Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
kept their money, papers and records. It's been heavily restored, and about the only
original fixture left is the thirteenth-century sandstone font inside. Most striking are its
towers
, a square one at the western front end and two slimmer eastern ones, standing
sentry over the surrounding buildings. Originally each had spires, but following an
eighteenth-century fire, they were crowned with fancy Baroque cupolas, giving them
the appearance of inverted ice-cream cones. Inside, have a look beneath the pulpit,
decorated with a fringe of unusually ugly angels' faces.
6
St Nicolaus
Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century builders and decorators found the smaller
churches in the city to be an excellent source of free limestone, tiles and fittings
- which accounts for the fact that most are ruins today. Considering the number of
tourists clambering about them, it's surprising that the smaller church ruins manage to
retain a proud yet abandoned look. Best of what's left is the great
St Nicolaus
ruin, just
down the road from the Domkyrkan. Destroyed in 1525, its part-Gothic, part-
Romanesque shell hosts a week-long
chamber music festival
(
W
gotlandchamber.se),
starting at the end of July; tickets cost around 200kr for most events and are available
from the tourist office.
St Katarina
One of the loveliest ruins to view at night is
St Katarina
in Storatorget; its Gothic
interior is one of the finest in Visby, having belonged to one of the town's first
Franciscan monasteries, founded in 1233. This church was built in 1250; at night its
glorious arches, lit creamy yellow, frame the blue-black sky.
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND
VISBY
By plane
Visby airport is 3km north of town and a 5min
ride by taxi into the centre (not more than 135kr).
By
ferry
Ferries
serving Visby dock at the same terminal,
just outside the city walls; for the centre, turn left out of the
terminal and keep walking for 5min.
By bike
You can rent bikes just outside the ferry terminal
from Gotlands Cykeluthyrning, Skeppsbron 2 (from 85kr/
day;
W
gotlandscykeluthyrning.com) and from Visby
Hyrcykel at Östervägen 1 near Österport (85kr/day;
W
visbyhyrcykel.se).
INFORMATION
Tourist of
ce
Skeppsbron 4-6 (May to mid-June & mid-
to end Aug Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat & Sun 10am-4pm;
mid-June to mid-Aug daily 8am-7pm; Sept Mon-Fri
8am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-2pm; Oct-April Mon-Fri
8am-noon & 12.30-4pm;
T
0498 20 17 00,
W
gotland
.info). Visby's main tourist office is conveniently en route
between the ferries and the old town, has plentiful maps
and information brochures and the informative English-
language guide,
The Key to all of Gotland's Churches
, which
lists the key features of all the island's churches in
alphabetical order.
Tours
The tourist office runs several tours, one of which,
the walking tour of the town (mid-June to mid-Aug 2-3
times a week; 100kr), is worth considering, especially if
time is short.
Internet
There are no internet cafés in Visby, but the
library (Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat & Sun noon-3pm) at
Cramergatan 5, by Almedalen, has free access.
ACCOMMODATION
Finding accommodation in Visby should seldom be a problem. There are plenty of
hotels
(though few are particularly
cheap), several
campsites
with cabins and a couple of good
hostels
. Unlike most other places in Sweden, prices in
Gotland are higher in summer; the lower price we give is for out of season and non-summer weekends.
Best Western Solhem
Solhemsgatan 3
T
0498 25 90
90,
W
hotellsolhem.se.
Just outside the city walls at
Skansporten, this large, comfortable chain hotel has a
basement sauna and is quieter than the more central
options. Rooms are modern, if uninspiring,
though do var
y
in size so ask to see one before you accept.
1194kr/841kr
Best Western Strand
Strandgatan 34
T
0498 25 88
00,
W
strandhotel.net.
A rather glamorous place in a
