Sweden Travel Guide

Sweden — Where to Go

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Top Things to See

Stockholm Old Town
Explore the historic center of the capital (www.visit-stockholm.com), with its collection of well-preserved historic buildings lining cobbled streets. Its main streets, Österlånggatan and Västerlånggatan, are pedestrian precincts with a host of boutiques, handicrafts and antique shops.

Djurgården
Take a ferry to Stockholm's Djurgården Island area, to see the Nordic Museum (www.nordiskamuseet.se), Waldemarsudde House (www.waldemarsudde.se), which was the home of royal artist Prince Eugen until 1947, and Liljevalchs Konsthall (www.liljevalchs.com).

National collections
Explore the Historical Museum (www.historiska.se), which features prehistoric collections and medieval art. The National Museum (www.nationalmuseum.se) houses the country's national fine arts collection.

Naval and folk history
Delve further into Sweden's history at the Vasa Museum (www.vasamuseet.se), which contains a restored 360-year-old wooden warship recovered from Stockholm's harbor in 1961, and relive past culture at the nearby Skansen open-air folk museum (www.skansen.se).

Gothenburg
Göteborg is the home of Volvo cars - visit the company's museum (www.volvo.com). Relive the city's seafaring traditions at the Maritime Museum (Sjöfartsmuseet) (www.sjofartsmuseum.goteborg.se) and the Nordstaden Kronhuset area, location of the City Museum (www.stadsmuseum.goteborg.se).

Malmö
Don't miss Malmö (www.malmo.se). City sights include Malmöhus Castle and St Petri Church. Also see the Konsthallen (www.konsthall.malmo.se) and Rooseum (www.rooseum.se) art museums, and the remarkable Turning Torso skyscraper (www.turningtorso.com).

Island hopping
Head offshore - Gotland and Öland are Sweden's biggest islands, in the southeast of the country. On Gotland are the Lummelunda Caves (www.lummelundagrottan.se) with spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, and a preserved medieval town at Kattlundsgård.

Glassworks
Learn about glassmaking - German immigrants founded Sweden's crystal and glass-making industry in the southern province of Småland (www.gotosmaland.se) and 16 glassworks in the area are open to visitors.

Medieval and modern
Head south to Skåne, which offers the medieval town of Lund with its 12th-century cathedral and 14th-century astronomical clock. There is also the spectacular Öresund Bridge, the world's longest single span bridge, between Denmark and Sweden, close to Malmö.

The Lakelands
These form a large part of Sweden with a mixture of open water, vast lakes, plains and meadows and large areas of wild natural scenery. Ideal for those wishing to get away from it all

Winter refreshment
Experience the ‘ice beds' and enjoy a well-earned thirst quencher in the far-northern Absolut Icebar at the sculpted Ice Hotel (www.icehotel.com) in the small northern village of Jukkasjärvi, Lapland. It is rebuilt every winter after the summer.

Sami experience
Meet the Sami people at Jokkmokk (www.jokkmokk.se), where there are collections of Lapp art and culture, and a Lapp Staden, an old village of 70 cone-shaped Lapp huts. Arjeplog also has an interesting Lapp museum, Silvermuseet (www.silvermuseet.arjeplog.se).

Top Things to Do

Boat trips
Take a boat trip from Stockholm city center among the islands to Drottningholm Palace (www.royalcourt.se), where the Palace Theater opera house has been preserved in its original 18th-century form, and stages productions in period costume and using authentic instruments.

Canal cruises
If you have a couple of days to spare, take a cruise on the MS Ceres along the historic Göta Canal. The tours start at both Stockholm and Gothenburg (www.gotakanal.se).

Beaches
In summer, make the most of Sweden's hundreds of miles of beaches, particularly on the west coast, and its 96,000 lakes. There are numerous waterskiing and windsurfing centers on the coast and lakes.

Staying fit
Indulge in active sport: there are excellent facilities around the country for skating, tobogganing, snowmobiling, ice climbing and dog sledding.

Golfing
Sweden has more than 400 golf courses: one situated north of the Arctic Circle enjoys 24-hour daylight during the summer months, and many midsummer championships take place at night.

Wildlife
Try to spot Sweden's only herd of musk ox, in the Härjedalen Valley, southern Lapland, which also has abundant reindeer, buzzard, beaver and lynx. Elk are common too, as they are throughout the country. In winter, this region is also known for its skiing.

Cycling
Cycling is a popular vacation recreation, particularly in the south and on Gotland. Numerous designated cycling trails can be found almost anywhere in the country - both in the wilds of the countryside and in the cities. Cycle hire is widely available.

Fishing
Norrbotten is an angler's paradise with plenty of mountain streams and excellent sea fishing. It is situated on the so-called Midnight Sun Coast, which is a 1,500km (900-mile) stretch of Baltic coastline that runs all the way to the Finnish border.

Christmas
Take the kids to Mora, in the heart of the Swedish Lakeland region, where they can meet Father Christmas at the Santaworld theme park (www.santaworld.se).

History
For those with an interest in the past, southwestern Bohuslän province (www.bohuslan.com) is also one of the most important centers of ancient Swedish civilization and there are many archaeological relics dating back to the Bronze Age and Viking times.