Scandinavia Fast Facts

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian peninsula of Northern Europe. Theoretically, Scandinavia is defined as the three kingdoms that historically shared the Scandinavian Peninsula. Culturally speaking, Iceland, Finland, and the Faroe Islands are usually included when referring to "Scandinavia" nowadays (= Nordic Countries). Scandinavia has a total population of over 24 million.

The weather in Scandinavia in most parts is generally mild and pleasant. Scandinavia's climate varies from north to south and from west to east. Depending on your destination, travel weather may vary from one Scandinavian capital to the next but oftentimes it can be said that the temperate Scandinavian weather is sunny and mild in summer, and a little colder than usual in winter. More extreme temperatures are found beyond the Arctic Circle.

The languages spoken in Scandinavia include Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese. These languages are generally sorted into the East- (Danish, Swedish) and West-Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic) languages. Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family.

The cities in Scandinavia are wonderful travel destinations for every visitor in the mood for interesting Scandinavian city life and modern urban atmosphere. The capitals of the Scandinavian countries are Stockholm (Sweden), Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark), Helsinki (Finland), and Reykjavik (Iceland). Other great city destinations include the Norwegian city of Bergen, and Malo and Gothenburg in Sweden.

Scandinavia puts on quite a show year-round, and it's free. This includes the Northern Lights, the Midnight Sun, and even Polar Nights! The best show of these phenomena can be witnessed in the region of the Arctic circle, e.g. in Iceland and in the northern parts of Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Find out how Scandinavian nature created these phenomena and when and where in Scandinavia they can be experienced...