Sweden may be the third-largest country in the European Union, but plenty of people planning their first sweden travel adventure make one fundamental mistake. They try to cram this enormous landmass into a single week-long itinerary. The distance from Malmö in the south to Kiruna in the north is roughly the same as from Prague to Madrid. In reality the country splits into two completely different destinations that simply can’t be done in one ordinary trip.
While the green, densely populated south lures you with easygoing summer road trips, islands and design-forward cities, the rugged north is raw Arctic adventure. That’s where people fly in winter to chase the northern lights and ride snowmobiles. If you’re thinking about the trip, an enormous amount of breathing room awaits, because despite growing interest, classic mass tourism with crowded beaches barely exists here.
Just be ready for a country that plays by slightly different rules. Cash hardly interests anyone anymore, every afternoon time stops for a sacred coffee break, and you simply can’t buy alcohol at a regular supermarket on the weekend. Travellers, however, rave about the local calm, the near-universal English and the nature that lets you go pretty much anywhere thanks to a unique right of public access.
A quick summary for those who don’t have time to read the whole article
- South versus north: Decide right at the start. The south (Skåne, Gothenburg, Stockholm) is ideal for summer road trips. The north (Lapland) is Arctic exotica you visit in winter for the northern lights and the deep freeze.
- The cashless trap: Sweden is almost entirely cashless. Paper money is useless — everything is paid by card. Locals love the Swish app, which sadly you can’t get as a foreigner.
- Alcohol monopoly: Anything over 3.5% ABV is sold exclusively in the state-run Systembolaget shops. On Saturdays they close as early as 3 p.m. and on Sundays they’re firmly shut.
- Transport and tolls: Motorways are free for cars. You only pay to enter the centres of Stockholm and Gothenburg and to cross the big bridges. Good news: major carriers like Ryanair and easyJet serve Stockholm’s main Arlanda airport from across Europe.
- Eating smart: Don’t want to blow a fortune in restaurants? Look for “dagens lunch” signs at midday. For roughly 120 to 150 SEK (€11–14) you get a main course, a generous salad buffet, coffee and bread.
- The stuga phenomenon: Renting a typical red wooden cabin by a lake is the best and most authentic way to spend a summer holiday in the country.
- Watch out for the summer holidays: In July most Swedes take the so-called industrisemester. Cities empty out and many smaller businesses may close for a whole month.
When to go to Sweden
Picking the right month is absolutely crucial, because expectations often collide with the harsh reality here. Questions about the best time to visit fill travel forums every single day. The summer months tempt you with endlessly long days, yet temperatures in Stockholm in July average only around 21 °C. Evenings by the water can get properly chilly, so a warm jumper comes in handy even in the middle of summer. July also brings the so-called industrisemester, when many locals pack up and head to their cabins. That means half-empty cities but, on the flip side, hopelessly full campsites and ferries.
A chapter of its own is Swedish midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice, which falls on the Friday between 19 and 24 June. It’s the most magical holiday of the year. Locals raise a decorated maypole (klädd stång), weave wreaths of wildflowers and dance the traditional, slightly absurd dance of the little frogs. But there’s one huge catch. The country simply shuts down, no exceptions. Restaurants, shops and cafés don’t open and transport switches to a holiday schedule. If you want to experience these traditions first-hand, you have to head to the countryside or to Stockholm’s open-air museum Skansen — otherwise you’ll be left starving in a deserted city.
A huge menace of the northern and inland summer is mosquitoes and tiny biting flies called knott. From mid-June to mid-August they can turn areas around marshes and lakes into a living hell, so a strong local repellent is an absolute must. Experienced travellers therefore often recommend September for summer trips instead. Nature starts turning to gorgeous autumn shades, the mosquitoes vanish after the first frosts, and up north you already have a great chance of catching your first northern lights, which mirror beautifully on the still-unfrozen lakes.
If you’re heading to the far north instead, get ready for a game of light and dark. Above the Arctic Circle, from late May to mid-July you’ll experience the midnight sun, when light never leaves the sky and a sleep mask becomes your best friend. In December and January the polar night reigns instead. The sun never appears and for just a few hours a day the landscape is bathed in magical blue twilight. For winter fun and aurora hunting, February and March are statistically far more pleasant — the frosts are no longer so brutal and the days lengthen fast.
Where to stay in Sweden
💡 Tip for accommodation and experiences: We prefer to look for accommodation on Booking.com, which tends to have the best cancellation terms. Tickets, tours and activities are worth comparing and booking through GetYourGuide.
Accommodation isn’t the cheapest line in the budget, but on the other hand it offers a genuinely top standard. A regular double room in a good hotel will cost you roughly €100 to €145 per night. A great alternative for families and groups are the luxuriously equipped campsites or rentals of traditional red cabins (stuga), where a private kitchenette lets you save hugely on meals in expensive restaurants.
If you’re planning to explore the capital and its surroundings, base yourself strategically right in the centre near the main station. The design-led Downtown Camper by Scandic on Brunkebergstorg square lies just a few minutes’ walk from the historic centre, and after a whole day tramping around the sights you’ll genuinely need its rooftop pool with city views. 😌 For a slightly tighter budget, the nearby Hobo Hotel is a great pick. It scores with a laid-back hipster vibe, smaller practical rooms and an excellent local café right in the lobby.
In the south of the country, especially if you’re arriving by car from Denmark across the Øresund Bridge, Malmö makes an ideal base. Try the famous Clarion Hotel Malmö Live, which towers over the city as a modern landmark. From the upper floors you get a breathtaking view straight onto the strait and the Copenhagen shores. It’s also just a short walk from the lovely, sustainable Västra Hamnen district and close to the train station.
And if your dream trip heads to the frozen north into Lapland, Kiruna works as the most logical hub. The family-run Camp Ripan resort is hugely popular — you don’t stay in a giant concrete block but in cosy standalone cabins scattered through a birch grove. The resort has its own award-winning Arctic spa, and thanks to a bit of distance from the town centre you can watch the northern lights right from here. So you don’t have to pay for pricey night-time tours in search of silence and darkness.
Aurora hunters, though, often choose STF Abisko Turiststation a hundred kilometres further, right below Mount Nuolja. You stay in simple rooms or hostel-association cabins for a fraction of the price of the Arctic lodges, you’re a few minutes from the chairlift up to the Aurora Sky Station, and above all you’re right beneath the famous “blue hole”, where the sky clears even in miserable weather. Book well in advance — capacity is small and in season fills up months ahead.
Summer accommodation in the south is a completely different league. On Öland there’s Böda Sand, the largest campsite in Sweden with 1,350 pitches, 125 cabins, its own bakery and kilometres of white sandy beach you’d never expect on the Baltic. A cabin for four comes cheaper than a double room in Stockholm, you have your own kitchenette, so you save on food too. The STF hostels (vandrarhem) work similarly, scattered across the whole country including the archipelago islands, where a clean room with a shared kitchen costs roughly €25 to €37 per night.
30 best places to see and things to do in Sweden
Whether you’re planning a quick long weekend in Stockholm or a three-week summer road trip with the car packed to the roof, this country won’t let you catch your breath. The following thirty tips run from the flat south all the way to the Arctic north, so feel free to pick just the half that matches your season.
1. Stockholm’s Gamla Stan: Postcard beauty
The historic heart of Stockholm spreads across the island of Stadsholmen and acts as a perfect magnet for visitors. It’s made up of a network of cobbled lanes, ochre façades and Stortorget square with its colourful little houses. This is also where you’ll find the Royal Palace with its regular changing of the guard, a huge spectacle in the summer months.
Gamla Stan is especially charming early in the morning, before the crowds from the cruise ships flood the streets. But steer clear of the main artery Västerlånggatan — it works as a classic tourist trap with overpriced food, when all you need to do is duck two lanes over towards the water and you’ll immediately hit quieter bistros. Great picks for vegetarians here are the local cafés, where lunch means a delicious sandwich or a hearty soup.
💡 Tip: Try to find the lane Mårten Trotzigs gränd. It’s the narrowest lane in the city, an incredible 90 centimetres wide, and it looks absolutely fantastic in photos.
2. The Vasa Museum: History’s most famous fiasco
On the green island of Djurgården stands a museum that welcomes over 1.3 million visitors a year and ranks as the most-visited in all of Scandinavia. Inside a huge, dimly lit hall hides the Vasa. This 17th-century warship was meant to be the pride of King Gustavus Adolphus, but thanks to too many cannons and a poor centre of gravity it sank in 1628 after just 1,300 metres of its maiden voyage.
It spent a long 333 years on the harbour floor. Engineers raised it back to the surface in 1961, and thanks to the low salinity of the Baltic Sea the wood survived in near-perfect condition. Today a colossus stands before you, 98% original oak, and the sight of it is utterly breathtaking. You’ll feel like you’re on a Pirates of the Caribbean film set.
💡 Tip: The museum has introduced dynamic pricing (240 SEK / about €22 in summer, 195 SEK / about €18 in winter) and is completely cashless. Leave your cash in your wallet. Children and teens under 18 also get in entirely free.
3. Djurgården island: Skansen and world-famous ABBA
Djurgården once served as a royal hunting ground, but today it plays the role of Stockholm’s enormous museum heart. The biggest draw here is Skansen, the very oldest open-air museum in the world, founded in 1891. It’s not just a few log cabins. It’s a gigantic park with historic houses from across the country and a Nordic zoo where you’ll see elk, bears and wolverines. Children get in free, but you have to “buy” them a zero-cost ticket online.
Music fans, meanwhile, must not miss the fully interactive ABBA The Museum. The exhibition’s slogan is “Walk in, dance out”, and visitors love it, even if the entry fee (around 250 SEK / about €23) isn’t the lowest. You can sing in a hologram studio right alongside the band or pick up a special telephone whose number only the four group members know. And apparently they really do call sometimes.
💡 Tip: Tickets for the Vasa Museum, ABBA The Museum and Skansen can be bought online in advance, for example through GetYourGuide. In July and August this lets you skip the ticket-desk queues, but off-season feel free to buy on site — the price is usually the same.
4. Stockholm’s metro: The world’s longest gallery
An ordinary ride on public transport turns into a cultural experience in Stockholm. The local Tunnelbana proudly holds the title of the longest art gallery in the world. Roughly ninety of its hundred stations were decorated by artists with sculptures, incredible mosaics and spatial installations. And all you need for the tour is a plain 42 SEK (about €4) ticket, valid for 75 minutes with unlimited transfers.
The most photogenic is, without debate, the blue line. T-Centralen station wraps you in soothing blue vines painted straight onto the raw rock of the underground cavern. Solna Centrum, meanwhile, takes your breath away with a bright red ceiling that recalls an evening sky over an endless green spruce forest. Try heading out on a weekend morning, when the underground isn’t packed with commuters, and you’ll get the best photos.
5. Viewpoints over the water: Monteliusvägen and Fjällgatan
Stockholm sits on fourteen islands, so there’s no shortage of fantastic views over the water. The very best of them hide on the island of Södermalm, which rises steeply above the surrounding buildings. This former working-class district has transformed into the coolest address in the city. Focus on the area known as SoFo, packed with independent cafés and great vintage shops.
When you fancy stunning photos, seek out the Monteliusvägen promenade. It’s a narrow footpath, about half a kilometre long, carved straight into the rock, from which you have historic Gamla Stan and the majestic city hall right in the palm of your hand. Another great choice is the historic street Fjällgatan on the eastern side of the island. For dinner, drop down into the Vasastan district on Rörstrandsgatan, where you’ll find excellent bistros with a rich selection of vegetarian dishes.
6. The Stockholm archipelago: Thirty thousand islands
Just an hour by boat from central Stockholm lies a completely different world. This archipelago (skärgården) isn’t made up of a few little islets, but a gigantic labyrinth of 30,000 islands, reefs and skerries. Every scrap of land here breathes its own mood. For families and quick trips I recommend Vaxholm, with its historic fortress and plenty of cafés. Lovers of the open sea and yachting instead head to the more distant Sandhamn.
Big news for travellers is the declaration of the new Nämdöskärgården national park in September 2025. It’s the very first marine national park in the Baltic Sea. It offers incredibly clear water and perfect conditions for kayakers, and entry is completely free. You get around the islands best on the white boats of the Waxholmsbolaget company, for which it’s worth buying the Båtluffarkort island pass.
💡 Tip: If you plan to explore the more distant islands in summer, always carefully check the departure time of the last boat back to the city. Accommodation on the islands is practically impossible to find without a prior reservation.
7. Drottningholm Palace: A royal residence
The Swedish Versailles, as Drottningholm is often nicknamed, lies just a short trip from central Stockholm on the island of Lovön. This magnificent 17th-century complex is the permanent home of the Swedish royal family and rightly features on the UNESCO World Heritage list. While the south wing remains strictly private, the rest of the palace is open to the public and will amaze you with how well preserved it is.
Besides the gorgeous interiors, you’ll be utterly captivated here by the huge baroque gardens with a maze and the sprawling English park, ideal for an afternoon picnic. Part of the grounds is also the unique court theatre (Slottsteater), which has survived to this day in its original state with functioning 18th-century stage machinery — the sets still move exactly as the baroque engineers designed them, and it’s a bit of magic. The most stylish way to the palace goes by water; historic steamers set off right from Stockholm’s city hall, and the voyage itself is a big experience.
8. Uppsala and Gamla Uppsala: Viking burial mounds
Uppsala lies roughly 70 kilometres north of Stockholm and makes an absolutely perfect day trip into history. The town is dominated by the largest cathedral in Scandinavia, where the legendary King Gustav Vasa rests. It’s also home to Sweden’s oldest university, founded back in 1477. The streets are full of students, bicycles and cosy cafés that give the town a very lively atmosphere.
Just outside town lies Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala). It was once the most important centre of power and religion of the pagan north. Today you’ll find fascinating royal burial mounds from the 6th century, where legend says the first Swedish kings were buried. An excellent local museum shows you everything about the harsh Viking rituals. Travelling around the area, you’re guaranteed to stumble upon free-standing runestones too.
9. Gothenburg: The second city and giant cinnamon buns
Gothenburg on the west coast has a far more relaxed, slightly industrial, working-class atmosphere than genteel Stockholm. Life flows more slowly here and the ever-present sea air instantly recharges you. From industrial docks where ships were once built, galleries, restaurants and a brand-new district have sprung up, so walking along the harbour you feel like you’ve accidentally turned into Copenhagen. The city’s face was recently transformed by the brand-new Karlatornet skyscraper. At 246 metres, with a viewing platform, it’s currently the tallest building in Scandinavia.
The heart of the old town is the Haga district with cobbled streets and well-preserved wooden houses. Here you simply must have a fika at Café Husaren, where they bake legendary cinnamon buns the size of a dinner plate. Families with children head to Liseberg, Scandinavia’s largest amusement park. Entry starts at 95 SEK (about €9) and the park is preparing a huge expansion with the Oceana water world, whose opening is planned for 2027 after a recent fire.
💡 Tip: Tickets to Liseberg and spots on west-coast cruises can be booked ahead through GetYourGuide, which is handy especially during the holidays. For smaller fishing trips and the Seafood Safari in Bohuslän it’s usually cheaper to arrange directly at the harbour, so compare both prices.
10. Gothenburg’s southern archipelago: Oysters and calm
Right on Gothenburg’s doorstep hides the southern archipelago (Södra skärgården), which plenty of foreign tourists have no idea about. It’s made up of dozens of granite islands where cars are completely banned. Locals get around exclusively on foot, by bike or on special cargo mopeds. Getting here is incredibly easy — just hop on tram number 11 and at Saltholmen harbour transfer to a boat with a regular public-transport ticket.
Stop off on the island of Styrsö for romantic strolls among the wooden villas, or head all the way to the distant island of Vrångö with sandy beaches and absolute calm. The whole region is also famous for its fantastic seafood. In autumn a proper lobster fever breaks out here and local fishermen host the popular Seafood Safari. The fishermen wait for this season all year and eat lobster with such serious focus that you’d better not chat over their plate. 😄
💡 Tip: Head to the islands on a weekday. On sunny weekends half of Gothenburg flees here and the ferries get pretty crammed.
11. Bohuslän and Fjällbacka: In the footsteps of Camilla Läckberg
As soon as you head out of Gothenburg north towards the Norwegian border, you’ll be greeted by a landscape of smooth, pinkish granite islets and deep blue sea. The Bohuslän coast is dotted with picturesque fishing villages of typical red and white houses. For this road trip set aside at least three days, because it’s utterly enchanting here and you won’t want to leave.
You have to stop in Fjällbacka, which is a mecca for all fans of Nordic noir. This is exactly where author Camilla Läckberg sets her bloody crime novels. In reality it’s incredibly quiet and safe. Walk through the narrow rocky ravine Kungsklyftan, which also appeared in the film about Ronia the Robber’s Daughter. Then head to the harbour, watched over by a bronze bust of actress Ingrid Bergman, who spent summers here for years.
12. Kosterhavet National Park: An underwater paradise
Right by the Norwegian border, the west coast culminates in Kosterhavet National Park. It was declared in 2009 as the country’s very first marine national park. Most of its area lies below the surface, where thanks to clean, cold currents from the North Sea more than 6,000 species thrive, including rare cold-loving corals.
The heart of the park is the islands of Nordkoster and Sydkoster, reached by ferry from the town of Strömstad. Cars aren’t allowed, so right at the harbour you rent a bike and pedal between pastures, heaths and little coves where absolute peace washes over you. The water here is incredibly clean and in summer tempts even the smallest travellers for a swim. Just remember that stricter camping rules apply within the national park.
13. The Øresund Bridge: An engineering marvel
For plenty of travellers heading north by car, the famous Øresund Bridge is the dreamed-of highlight of the trip. This sixteen-kilometre engineering beauty, made famous by the dark crime series The Bridge, connects Danish Copenhagen with Swedish Malmö. You do part of the journey through a tunnel under the sea, then emerge onto the artificial island of Peberholm and cross the rest high above the waves. It’s a monumental experience.
It is, however, a treat you pay handsomely for. The standard one-way car toll costs roughly €65 to €70. Sweden has also extended random checks at its Schengen borders at least until November 2026. So before driving onto the bridge, always check that every passenger in the car has a valid passport or ID card — the checks tend to be very thorough.
💡 Tip: If you plan to cross the bridge both ways, get the ØresundGO subscription online in advance. You do pay an annual fee, but the crossing price drops so much that the investment pays off on your first return trip.
14. Malmö: Falafel and a sustainable future
Malmö is Sweden’s third-largest city and among tourists it has a bit of an underdog reputation. But from a former heavy-industrial port it has become an incredibly dynamic, multicultural hub. The symbol of this transformation is the Turning Torso skyscraper, which towers over the eco-district of Västra Hamnen like a giant white corkscrew. It’s residential, so there’s no public viewpoint, but a walk along the wooden piers beneath it is worth it.
The city blends cultures from 180 countries, which has left a brilliant mark on the local food scene. You simply have to head to the Möllevången district for the famous Malmö falafel. It’s a genuine cultural institution, where for roughly 50 to 70 SEK (about €5–6) you buy a huge portion of great vegetarian food that will please even the most closely watched budgets. Stories of dangerous gang zones concern outlying suburbs. The historic centres, sights and tourist zones in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö are calm both day and night.
15. Lund: A cathedral and students
While Malmö feels bold and modern, just twenty minutes away by train lies Lund, its absolute opposite. This ancient academic town with its prestigious university belongs to students and bicycles. Cobbled lanes are lined with ivy-clad brick houses and a fantastic historic calm reigns. It’s an ideal target for a half-day escape from big-city bustle.
The crowning jewel is the majestic 12th-century Romanesque Lund Cathedral with its fascinating 15th-century mechanical astronomical clock, which twice a day puts on a show of wooden knights doing battle, and in the dark crypt beneath the church you go to examine the petrified giant Finn, who according to legend tried to destroy the building.
16. Ystad and the southern loop: The white beaches of Skanör
The province of Skåne at the very south of Sweden reliably shatters all myths about dark Nordic forests. You’ll find rolling green plains, leafy beech woods and an incredibly beautiful coastline here. Stop on the Falsterbo peninsula, where kilometres of bright white sand stretch out, lined with tiny pastel-coloured beach huts. In summer it looks like the Swedish Hamptons and the sea invites you for a swim.
A bit further east lies the picturesque little town of Ystad. Its historic centre is threaded with lanes of perfectly preserved half-timbered houses, but global fame came to it thanks to the fictional detective Kurt Wallander. At the tourist centre they’ll happily give you a map to walk the locations from Henning Mankell’s popular books, and to finish, have a coffee at the detective’s favourite café, Fridolfs konditori.
17. Ales stenar: Sweden’s Stonehenge
About twenty kilometres east of Ystad, on a high grassy cliff right above the waves of the Baltic Sea, stands one of the most magical places in all of Scandinavia. Ales stenar is made up of 59 huge stone boulders arranged into a stunning ship shape just under seventy metres long. It looks absolutely mystical here.
This megalithic monument dates from the Iron Age, roughly the year 600 AD, and probably served as a solar calendar or burial ground. The hike from the small car park at Kåseberga harbour up to the cliff takes just about a quarter of an hour. At the top an incredible atmosphere awaits, underscored by the roar of the sea and a strong wind. If you’re staying in the south, definitely don’t skip this stop — the photos from here are phenomenal.
18. Öland: Limestone savanna and summer bliss
The island of Öland is connected to the mainland by a six-kilometre free bridge from Kalmar and ranks as the ultimate Swedish summer destination. It’s a narrow, completely flat strip of land that boasts the highest number of sunshine hours in the country. You’ll find giant campsites like the famous Böda Sand with Caribbean-white beaches and hundreds of historic wooden windmills lining the roads.
The landscape, though, is surprisingly rugged and distinctive. The southern half of the island is covered by Stora Alvaret, an enormous limestone steppe listed by UNESCO, often nicknamed the Swedish savanna. The soil layer here is so thin that trees don’t survive, but in May and June dozens of species of wild orchids flourish. On the western side of the island don’t forget to visit the stunning ruins of Borgholm and the neighbouring Solliden gardens, which serve as the royal family’s summer residence.
19. Kalmar: The Renaissance gateway
Before you cross the bridge to Öland, be sure to stop in historic Kalmar. For centuries the city served as an important military bastion on what was then the border with Denmark, and its main magnet is Kalmar slott, by far the best-preserved Renaissance castle in Scandinavia. It was here that in 1397 the famous Kalmar Union was signed, uniting Sweden, Denmark and Norway under one crown for more than a hundred years.
Today the castle offers gorgeous interiors and excellent interactive tours that entertain adults and children alike. Kalmar can also boast a lovely old town (Gamla stan) with narrow lanes and a lively marina full of cafés, where you can sip coffee and watch boats setting out onto the open Baltic. It’s a perfect spot for a lunch break.
20. Glasriket: The Kingdom of Crystal in the forests
Deep in the forests of the Småland province hides Glasriket, the Kingdom of Crystal. Since the 18th century dozens of glassworks operated here, drawing on endless timber supplies. Only a few have survived today, but they focus all the more on strong experiences. In glassworks like the famous Kosta Boda, founded in 1742, you can watch master glassblowers at work up close and buy design pieces at the local outlets.
Utterly unique is the tradition called hyttsill. In the past, poor glassblowers gathered by the cooling furnaces to warm themselves and cook a meal. Today this custom comes alive on summer evenings, when you sit down at long tables right in the glassworks. As traditional baked potatoes with lingonberries for vegetarians and salted herring for fish lovers land on the tables, live music plays along.
💡 Tip: Hyttsill evenings are held only on selected summer days and spots vanish in a flash, so booking well ahead is a must.
21. Vimmerby and Astrid Lindgren: A return to childhood
This is an absolute must for all families and lovers of Nordic literature. The little town of Vimmerby in Småland is the birthplace of the famous author, and here you’ll find the huge theatrical park Astrid Lindgrens Värld. Don’t expect any flashing carousels or noisy roller coasters. Children roam freely between perfect sets, clamber through Villa Villekulla or explore the majestic Mattis Castle.
All across the grounds there are live performances with Pippi Longstocking and Emil, into which the actors actively bring the children once they’ve finished. The entry fee is dynamic and fairly pricey in summer, but the experience is phenomenal. Just outside the park lies the real village of Gibberyd, where the legendary series about Emil of Lönneberga was filmed in the 1970s. The film farm Katthult still stands today and you can even see Emil’s famous woodshed.
22. Gotland and Visby: A town of roses and ruins
The largest island in the Baltic Sea is a great love of Germans and Stockholmers, yet international visitors still shamefully skip it. The capital, Visby, features on the UNESCO list and welcomes you with a mighty, 3.4-kilometre-long stone wall with 44 towers. Inside, cobbled lanes wind between low pastel houses that drown in roses from spring to autumn. Rent a bike and ride around the island, which hides an incredible 92 medieval churches.
All across the town you’ll come upon the ruins of grand medieval buildings, left abandoned after plague outbreaks. From a calm town, though, early August turns it into a wild cauldron, because Medeltidsveckan breaks out. More than 40,000 people in perfect historical costumes descend on the largest medieval festival in northern Europe. Accommodation and ferries from Nynäshamn for this week you may have to sort out a year in advance.
23. Fårö: A lunar landscape and Ingmar Bergman
Right at the northern tip of Gotland lies the little island of Fårö, which a small yellow ferry will carry you to for free in ten minutes. It’s a wilder, more deserted, more melancholic planet. Local sheep with curly grey wool are everywhere, but the main draw are the so-called raukar. These are giant limestone stacks jutting out of the sea and beaches, shaped over millions of years by the sharp wind and sea salt. You’ll find the most famous field in the Langhammars reserve.
Walking among stone giants up to ten metres tall, which often resemble petrified troll faces, is a strongly mystical experience. It was exactly this raw beauty that bewitched the legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. He lived on the island, filmed his famous films there and was finally buried there too, in a small cemetery. Film fans today gather at the Bergman Center, which maps his fascinating life in detail.
24. Kiruna: The town that’s moving
If you head to the far north in winter, you’ll most likely land in Kiruna. This town has an incredible fate, because it lies on a huge iron-ore deposit and the LKAB company’s mining undermined it so much that it risked collapsing, so the Swedes decided to move the entire centre three kilometres away. The whole world is watching the relocation of an entire town, because nothing like it has been attempted anywhere else, and in August 2025 the workers managed to move a huge, more-than-century-old wooden church in one piece.
Kiruna works as a perfect gateway to the Arctic, where dozens of companies run winter activities and dog-sledding safaris. In the town itself, though, there’s strong light pollution, so to hunt the northern lights you have to drive with an agency just outside the built-up area, or move further into the national parks.
25. Icehotel Jukkasjärvi: A night in the freezer
About twenty minutes’ drive from Kiruna lies a phenomenon that defined winter tourism in the north. The ICEHOTEL is rebuilt every winter from ice blocks of the Torne River and in spring melts back into water. Sleeping in an ice room at a constant -5 °C in a special expedition sleeping bag is a huge experience, even if you pay quite a bit for it, since prices start at roughly €530 for a single night.
Travellers often advise paying for exactly one night on the ice and spending the rest of the stay in the classic warm cabins that the complex thankfully also offers. More nights in the freeze you won’t really appreciate. If sleeping in ice is a step too far for you, you can buy just a day pass to the ice gallery (325 SEK / about €30), walk through the incredible illuminated sculptures and have a drink from an ice glass at the local bar.
💡 Tip: Thanks to solar panels, there’s also a section called ICEHOTEL 365, which you can visit even in the middle of a sweltering summer — it doesn’t melt.
26. Abisko and the northern lights: The blue hole in the sky
While Kiruna is great for shopping and activities, for the northern lights you go to Abisko, a hundred kilometres away. This village on the shore of a huge lake benefits from a phenomenon called the “blue hole”. Thanks to the rain shadow of the surrounding mountains, the cloud cover often breaks even when the rest of Lapland lies under a blanket of cloud. That makes Abisko statistically the most successful spot for aurora hunting, with a claimed success rate of up to 70% of clear nights.
The biggest hit here is the Aurora Sky Station, which a chairlift carries you to in complete darkness, though the tickets tend to be quite pricey (around 750 to 900 SEK / about €70–83). Don’t forget the golden rule of three or four nights. The northern lights don’t perform on command and a single overcast evening could ruin the whole holiday. Far more important than geomagnetic indexes is watching the local cloud models. For great photos, head out as early as September, when the aurora also reflects on the lake surfaces.
27. Kungsleden and Höga Kusten: Royal trails
Kungsleden (the King’s Trail) runs a respectable 440 kilometres, but most trekkers head straight for the most popular, 108-kilometre northern stretch between Abisko and Nikkaluokta — the one photographed on all the posters. The route, which an average walker manages in under a week, is lined with practical wooden huts of the Swedish Tourist Association (STF). The price per night for members is around 470 SEK (about €43), so you don’t have to lug a heavy tent or a whole trip’s worth of food.
If you don’t fancy heading all the way to the far north, a wonderful alternative is Höga Kusten (the High Coast), lying right on the E4 motorway. This coast has risen almost 300 metres since the Ice Age, which makes it a UNESCO site. You’ll find dramatic red cliffs, the majestic Högakustenbron bridge and Skuleskogen National Park with the impressive rock gorge Slåttdalsskrevan. It’s an easily accessible northern experience for those travelling by car who want to see mountains without complicated logistics.
💡 Tip: In July and August the mountains on Kungsleden are full of people and mosquitoes. Travellers recommend heading out in the second half of September, when nature turns to fiery shades and night frosts reliably kill off the insects.
28. Sarek: Europe’s last wilderness
If Kungsleden is a motorway for backpackers, Sarek National Park is like an impenetrable jungle. It often gets the well-earned label of Europe’s last great wilderness, because you’ll find no marked trails at all here, no tourist huts, no bridges over the fierce glacial rivers. You’re completely cut off from mobile signal.
It’s a place reserved exclusively for experts and solo adventurers seeking absolute disconnection from civilisation. It’s just you, a compass, a map and a backpack that at the start can easily weigh over twenty-five kilos. Fording the icy rivers really tests the limits of physical and mental endurance, which is why you should only venture into Sarek with rich experience of multi-day self-supported treks. Otherwise, stay on the far safer Kungsleden instead.
29. Jokkmokk: Sámi culture and a moose safari
The Sámi are the only recognised indigenous people in the European Union, and Swedish Lapland is their home. If you want to get to know their living culture up close and with respect, avoid the commercial traps and look for operators led directly by locals (e.g. Nutti Sámi Siida). You’ll learn all about reindeer herding and sit in a traditional lávvu tent. In early February the little town of Jokkmokk turns into an incredible cauldron. It hosts a traditional winter market with more than four hundred years of history, drawing tens of thousands of people.
But the north isn’t only about reindeer — the absolute king of the forests here is the moose (älg). About 300,000 live in Sweden and for drivers they pose a huge risk after dark, hence those ubiquitous warning signs. If you want to see and photograph Europe’s largest mammal safely, head out on an organised moose safari. You can choose evening guided drives into the wild, or visit safe moose parks (e.g. Smålandet Markaryd in the south), where you can even feed these majestic animals up close.
30. The stuga and allemansrätten: The art of slowing down
The strongest experience you’ll take home from Sweden isn’t a city or a museum. It looks like a small deep-red wooden cabin (stuga) on the shore of a lake, lost somewhere in the deep forest. Renting such a cabin with its own sauna and an aluminium rowing boat at the jetty is the most authentic way to enjoy the country. Summer prices range from 5,000 to 12,000 SEK (about €460–1,100) per week. Just don’t forget to check whether the cabin has a flushing toilet or a classic outdoor dry toilet (mulltoa), and bring your own bedding.
All this outdoor camping works thanks to the unique right of allemansrätten (the right of public access). Under it, you may move freely through nature, pick blueberries and pitch a tent for one or two nights pretty much anywhere out of sight of a dwelling (roughly 150 metres). But beware one huge misconception: this right applies exclusively to hikers and non-motorised travellers. You simply can’t drive a car or campervan onto a meadow or beach — you have to use official car parks or campsites.
What to eat in Sweden (and what fika is)
Swedish culture doesn’t revolve around big three-course lunches — it revolves around a sacred ritual called fika. It’s not just an ordinary coffee break. It’s a moment when work and time stop, you sit down with friends and have something sweet. The king of fika is the kanelbulle (cinnamon bun) or its spicier brother the kardemummabulle. Coffee with a pastry in a café (called a fik or konditori here) will cost you roughly 65 to 100 SEK (about €6–9). Swedes take sweets so seriously that the cinnamon bun even has its own national holiday on 4 October.
If you head to Sweden in winter or spring, you’re guaranteed to come across the semla, a fluffy cardamom brioche filled with almond paste and topped with a huge cap of whipped cream. Another typical dessert is the prinsesstårta (princess cake). You’ll spot it from afar thanks to its signature coat of bright green marzipan, beneath which hides sponge, vanilla cream and raspberries. In the forest, don’t forget to look for the north’s golden treasure, the cloudberry (hjortron), which makes an excellent jam, and of course the ever-present lingonberries. For breakfast or a quick snack, the crispy bread knäckebröd will serve you perfectly.
Eating out in restaurants can stretch the budget properly, but there’s one brilliant trick. Look for a sign outside places reading dagens lunch (daily lunch). For a very reasonable 120 to 150 SEK (€11–14) you get, besides a main course, access to a generous salad buffet, bread and butter, water and a coffee to finish. It’s by far the best way to eat in Sweden, and for us vegetarians these buffets are the absolute cornerstone of happy survival. And when you’re down south in Malmö, don’t forget to grab a giant, fantastic street falafel that costs next to nothing.
When it comes to animal products, the local classic is well known to everyone. Traditionally you’ll be served meatballs (köttbullar) with mashed potato and a heap of lingonberries, or pickled herring (sill), which Swedes eat at midsummer and at Christmas. On the west coast you’ll come across premium lobsters and the so-called gravad lax, dill-cured salmon. And then there’s the infamous surströmming. Fermented herring in a tin, whose legendary stench terrifies tourists kilometres away, is opened exclusively outdoors and wrapped in thin bread with a huge portion of onion, which overpowers that sharp taste.
Where to eat well in Sweden
In Stockholm don’t miss the historic Östermalmshallen market hall from 1888, where under one art-nouveau roof counters of pastries, cheeses, olives and coffee come together. The Lisa Elmqvist restaurant inside is a local institution and locals come to it for fish, but next door you’ll also find counters with a salad buffet and soups. For a classic fika, head to Vete-Katten café on Kungsgatan, which bakes to recipes from 1928. In Södermalm, vegetarians will be well served at Meatballs for the People, where alongside the meaty classic they also spin up versions from peas and mushrooms.
In Gothenburg, Feskekôrka is worth a stop, a historic fish market resembling a church, where locals come for gravad lax and räksmörgås shrimp sandwiches. A bit further on in Haga, treat yourself to the legendary cinnamon bun at Café Husaren, the size of a dinner plate. Down south in Malmö, head to Möllevångstorget square, where you’ll buy the famous falafel from street stalls for a few coins and where cheap cafés and bistros with Middle Eastern cuisine cluster.
And finally, one huge warning about alcohol. In a regular supermarket you’ll only buy weak beer up to 3.5%. Anything stronger is in the hands of the state monopoly and sold exclusively in Systembolaget shops. If you’re planning a weekend celebration at a cabin, shop in time. There are simply no exceptions, so whoever doesn’t shop on Friday or Saturday morning drinks only water or weak beer with the evening barbecue over the weekend.
Where to go next from Sweden
The Nordic region is enormous and tempts you to keep exploring. If you’ve come to the south near the Øresund Bridge, you’re just a few minutes by train across the border, where Copenhagen: 25+ things to see and do awaits. From the east coast, a comfortable overnight ferry to Finland beckons, so you can plan straight away which Helsinki: 15 things to see and do in the Finnish capital highlights you’ll fit into your itinerary.
If the rugged Nordic nature captivated you and you’re thinking of moving further north, study the guide Lapland: 20 things to see and experience. Many travellers also cross the mountain border straight away, so the detailed information in the article Norway: 50 things to see will come in handy. And if you’re still unsure when and where to go for the greatest winter wonder, check out our overview Northern lights: where and when you’ll see them.
We’ve written separate detailed guides on three topics from this overview. If the capital appeals to you, the article Stockholm: 25 things to see and experience also has practical stuff on transport and budget. The trip to the Arctic north is covered by Kiruna: 18 things to see and experience in the town that’s moving. And if you’re planning to arrive by car through Denmark, read The Øresund Bridge: tolls, train and how to cross it first, so the toll and any extra billing don’t take you by surprise.
Further detailed guides are being added gradually. The Hanseatic walled island is covered by Gotland and Visby: 20 things to see on the Hanseatic island, and the whole Arctic north by Swedish Lapland: 20 things to experience above the Arctic Circle. The second-largest city got its own article, Gothenburg: 20 things to see in Sweden’s second city, and everything about the food you’ll find in the guide Swedish cuisine: 18 dishes you have to try.
Frequently asked questions
Sweden is enormous and in plenty of ways works differently from the rest of Europe, so there tend to be a lot of questions before a first trip. They most often revolve around prices, alcohol, wild camping and safety.
That’s why I’ve gathered the most pressing questions in one place for you. Whether you’re figuring out the northern lights or whether the supermarket will sell you beer for an evening barbecue, you’ll find clear answers here. 😉
Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation
Don’t Overpay for Flights
Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.
Book Your Accommodation Smartly
The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.
Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).
Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.
Find the Best Experiences
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!
