Warnemunde, Gdynia, Klaipeda, Riga, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Warnemunde

It may not have quite the same wow-factor as the likes of fellow Baltic cities St Petersburg, Riga and Stockholm, but the German town of Warnemünde has still got plenty to offer as a port of call. The seaside resort, situated near Rostock, is known for its long beachfront and marina, where cruise ships dock. Warnemünde is also the gateway to Germany’s historic and bustling capital, Berlin, and various cruise lines offer shore excursions to the city from Warnemünde.

Poland’s port city, situated on the Baltic coast, is relatively new in comparison to some of its Baltic cousins, having emerged in the interwar years of the 20th century. As a result, Gdynia has a contemporary feel, with Modernist and Functionalist architecture displayed across the city, including the Museum of the City of Gdynia. With its sandy beaches and coastal forests, Gdynia quickly became a popular beach resort, as well as having famously been Poland’s embarkation point for emigrants to America. Gdynia is part of a Tricity metropolitan area of northern Poland, which also comprises cities Gdansk and Sopot, situated on the coast of Gdańsk Bay.

Lithuania’s third largest city, Klaipeda, is not the obvious port of call on a Baltic cruise, but it has various claims to fame that make it well-worth a visit, including its picturesque Germanic old town dotted with beautiful 18th-century wood-framed buildings. Klaipeda is also the gateway to Curonian Spit, an incredible, curved sand-dune peninsula that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast, which dates back to prehistoric times.

Often referred to as the ‘Paris of the North’ and voted the European Capital of Culture in 2014, Latvia’s capital Riga has become a popular destination among city breakers in recent years. The port city’s charming, medieval old town, a Unesco World Heritage site, draws visitors with its well-preserved Hanseatic and German-style Art Nouveau architecture, world-class museums and quaint pavement cafes.

Stockholm is a city in the flush of its second youth. Since the mid-1990s, Sweden's capital has emerged from its cold, Nordic shadow to take the stage as a truly international city. What started with entry into the European Union in 1995 gained pace with the extraordinary IT boom of the late 1990s, strengthened with the Skype-led IT second wave of 2003, and solidified with the hedge-fund invasion that is still happening today as Stockholm gains even more global confidence. And despite more recent economic turmoil, Stockholm's 1 million or so inhabitants have, almost as one, realized that their city is one to rival Paris, London, New York, or any other great metropolis.With this realization comes change. Stockholm has become a city of design, fashion, innovation, technology, and world-class food, pairing homegrown talent with an international outlook. The streets are flowing with a young and confident population keen to drink in everything the city has to offer. The glittering feeling of optimism, success, and living in the here and now is rampant in Stockholm.Stockholm also has plenty of history. Positioned where the waters of Lake Mälaren rush into the Baltic, it’s been an important trading site and a wealthy international city for centuries. Built on 14 islands joined by bridges crossing open bays and narrow channels, Stockholm boasts the story of its history in its glorious medieval old town, grand palaces, ancient churches, sturdy edifices, public parks, and 19th-century museums—its history is soaked into the very fabric of its airy boulevards, built as a public display of trading glory.

By the 11th century, Copenhagen was already an important trading and fishing centre and today you will find an attractive city which, although the largest in Scandinavia, has managed to retain its low-level skyline. Discover some of the famous attractions including Gefion Fountain and Amalienborg Palace, perhaps cruise the city’s waterways, visit Rosenborg Castle or explore the medieval fishing village of Dragoer. Once the home of Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen features many reminders of its fairytale heritage and lives up to the reputation immortalised in the famous song ‘Wonderful Copenhagen’.

It may not have quite the same wow-factor as the likes of fellow Baltic cities St Petersburg, Riga and Stockholm, but the German town of Warnemünde has still got plenty to offer as a port of call. The seaside resort, situated near Rostock, is known for its long beachfront and marina, where cruise ships dock. Warnemünde is also the gateway to Germany’s historic and bustling capital, Berlin, and various cruise lines offer shore excursions to the city from Warnemünde.