Southeastern Sweden

Southeastern Sweden is a treasure trove of stoic castles, storybook villages and mystical islands. Carved by the epic Göta Canal, Östergötland boasts lovable, lakeside Vadstena, home to a hulking Renaissance castle, and kid-pleasing, candy-crazed Gränna.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Kalmar Slott
Småland
Fairy-tale turrets, a drawbridge, a foul dungeon and secret passages…Kalmar Slott has everything that a proper castle should. This dominant Renaissance…
Visby Sankta Maria Domkyrka
Visby
Visby's church ruins contrast with the stoic and utterly awe-inspiring Sankta Maria kyrka. Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and heavily…
Solliden Palace
Southeastern Sweden
Sweden’s most famous ‘summer house’, Solliden Palace, 2.5km south of Borgholm town centre, is still used by the Swedish royals. Its exceptional gardens…
Gotlands Museum
Visby
Gotlands Museum is one of the mightiest regional museums in Sweden. While highlights include amazing 8th-century, pre-Viking picture stones, human…
IKEA Museum
Southeastern Sweden
Occupying the site of the world's first IKEA store in Älmhult, some 145km northeast of Malmö, is the world's first IKEA Museum, new in 2016, which should…
Bergmancenter
Gotland
The Bergmancenter, honouring Sweden's most famous film director, the late Ingmar Bergman, a Fårö local, was inaugurated in 2014 and hosts exhibits,…
Stora Karlsö
Gotland
This remote island nature reserve is home to extensive bird life including thousands of guillemots and razorbills, as well as the maculinea arion (large…
Husqvarna Fabriksmuseum
Småland
Square-jawed men going hunting while their wives snuggle up to sewing machines: the Husqvarna Fabriksmuseum conjures up a vivid 1950s world and while that…