursion to Speicherstadt (Warehouse Town), where the cobbled streets, gables and turrets combine to make the area on the other side of Zollkanal (Tax Canal) a world apart from the city opposite. Another city icon, St Michaelis, at the weste…