Denmark Delicately balanced between Scandinavia proper and mainland Europe, Denmark is a difficult country to pin down. In many ways it shares the characteristics of both regions: it's an EU member, and has prices and drinking laws that are broadly in line with those in the rest of Europe. But Denmark's social policies and its style of government are distinctly Scandinavian: social benefits and the standard of living are high, and its politics are very much that of consensus. Denmark is the easiest Scandinavian country in which to travel, both in terms of cost and distance, but its landscape is the region's least dramatic: very green and flat, largely farmland interrupted by innumerable pretty villages. Apart from a scattering of small islands, three main landmasses make up the country - the islands of Zealand and Funen and the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northwards from Germany.The vast majority of visitors make for Zealand (Sjælland), and, more specifically, Copenhagen , the country's one large city and an exciting focal point, with a beautiful old centre, a good array of museums and a boisterous nightlife. Zealand's smaller neighbour, Funen (Fyn), has only one positive urban draw in Odense , and otherwise is a sedate place, renowned for its cute villages and the sandy beaches of its fragmented southern coast. Only Jutland (Jylland) is far enough away from Copenhagen to enjoy a truly individual flavour, as well as Denmark's most varied scenery, ranging from soft green hills to desolate heathlands. Århus  and Aalborg  are two of the liveliest cities outside the capital.Also see Aalborg Dragør Esbjerg Fredericia Frederikshavn Helsingør Kerteminde Odense Ribe Roskilde Skagen Viborg

Finland Mainland Scandinavia's most culturally isolated and least understood country, Finland  has been independent only since 1917, having been ruled for hundreds of years by first the Swedes and then the Tsarist Russians. Much of its history involves a struggle for recognition and survival, and it's not surprising that modern-day Finns have a well-developed sense of their own culture, manifest in the widely popular Golden Age paintings of Gallen-Kallela and others, the music of Sibelius, the National Romantic style of architecture, and the deeply ingrained values of rural life. Finland is mostly flat and punctuated by huge forests and lakes, but has wide regional variations. The South contains the least dramatic scenery, but the capital, Helsinki  more than compensates, with its brilliant architecture and superb collections of national history and art. Stretching from the Russian border in the east to the industrial city of Tampere , the vast waters of the Lake Region provide a natural means of transport for the timber industry - indeed, water here is a more common sight than land. Towns lie on narrow ridges between lakes, giving even major manufacturing centres green and easily accessible surrounds. North of here, Finland ranges from the flat western coast of Ostrobothnia to the thickly forested heartland of Kainuu and gradually rising fells of Lapland, Finland's most alluring terrain and home to the Sami, the semi-nomadic reindeer herders found all over northern Scandinavia Also see Inari  Jyväskylä  Kuopio  Oulu Porvoo Rovaniemi Savonlinna Sodankylä Turku

Iceland Resting on the edge of the Arctic Circle and sitting atop one of the world's most volcanically active hotspots, Iceland is nowadays thought of for its striking mix of magisterial glaciers, bubbling hot springs and rugged fjords, where activities such as hiking under the Midnight Sun are complemented by healthy doses of history and literature. It's unfortunate, then, that one of the country's earliest visitors, the Viking Flóki Vilgerðarson, saw fit to choose a name for it that emphasized just one of these qualities, though perhaps he can be forgiven in part: having sailed here with hopes of starting a new life in this then uninhabited island, a long hard winter in around 870 AD killed off all his cattle. Hoping to spy out a more promising site for his farm he climbed a high mountain in the northwest of the country, only to be faced with a fjord full of drift ice. Bitterly disappointed, he named the place Ísland (literally "ice land") and promptly sailed home for the positively balmy climes of Norway. A few years later, however, Iceland was successfully settled and, despite the subsequent enthusiastic felling of trees for fuel and timber, visitors to the country today will see it in pretty much the same state as it was over a thousand years ago, with the coastal fringe , for example, dotted with sheep farms, a few score fishing villages and tiny hamlets - often no more than a collection of homesteads nestling around a wooden church. An Icelandic town, let alone a city, is still a rarity and until the twentieth century the entire nation numbered no more than 60,000. The country remains the most sparsely populated in Europe, with a population of just 272,000 - over half of whom live down in the southwestern corner around the surprisingly cosmopolitan capital, Reykjavík. Akureyri , up on the north coast, is the only other decent-sized population centre outside the Greater Reykjavík area.

Norway In many ways Norway  is still a land of unknowns. Quiet for a thousand years since the Vikings stamped their mark on Europe, the country nowadays often seems more than just geographically distant. Beyond Oslo and the famous fjords the rest of the country might as well be blank for all many visitors know - and, in a manner of speaking, large parts of it are. Vast stretches in the north and east are sparsely populated, and it is possible to travel for hours without seeing a soul. Despite this isolation, Norway has had a pervasive influence. Traditionally its inhabitants were explorers, from the Vikings to more recent figures like Amundsen, Nansen and Heyerdahl, while Norse language and traditions are common to many other isolated fishing communities, not least northwest Scotland and the Shetlands. At home, too, the Norwegian people have striven to escape the charge of national provincialism, touting the disproportionate number of acclaimed artists, writers and musicians (most notably Munch, Ibsen and Grieg) who have made their mark on the wider European scene. It's also a pleasing discovery that the great outdoors - great though it is - harbours some lively historical towns. Beyond Oslo  , one of the world's most prettily sited capitals, the major cities of interest are medieval Trondheim  , Bergen  on the edge of the fjords, and hilly, northern Tromsø . None is exactly super-charged, but they are likeable, walkable cities, worth time for themselves as well as being on top of startlingly handsome countryside. The perennial draw is the western fjords - every bit as scenically stunning as they're cracked up to be. Dip into the region from Bergen or Åndalsnes, both accessible direct by train from Oslo, or take more time and appreciate the subtleties of the innumerable waterside towns and villages. Further north, the stunning Lofoten Islands are worth a trip for their calm atmosphere and sheer beauty. To the north of here, Norway grows increasingly barren, and the tourist trail focuses on the long journey to the North Cape, or Nordkapp - the northernmost accessible point of mainland Europe. The route leads through the province of Finnmark , a vast, eerily bleak wilderness where the Arctic tundra rolls as far as the eye can see, and one of the last strongholds of the Sami and their herds of reindeer, which you'll see right across the region. Also see  Kristiansand Narvik Stavanger

Sweden  is a large, geographically varied and strangely little-known country whose sense of space is one of its best features. Away from the relatively densely populated south, travelling without seeing a soul is not uncommon. The south and southwest of the country are gently undulating, picturesque holiday lands, long-disputed Danish territory, and fringed with some of Europe's finest beaches. The west coast harbours a host of historic ports - Gothenburg , Helsingborg and Malmö , which is now linked by bridge to Copenhagen - while off the southeast coast, the Baltic islands of Öland and Gotland are the country's most hyped resorts, supporting a lazy beach-life to match that of the best southern European spots but without the hotel blocks and crowds. Stockholm , the capital, is the country's supreme attraction, a bundle of islands housing monumental architecture, fine museums and the country's most active culture and nightlife. The two university towns, Lund and Uppsala, demand a visit too, while, moving northwards, Gävle and Gällivare both make justified demands on your time. This area, central and northern Sweden, is the country of tourist brochures: great swathes of forest, inexhaustible lakes - around 96,000 - and some of the best wilderness hiking in Europe. Two train routes link it with the south. The eastern run, close to the Bothnian coast , passes old wood-built towns and planned new ones, and ferry ports for connections to Finland. In the centre, the trains of the Inlandsbanan strike off through lakelands and mountains, clearing reindeer off the track as they go. The routes meet in Sweden's far north - home of the Sami, the oldest indigenous Scandinavian people. Also see Jokkmokk Kalmar Sundsvall Visby Ystad