A Guide to Sweden: What to Do and Where to Stay

Sweden is known for many things: pop music, crime fiction, and design, to name just a few. It’s also a country with fascinating history and tremendous natural beauty, including a long coastline, dense forests and nearly 100,000 lakes. In summer, gorge on seafood in Göteborg and Bohuslän and experience age-old solstice traditions in Dalarna. Come wintertime, go hunting for the Northern Lights in Abisko National Park and pay atmospheric visits to the country’s countless castles and palaces, such as Gripsholm, one of Sweden’s great Renaissance castles.

The best places to visit in Sweden

Stockholm

Stockholm spreads across 14 islands

One of the world’s most beautiful capital cities, Stockholm spreads across 14 islands. Nature and culture are intimately entwined in this green city, which has dozens of appealing parks, as well as about 80 museums covering everything from art to history to Sweden’s most enduring musical phenomenon, ABBA.

Conveniently located right in the heart of the city, the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel is one of the best places to stay if you want to be close to everything. For something a bit more removed from the bustle but still within walking distance of attractions, Hotel Skeppsholmen, Stockholm, a Member of Design Hotels makes a delightful urban escape on a small, leafy island between Gamla Stan and Djurgården.

Göteborg and Bohuslän

The province of Bohuslän is a favorite summer holiday destination

Sweden’s second-largest city, Göteborg, is a friendly place with a laid-back vibe, great seafood and excellent cultural venues, including a wonderful museum of art. A maritime city with an active waterfront, it’s also blessed with beautiful parks and interesting neighbourhoods to walk around. North of Göteborg, the province of Bohuslän is a favorite summer holiday destination with picturesque seaside towns, rocky shores pierced by deep inlets, and interesting historical attractions including impressive fortresses and mysterious ancient petroglyphs.

Dalarna

The province of Dalarna is the heartland of Swedish folklore and tradition. Two of Sweden’s most famous painters, Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson, lived here, and their homes – Zorn’s in Mora and Larsson’s in Sundborn – are now museums. Near Sundborn, in Falun, you can take a fascinating tour of the former copper mine that also produced the dark red paint so typical of Swedish country houses. In Nusnäs, near Mora, don’t miss the chance to visit the Dala horse factories to see how Sweden’s best-known handicraft is made. The area around Lake Siljan is also a centre for Swedish folk music and dance, and a wonderful place to experience midsummer traditions if you happen to be visiting around the summer solstice.

Skåne

Øresund Bridge runs for 16 km between Denmark and Sweden

Part of Denmark for hundreds of years, Skåne is Sweden’s southernmost province. In the east, the landscape is mostly flat, with big skies, white-sand beaches, agricultural fields and stands of forest. To the west, the land becomes more rugged, culminating in the rocky Kullaberg peninsula and the rift valley of Söderåsen National Park. Sweden’s vibrant third-largest city, Malmö, makes a good starting point for exploration. Other great places to visit include the university city of Lund, founded in the tenth century, and Ystad, another medieval gem with many half-timbered houses. Near Ystad, Ales Stenar is an intriguing ancient clifftop site with large stones arranged in the shape of a ship.

If you’re visiting Copenhagen, Denmark, Nobis Hotel Copenhagen, a Member of Design Hotels and the Copenhagen Marriott Hotel are both less than a 15-minute walk from the main train station, from which you can get to Malmö and Lund in less than an hour by train, with several departures per hour.

What to eat in Sweden

Swedish meatballs

Classic Swedish meatballs are ground beef and pork mixed with breadcrumbs

If there’s one Swedish dish everyone’s heard of, it’s meatballs. The classic version is made with ground beef and pork mixed with breadcrumbs, chopped onions and spices, and served with creamy gravy, potatoes, and lingonberry jam. In Stockholm, try Pelikan and Restaurang Prinsen, which have been serving traditional Swedish food for over a century, or head to Meatballs for the People, where you’ll find both classic köttbullar and innovative new takes.

Seafood

Given the country’s long coastline, it’s no surprise that Sweden has many great places to eat seafood. Some classic dishes to try include stekt strömming (fried herring), gravlax (cured salmon) and räkor (shrimp, often served on a sandwich or in salad). Göteborg and Bohuslän on the west coast are famous for fresh local shellfish. In Stockholm, try Wedholms Fisk for fine dining or head to Lisa Elmqvist for a more casual meal in the Östermalmshallen market hall; both are a short walk from Nobis Hotel Stockholm, a Member of Design Hotels. Another market hall option is Kajsas Fisk in Hötorgshallen, just a few blocks south of Miss Clara by Nobis, Stockholm, a Member of Design Hotels.

Cinnamon buns

Cinnamon buns are called kanelbullar in Sweden

Cinnamon buns hold such a special place in Swedish hearts that they have been honored with their own day on the calendar – 4 October, Kanelbullens dag. You can find top-notch kanelbullar year-round at bakeries and cafés all over Sweden. In Stockholm, good options include Skeppsbro Bageri in Gamla Stan and Fabrique, which has locations throughout the city. In Göteborg, Café Husaren is famous as the home of hagabullen, an enormous (think dinner plate-size) cinnamon bun.

Top things to do in Sweden

Drottningholm Palace is the home of the Swedish king and queen

Sweden is filled with interesting things to do, from beautiful cities with great museums, shops and restaurants to spectacular national parks and charming small towns. In Stockholm unmissable attractions include Gamla Stan, the cobblestoned old town, and the Vasa Museum, centred on the impressively well-preserved seventeenth-century warship Vasa, which sank just twenty minutes into her maiden voyage in 1628.

Visiting some of Sweden’s hundreds of well-preserved castles and palaces is another of the many fun things to do in Sweden. The pretty town of Mariefred on Lake Mälaren is home to Gripsholm, one of Sweden’s great Renaissance castles, while Vadstena and Kalmar are two other standout castle towns further from Stockholm. Alternatively, take a trip to Drottningholm Palace, the home of the Swedish king and queen, just 20 minutes by metro and bus from the Courtyard Stockholm Kungsholmen.

Be sure to take to the water at some point as well, whether for a quick ferry ride, a guided canal tour, or a longer excursion into one of Sweden’s beautiful archipelagos. Many passenger ferries and tour boats to the Stockholm archipelago depart from Nybroviken, near Nobis Hotel Stockholm, a Member of Design Hotels. If you’re staying at Hotel J, Stockholm, a Member of Design Hotels, you’re only a few minutes’ walk from the docks at Nacka Strand, where you can catch passenger ferries to the city centre and various islands; Vaxholm and Sandhamn are two popular archipelago destinations, as is the small island group Fjäderholmarna, just 25 minutes from downtown Stockholm and five minutes from Nacka. Boat tours to Drottningholm, Mariefred, the medieval town of Sigtuna, and other destinations on Lake Mälaren depart from Klara Mälarstrand, a five-minute walk from the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel.

Sweden also has a wonderful network of hiking trails, traversing everything from remote Arctic wilderness routes to more accessible natural areas within easy reach of major cities. There’s even a national park, Tyresta, that’s only an hour from Stockholm by public transportation. Walking through its primeval forest makes the city seem far away indeed.

If you’re visiting during the darker months, one of the best things to do is to search for the Northern Lights in Swedish Lapland. Abisko National Park is one spot that’s renowned for its clear skies and awe-inspiring auroras, but you’ll have good possibilities throughout northern Sweden if the conditions are right.

Hidden gems in Sweden

Rent a kayak in Stockholm

Where to go next? Less than an hour north of Stockholm by commuter rail, the university city of Uppsala has ancient burial mounds, an impressive medieval cathedral, and beautiful gardens laid out by botanist Carl Linnaeus. Located next to a commuter rail station on Stockholm’s north side, AC Hotel Stockholm Ulriksdal is well positioned for day trips to Uppsala and Sigtuna, Sweden’s oldest town, which has medieval church ruins, dozens of Viking era runestones, and a lovely lakeside location.

If you want a break from city streets and museums, Stockholm is filled with great alternative things to do. Rent a kayak and paddle the city’s waterways or go for an urban hike or bike ride on Djurgården, stopping at Rosendals trädgård for an organic lunch or snack. Kayak rentals are available near the Djurgården Bridge (along with canoes, pedal boats, and bicycles), at Långholmen island, and by the Western Bridge, not far from Courtyard Stockholm Kungsholmen. One of the most unique things to do in Stockholm is a rooftop tour on Riddarholmen island. Wearing a safety harness you’ll traverse interconnected rooftops for an unusual look at the city centre.

Go deeper

Most Swedes speak excellent English, but learning a few local phrases always makes a good impression. Hello is a simple hej (hay) and goodbye hejdå (haydoh). Thank you is tack (tahk). If you want to add a little extra, you could say tusen tack (toosen tahk) – literally, a thousand thanks.

Published: October 07, 2024

Last Updated: May 15, 2025

Article Tags:  Stockholm , Göteborg , Bohuslän , Dalarna , Skåne , Sweden