Get to know Visby, the town of roses and ruins, and capital of the Island of Gotland. Visby's fascinating history tells of the Viking Age, a flourishing medieval period and the growth of the powerful Hanseatic League. Today, Visby can be appreciated as much for its modern day charm as a clean, very pretty, small city in which parks, gardens and flowers abound.

Because of its unique cultural values, the Hanseatic Town of Visby has been listed by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage. Since the end of the 19th century, the ruins of Visby have been protected as historical monuments. The sea wall was first built in the 12th and 13th centuries and the town wall was added in the early 13th century. Today, the wall is the best-preserved town wall in northern Europe. Behind the town wall with its 44 guard towers, this medieval stone town awaits your discovery.

The tour begins in the old Hanseatic harbor, now known as Almedalen Park, where you will enjoy a spectacular view of the medieval city. You will continue along Strandgatan, where you will see some of the medieval gabled warehouses. You will pass Kruttornet; the Gun Powder Tower, which is the oldest preserved building in Visby. Stroll along the city’s narrow, rose scented alleys and arrive at the Botanical Gardens.

You will then visit St. Mary’s Cathedral, once a church for German merchants. Pass some of the many church ruins and walk through the narrow winding medieval streets before you arrive at the historical museum Fornsalen. Here, you can see the unique picture stones, gold and silver treasures, and authentic medieval interiors, among a lot of other things – 8,000 years of rich history from the Stone Age, Viking Age, and the Middle Ages, until present times. The exhibitions reflect the cultural history of Gotland.