Småland
Fairy-tale turrets, a drawbridge, a foul dungeon and secret passages…Kalmar Slott has everything that a proper castle should. This dominant Renaissance…
Must-see attractions in Southeastern Sweden
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…
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…
Visby
Gotlands Museum is one of the mightiest regional museums in Sweden. While highlights include amazing 8th-century, pre-Viking picture stones, human…
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…
Gotland
The Bergmancenter, honouring Sweden's most famous film director, the late Ingmar Bergman, a Fårö local, was inaugurated in 2014 and hosts exhibits,…
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…
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…
Småland
The site of one of Sweden's original glassworks, established in 1742, the Kosta Boda complex continues to reel in coachloads of visitors. It’s touristy,…
Småland
Overlooking the lake, and considered one of the finest early Renaissance buildings in the Nordic region, construction commenced on Vadstena Slott, the…
Southeastern Sweden
Northern Europe’s largest ruined castle, Borgholms Slott looms just south of town. This epic limestone structure was burnt and abandoned early in the 18th…
Småland
If you visit one place in the Glasriket, come to the Glass Factory on the site of the former Boda factory. The project houses Scandinavia's largest…
Småland
Built between 1630 and 1644, this is one of the best-preserved Renaissance castles in Sweden. Features include three spectacular towers, a moat, and…
Visby
One of the most stunning of Visby's medieval churches, it's often used for performances. In winter, local children skate on an artificial ice rink within…
Småland
The Blå Jungfrun (Blue Maiden) National Park encompasses a 1km-long granite island also known as ‘Witches’ Mountain’ because, according to ancient…
Småland
Astrid Lindgrens Näs is a fascinating cultural centre set on the farm in which Lindgren, author of the world-bestselling Pippi Longstocking books, grew up…
Småland
This eponymous factory in Malerås, 23km from Kosta, is the collaboration of acclaimed artist Mats Jonasson and four other glassblowing talents who produce…
Southeastern Sweden
If you can’t picture how the ring forts looked in their prime, take a trip to Eketorp. The site has been partly reconstructed to show typical fortified…
Gotland
Isolated Gotska Sandön, with an area of 37 sq km, is an unusual island with lighthouses at its three corners, 30km of beaches, sand dunes, pine forest and…
Småland
Located 2km west of the city, this is one of the biggest living-museum villages in Sweden. It’s a gorgeous combo of cobbled streets, picket-fenced gardens…
Småland
Jönköping's science museum makes for an interesting and fun day out for inquisitive adults, though it's definitely geared towards the younger generation…
Visby
The northern gate of Visby's city wall is a good entry point if you're short on time. Follow the wall in a southwesterly direction until you find the…
Småland
Award-winning Eksjö Museum tells the town’s story from the 15th century onward. The top floor is devoted to local Albert Engström (1869–1940), renowned…
Småland
Among the varied exhibits at Sweden's oldest provincial museum is a truly stunning exhibition about the country’s 500-year-old glass industry, with…
Småland
The highlight of this fine museum, in an old steam mill by the harbour, are finds from the 17th-century flagship Kronan. The ship exploded and sank just…
Småland
The innovative Arbetets Museum documents working life. There’s one permanent display about Alva Carlsson, a typical worker in the former cotton mill, and…
Småland
Boasts engrossing displays on the emigration of more than one million Swedes to America (1850–1930) and includes a replica of Vilhelm Moberg’s office and…
Småland
The Sancta Birgitta Klostermuseet is in Bjälboättens Palats (a royal residence that became a convent in 1384). It tells the story of St Birgitta’s roller…
Småland
If you're a rev-head or just a lover of beautiful machines, this vehicle museum in a lovely lakeside spot is a must for its staggering collection of more…
Gotland
Step back in time at the Bungemuseet, an open-air museum with 17th- to 19th-century houses, picture stones dating from AD800 and a historic playground. It…
Gotland
This remote, flooded, former quarry really does have that tropical azure water, but it has two drawbacks: it's steep, deep and not great for kids; and in…
Småland
Overlooking leafy Vasaparken, the city's impressive art gallery boasts a collection of important early-20th-century works, including modernist and cubist…
Southeastern Sweden
The biggest single monument amid the ancient grave fields of Mysinge and Gettlinge is Bronze Age tomb Mysinge hög, 4km east of Mörbylånga, from where…
Gotland
On the east coast, 34km from Visby, Gothem church is one of the most impressive in Gotland; the nave is decorated with friezes dating from 1300.
Southeastern Sweden
The vast Ismantorp fortress, with the remains of 88 houses and nine mysterious gates, is deep in the woods, about 20km northeast of Ölands Djurpark. Drive…
Småland
In Astrid Lindgrens Värld, actresses dressed as Pippi (complete with gravity-defying pigtails) sing and dance their way around the 100 buildings and…
Småland
Opened in 1965, Scandinavia’s largest zoo attracts some 750,000 visitors a year who come to visit its 750-odd residents from all climates and continents…
Småland
Sweden’s most famous rune stone, the 9th-century Rökstenen, is near the church at Rök (just off the E4 on the road to Heda and Alvastra, 25km from…
Småland
No one has counted, apparently, but there are probably upwards of 35,000 objects on display at this fascinating ethnological museum housed in the former…
Småland
This 2017 museum in Mariannelund (20km west of Vimmerby) explores the history of film in Småland with a definite angle on Pippi's adventures on celluloid…
