Being Swedish, and Sweden being a popular tourism destination, I regularly get asked for recommendations on where to go, whether in a city or throughout the country. The issue? The people requesting recommendations usually want to “do Sweden” in about three days. I get it- vacation days, hard-earned travel funds, and limited points are precious commodities and the world is pretty big. So Sweden in three days it is.
Here’s what not to miss from my top recommendations in three cities- in a hurry.
Stop 1: Stockholm
Gamla Stan: the “Old Town” with contrasting winding streets from the medieval city center to fresh new eateries. Find great souvenirs including dalahästar, Mumintroll, and handcrafted items like goods from the Sami. Avoid viking hats or t-shirts.
Stockholms Skärgård: the scenic archipelago. If you take a ferry to Stockholm, get up early to watch the sail in through picturesque islands, summer cottages, and fellow sailors. Take Silja or Viking, do not take Tallink.
Drottningholms Slott: the private residence of the Swedish royal family and a few islands away from city center. Make it a day’s outing by boat.
Djurgården: Home of Nordiska museet, Vasamuseet, Skansen, and Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde, among other destinations. Vasamuseet is the museum of the ship that sank in Stockholm’s harbor on its maiden voyage in 1628 and sat there 333 years before being restored in a museum. It’s also a personal lifelong favorite.
Stadshuset: Stockholm’s City Hall, home of the Nobel Prize and views over Stockholm.
Bonus: Monteliusvägen: a view-heavy path that you can follow up with the trendy scene for food and drink in Södermalm.
Daytrip: Uppsala
Stop 2: Göteborg
Göteborgs konstmuseum: The art museum in ‘Gothenberg’ houses Nordic collections from the 15th century.
Göteborgs skärgård: a completely different environment from the archipelago in Stockholm – less foliage, more of a beautiful bareness.
Fiskkyrkan/Feskekôrka: a fish market that looks like a church. Also has (surprise!) fresh fish and good restaurants.
Haga: picturesque houses and architecture, small shops, and cafés. This is a great time to practice your fika-ing.
Älvsborgs Fästning: “The Rock” (yes I have now spent some time in SF and watched SF movies featuring Sean Connery and Julie Andrews – some of the only reasons to see movies really) of Göteborg. See the old (and photo-worthy) fortress standing guard over the harbor.
Bonus- the Volvo museum. Can you tell I’m a bit of a transportation nerd?
Stop 3: Malmö
Kungsparken: Malmö’s oldest park. Take an invigorating walk, take a slower pace with a picnic, or breeze by in a been there-done fashion.
Malmöhus: the location of a fortress built by the king of then-Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The castle, located at a point with strategic views, was later rebuilt in the 16th century.
Pildammsparken: a park built for the Baltic Exhibition of 1914.
Ribersborgsstranden: Malmö’s most-visited beach- go see and be seen.
Stortorget and lilla torget: no visit to a large European city is complete without a shopping and sampling mission to a market.
And while you’re out and about, don’t forget to cast a glance at the Turning Torso and take the Öresundbron to Copenhagen – Kastrup is a delight to fly out from.
Good luck!
More on Sweden here.
anchored & adrift 