Find places in Sweden

Must-Haves

• Vasa Museum (Djurgården)
  See the almost complete seventeenth century warship that sank on its maiden voyage and was raised in 1961.
• The Royal Palace (Gamla stan)
  One of Europe's largest palaces, with state rooms, the treasury and the daily changing of the guard.
• Fotografiska (Södermalm)
  Photography museum in an old customs house, with a waterside café and restaurant.

Fun for Everyone

• ABBA The Museum (Djurgården)
  Interactive museum where you can sing, dance and step on stage with the band's holograms.

Off the Beaten Path

• Moderna Museet (Skeppsholmen)
  Modern art from Picasso to Swedish names on a quiet island, with free entry to the permanent collection.

Fun for Everyone

• Skansen (Djurgården)
  The world's oldest open-air museum, with old farmhouses, craft workshops and Nordic animals like elk and bears.

Must-Haves

• Gamla stan (Old Town)
  Wander the medieval lanes, Stortorget square and the Royal Palace on the island where Stockholm began.
• Stockholm City Hall (Kungsholmen)
  Guided tours of the Golden Hall where the Nobel banquet is held, and a tower with views over the old town.

Off the Beaten Path

• Rosendals Trädgård (Djurgården)
  Organic garden with a greenhouse café where you can eat in the orchard.
• Drottningholm Palace (Ekerö)
  The royal family's home and a UNESCO site, reached by boat from the city in summer.

Must-Haves

• Stockholm archipelago by Waxholmsbolaget ferry (Strömkajen)
  Hop on a public ferry to car-free islands like Vaxholm, Grinda and Sandhamn.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Monteliusvägen (Södermalm)
  A short cliff-top walking path with one of the best free views over the old town and City Hall.

Fun for Everyone

• Djurgården island walk (Djurgården)
  Leafy royal park island with waterside paths, gardens and cafés, easy to reach on foot or by tram.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hellasgården (Nacka)
  Forest lake with swimming, saunas, winter ice bathing and trails a short bus ride from the centre.

Must-Haves

• Vete-Katten (Norrmalm)
  Classic konditori serving cinnamon buns, princess cake and coffee since 1928.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Fabrique (Citywide)
  Stone-oven bakery chain with some of the city's best cardamom buns.

Off the Beaten Path

• Café Pascal (Vasastan)
  Popular neighbourhood coffee house with excellent pastries and a relaxed local crowd.

Great for Date Night

• Kaffekoppen (Gamla stan)
  Candlelit cellar café on Stortorget, cosy on dark winter afternoons.

Must-Haves

• Östermalms Saluhall (Östermalm)
  Grand market hall restored in 2020, with seafood counters, Swedish classics and lunch spots.
• Meatballs for the People (Södermalm)
  Swedish meatballs of many kinds with lingonberries and mash, a fun first taste of home cooking.

Great for Date Night

• Pelikan (Södermalm)
  Old beer hall with dark wood panelling serving traditional husmanskost like meatballs and pickled herring.
• Den Gyldene Freden (Gamla stan)
  Tavern in the same old town cellar since 1722, steeped in Swedish song and poetry.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hermans (Södermalm)
  Vegetarian buffet with a terrace overlooking the water and old town.

Great for Date Night

• Tak (Norrmalm)
  Rooftop restaurant and bar with Nordic and Japanese flavours and city views.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Mosebacke Terrace (Södermalm)
  Big summer terrace with beer, music and views across the harbour.

Must-Haves

• Drottninggatan (Norrmalm)
  Long pedestrian shopping street linking the centre to Gamla stan.

Off the Beaten Path

• SoFo (Södermalm)
  Area south of Folkungagatan full of vintage shops, design boutiques and cafés.

Must-Haves

• Midsummer at Skansen (Djurgården)
  Dance around the maypole, wear flower crowns and see the classic Swedish midsummer celebration.

Fun for Everyone

• Nobel Prize Museum (Gamla stan)
  Learn the stories of Nobel laureates in the old Stock Exchange on Stortorget.

Must-Haves

• Grand Hôtel Stockholm (Blasieholmen)
  Historic waterfront hotel facing the Royal Palace, where Nobel laureates traditionally stay.

Off the Beaten Path

• Af Chapman hostel (Skeppsholmen)
  Sleep aboard a three-masted sailing ship moored opposite Gamla stan.

Great for Date Night

• Hotel Skeppsholmen (Skeppsholmen)
  Calm design hotel in a seventeenth century building on a green island.

Fun for Everyone

• Liseberg (Heden)
  Scandinavia's biggest amusement park, with famous wooden roller coasters and a huge Christmas market.
• Paddan canal boat (Kungsportsplatsen)
  Low boats that duck under bridges on a tour of the canals and harbour.

Must-Haves

• Haga (Haga)
  Cobbled old quarter of wooden houses, cafés and giant cinnamon buns.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gothenburg Botanical Garden (Slottsskogen)
  One of Europe's largest botanical gardens, free to stroll.
• Marstrand (Bohuslän)
  Island fortress town an hour away by bus and ferry, lovely for a summer day trip.

Must-Haves

• Café Husaren (Haga)
  Home of the hand-sized Hagabulle cinnamon bun.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Da Matteo (Centre)
  Local coffee roaster with several cafés and serious espresso.

Must-Haves

• Feskekôrka (Rosenlund)
  Fish market hall built like a church, with fresh seafood and lunch counters.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Saluhallen Stora Saluhallen (Kungstorget)
  Historic market hall with delis, cheese, Swedish snacks and cheap lunches.

Great for Date Night

• Sjömagasinet (Klippan)
  Seafood restaurant in an eighteenth century East India Company warehouse by the river.

Fun for Everyone

• Smögen harbour (Bohuslän)
  Long wooden boardwalk of fish shacks, shrimp sandwiches and boats on the west coast.

Must-Haves

• Southern archipelago ferries (Saltholmen)
  Tram then public ferry to car-free islands like Styrsö, Vrångö and Brännö.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Slottsskogen (Linnéstaden)
  Big free city park with a petting zoo, seals, elk and picnic lawns.

Off the Beaten Path

• Delsjön lakes (Delsjöområdet)
  Forest lakes with trails and swimming spots on the edge of the city.

Must-Haves

• Universeum (Heden)
  Science centre with a rainforest, aquarium and hands-on exhibits, great for families.
• Gothenburg Museum of Art (Götaplatsen)
  Strong Nordic art collection at the top of Avenyn, by the Poseidon statue.

Off the Beaten Path

• Röhsska Museum (Vasastan)
  Design and craft museum covering Swedish and Asian decorative arts.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Haga Nygata (Haga)
  Car-free street of small shops, antiques, sweets and cafés.

Off the Beaten Path

• Barken Viking (Lilla Bommen)
  Stay aboard a historic four-masted sailing ship in the harbour.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Pigalle (Centre)
  Boutique hotel full of character close to the canals and Kungstorget.

Must-Haves

• Turning Torso (Västra Hamnen)
  Twisting skyscraper icon of the new waterfront district, best seen from the beach promenade.
• Lund Cathedral (Lund)
  Romanesque cathedral with an astronomical clock, a short train ride away in the student town of Lund.

Fun for Everyone

• Malmöhus Castle (Slottsparken)
  Renaissance castle housing museums, an aquarium and natural history displays.

Off the Beaten Path

• Moderna Museet Malmö (Centre)
  Contemporary art in a converted power station with a bright orange extension.

Must-Haves

• Ribersborgs Kallbadhus (Ribersborg)
  Open-air sea bathhouse on a pier with wood-fired saunas and cold-water dips all year.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ribersborg beach (Ribersborg)
  Long sandy city beach with views to the Öresund Bridge.

Fun for Everyone

• Slottsparken and Kungsparken (Centre)
  Connected green parks with a windmill and paths by the canal.

Off the Beaten Path

• Söderåsen National Park (Skåne)
  Deep ravines, beech forest and lookouts in the heart of Skåne.

Must-Haves

• Lilla Torg (Old Town)
  Cobbled square of half-timbered houses packed with terraces in summer.

Off the Beaten Path

• Ales stenar (Kåseberga)
  Viking-era stone ship monument on a cliff above the Baltic, an hour from Malmö.

Great for Date Night

• Österlen apple country (Österlen)
  Rolling farmland, apple orchards, art galleries and quiet beaches in southeast Skåne.

Fun for Everyone

• Öresund Bridge crossing (Malmö)
  Take the train across the famous bridge to Copenhagen in well under an hour.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Malmö Saluhall (Gibraltargatan)
  Food hall in an old railway warehouse with bakeries, street food and coffee.
• Falafel on Möllevången (Möllevången)
  Malmö is famous across Sweden for falafel, and the Möllan area is the best place to try it.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Möllevångstorget market (Möllevången)
  Lively daily fruit and vegetable market at the heart of multicultural Malmö.

Must-Haves

• Lilla Kafferosteriet (Old Town)
  Coffee roaster in an old house with a hidden garden.

Fun for Everyone

• Malmöfestivalen (City centre)
  Free week-long city festival in August with food stalls, music and family events.

Must-Haves

• Visby city wall (Visby)
  Walk along one of the best preserved medieval town walls in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Great for Date Night

• Almedalen (Visby)
  Seaside park beneath the wall, lovely at sunset.

Must-Haves

• Gotland Museum (Visby)
  Picture stones, Viking silver hoards and the island's long history.

Off the Beaten Path

• St. Karin church ruins (Visby)
  Roofless medieval church ruin on the main square, used for summer events.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fårö raukar (Fårö)
  Strange limestone sea stacks on the windswept island where Ingmar Bergman lived.
• Lummelunda Cave (Lummelunda)
  Limestone cave with underground streams north of Visby.

Fun for Everyone

• Tofta beach (Tofta)
  Long sandy beach south of Visby, popular with families.

Must-Haves

• Medieval Week (Visby)
  August festival with jousting, markets and costumes filling the old town.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Saffranspannkaka at a café (Visby)
  Try Gotland's saffron pancake with dewberry jam and cream.

Must-Haves

• Icehotel (Jukkasjärvi)
  The original hotel made of ice and snow, rebuilt every winter, with a year-round ice art hall.

Off the Beaten Path

• Abisko Turiststation (Abisko)
  Mountain station run by the Swedish Tourist Association, a classic base for hikers and aurora hunters.

Great for Date Night

• Treehotel (Harads)
  Designer rooms hung in the pine forest, south of Kiruna near Luleå.

Must-Haves

• Abisko National Park (Abisko)
  One of the best places in the world to see the northern lights, with midnight sun hikes in summer.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kungsleden trail (Abisko)
  The King's Trail, Sweden's most famous long-distance hike through mountain valleys.

Fun for Everyone

• Kebnekaise (Nikkaluokta)
  Sweden's highest mountain, with a classic summer summit hike.

Must-Haves

• Aurora Sky Station (Abisko)
  Chairlift up Mount Nuolja to an observation station for northern lights watching.

Fun for Everyone

• Dog sledding tours (Jukkasjärvi)
  Drive your own team of huskies across frozen rivers and forest.

Off the Beaten Path

• Kiruna town move (Kiruna)
  See how a whole town is being moved away from the iron ore mine below it.
• LKAB visitor centre mine tour (Kiruna)
  Go underground in the world's largest underground iron ore mine on a guided tour.

Must-Haves

• Kiruna Church (New city centre)
  Wooden church shaped like a Sami hut, moved to the new town centre.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Suovas and reindeer stew (Kiruna)
  Try smoked reindeer or a reindeer wrap, a staple of northern cooking.

Must-Haves

• Jokkmokk Winter Market (Jokkmokk)
  Sami market held every February for more than four hundred years.