Hi everyone,
I’m planning a road trip to Sweden with my friends (the route is shown in the image).
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for places worth visiting along the way—or even a bit off the route (we’re flexible and happy to adjust it).

We’re interested in all kinds of spots: historical sites, scenic views, unique landmarks, or any hidden gems you might know about.
Also, do you know any cities or places in Sweden with a good nightlife scene—bars, clubs, or just fun evening activities?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much in advance!

by Jose_lIlI

47 comments

  4. Lund cathedral, Grimeton radio station, Rökstenen, Vadstena castle and monastery, Air force museum in Linköping, Arsenalen tank museum, Gripsholm castle, Vasa museum, Millesgården, ferry trip to Stockholm archipelago, Anundshög, Uppsala cathedral, Gamla Uppsala, Höga kusten, hiking around Abisko

  5. Gränna is a beautiful town along the eastern shore of Lake Vättern. It’s also home to the famous Polkagris.

  6. Take the west coast route, drive through Halland and stop in Halmstad, Falkenberg, Varberg.

  8. Driving the E4 is excellent for taking you places relatively fast. But it is an exceptionally boring way to visit the country if you stay on the freeway. I would plan detours out to the coast or following rivers inland for a while.

    There are a billion nice places on your route, but its also covering like 70 percent of populated Sweden, so maybe narrow your question.

  12. You’re probably going to go through Umeå via the E4 which has plenty of nightlife on weekends (lots of university students)

    If you go in the summer I would recommend visiting Holmön. It’s a small island society with beautiful country roads, and some nice places to eat. It is best experienced as a pedestrian or cyclist, and the fairy across the water is free!

    (Spelling)

  15. Have you considered entering the country through the Öresund bridge rather than going with a ferry? I feel as though that would save you the tiniest bit of time and money (and the bridge is a really nice sight).

  17. You really should rethink that route. Drive through all of Sweden but nowhere near the west coast which is really the best coast from Norwegian border down to Gothenburg.

  19. Take the E45 instead if you want the scenic route. Sometimes very wooded areas but when you get further north it’s really magnificent 👌🏻

  21. If you are willing to change the route a bit, you should consider driving through Blekinge and the east coast of Småland. Cities like Kalmar and Karlskrona on the southeastern coast are wonderful during the summer! The area of Österlen in southeastern Skåne is wonderful as well.

  22. You should take the bridge from denmark, no need to use the ferry

  24. not sure if youre going north or south.

    But anyway id suggest that you instead of going E4 between Malmö and Norrköping are taking the E22 insted. So much more to see and explore on this route,

  25. Not sure why you’ve picked an inland route in the south? If it’s for the highway you’ll miss a lot. I would go to Kalmar to see Kalmar Slott, it’s a beautiful castle. If you have plebty of time drive over the bridge and stay on Öland. If you want to save time drive North ob E22 to Västervik (about 1,5-2hrs) and stay the night there hotel or Lysingsbadets Camping. If you have time to spend the day take a boat tour in the archipelago. Then you go north towards Stockholm on E22/E4 with potential stops in Trosa and Nyköping.
    After Stockholm I would go inland towards Dalarna (Mora, Rättvik Orsa) and drive through Härjedalen and Jämtland to Östersund. This is not as fast but a lot more to see.

  26. Östergötland has a lot of interesting things to see. I’ve worked as a tour guide and here are some of my favourites:

    There are two very interesting castles; Ekenäs Castle which is one of swedens best preserved Renaissance castles. Both beautiful and impressive. There’s also Löfstad Castle.

    There’s the Rök runestone. It has the longest runic inscription in stone.

    There historical Abbeys; Vreta Abbey, Vadstena Abbey and the ruins of Alvastra Abbey.

    Linköping has a Cathedral that is very beautiful. It’s the second largest in Sweden. Near the Cathedral is also Bosses Glassbar, possibly the best ice cream in the country.

    Linköping has loads of interesting history overall. The battle of Stångebro, the huge fire, the robbery of 1857 – might be the largest in Swedish history.

    You have Gamla Linköping (Old Linköping), it’s built like an old town with actual old buildings that have been moved there.

    The Swedish Air force museum is known as one of Sweden’s best museums. There’s airplanes, uniforms, medals, journals and just for anyone interested in military and airplane – and even if you’re not.

    Kolmårdens Djurpark is a large Zoo with lots of interesting animals in a pretty natural environment since it’s built into the natural stone and sea.

  27. I would probably follow the coast from you number four, either to the north or to the southeast. You will find magical spots in all directions. Set Google Maps to avoid highways is my best tip.

  28. I would recommend the höga kusten area (the high cost) approximately in between Härnösand and Örnsköldsvik. It’s very scenic especially if you take some detours out towards the sea.

  30. Oh! My tip would be to visit the cold war-fortress Siknäsfortet close to Töre about 50 km north of Luleå! It is a couple of kilometers into the forrest on a hill, with the naval cannons overlooking the Bothnian bay. You find it by following the signs.
    The fortress is a 4-storey complex dug into the mountain and is hermetically sealed to nuclear hazards and chemical weapons, suspended on giant steel springs.
    It was the centerpiece in the defense line “Kalixlinjen” that would hold an aggressor from the east at bay till reinforcements came from southern Sweden to defend Luleå and Boden. The line between these cities would then form the de facto frontline against a land-borne aggression.
    They have great guides, serve coffee and fika and have a mini-shop.
    They also offer an exhibition of the swedish diesel-electric mini-submarine “Spiggen” in the nearby harbor.
    These are great pieces of swedish/nordic defense history and is really close by the E4!
    It’s a unique peek into how militarized the country was with the constant backdrop of the fear of soviet invasion.
    Hope this tip helps, and hope you visit the fortress! Ps. in a nearby village is also a museum and an exhibition in the ruins of an earlier steel-mill from the 1700-1800.

  32. Go up the west coast instead. South of of Varberg you have lots of long beaches and sand dunes. There are also nice stops such as Kullahalvön. In Gothenburg go out in the archipelago. North of Gothenburg drive by the coast and stop at places like Bovallstrand, Smögen, Grebbestad. Before Norway turn east and go towards the lakes. Stop at places like Läckö caste and Gränna. Maybe visit Linköping. After that I don’t have any advice, too far north for me

  33. First off it seems like Google picked some strange ferry between Jylland and Helsingborg that I’ve never heard of (lived in Denmark for 3 years). Anyway it doesn’t make sense if you want to visit Malmö. Take the Öresundsbro. Then if you’re doing a proper road trip, you’ll have to pick a scenic road instead of the highway. By taking the E4 you’ll essentially miss all the nice places in at least the southern and middle part of Sweden, that’s where I’ve mostly traveled so I don’t know what happens north of Gävle but I would guess the same rule applies. Then you have to choose if you would like to see the west or east coast of southern Sweden. The east coast is easy and fast to travel along with the E22 and you can also travel on smaller country roads further in with some nice typical Astrid Lindgren scenery. And further north if you want to avoid the E4 all together you can drive to Söderköping and a bit further north to take the Skans – Säter ferry (free) over the bay and then continue along the Utflyktsvägen (make sure you visit Trosa) and then the ferry over the Skanssund. There are tons of nice places along the road, just keep a look out on the map and look for signs along the way. I would recommend stops somewhere in Österlen, Karlskrona, Kalmar, (maybe a detour on Öland and take the ferry to Oskarshamn from the northern tip) and then continue along E22 to Västervik, Söderköping, Trosa and then Stockholm.

    For the west coast along the E6 I have less experience but Kullaberg, some place along the Laholm bay (Halmstad) and Falkenberg, you can skip Gothenburg, and instead visit some nice place in Bohuslän like Fiskbäckskil, Lysekil or Smögen. Don’t go too far north though and take the roads between Vänern and Vättern towards Stockholm.

  34. You’ll pass Högakusten-bron but I recommend you stay there for a bit and not just drive on. It’s a gorgeous place made for taking pictures. 

  35. Go a bit further inland and visit the lake Siljan and Dal river regions.

    Very beutiful part of Sweden and the lake is the largest meteorite strike in Europe.

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalarna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalarna)

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siljan_(lake)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siljan_(lake))

    [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%A4lven](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal%C3%A4lven)

    And as all the others have mentioned already, highways are exceptionally boring.

  38. I would also suggest Halland, Göteborg and Bohuslän. The coast in this area is amazing. From the sandy beaches of Halland the landscape changes quickly to mighty fjords and a huge island archipelago.
    The west coast is known as the best coast for a reason.

  39. Fågelsjö gammelgård in Orsa finnmark. Very often forgotten world heritage site. https://www.fagelsjo.nu/?lang=en English site says closed, but that’s wrong. I just called them to confirm that they are open as stated on the Swedish page, until September 14th between 10 and 17.

    If you are into mines, Sala silvergruva was central to the Swedish kingdom often called Swedens treasury. https://www.salasilvergruva.se/en/
    Falu koppargruva was also extremely important throughout the history of our country, possibly with the first activity as early as 800 C.E. This is also a world heritage site. It is more or less why we painted all our crofts and houses red. The iron oxides that were a leftover product have been used since the 16th century. https://www.falugruva.se/en/

    A current mine that is of significant importance today is Kiruna/Giron iron mines, contributing substantially to our exports of material goods. https://kirunalapland.se/en/activities/lkabs-visitor-centre/

    They are even moving the whole town of Kiruna/Giron because of the steadily increasing risk of collapse on surface level. This is done so that they can continue working the mine.

    If passing through Luleå Gammelstad Kyrkstad is another world heritage site to visit.

    In Stockholm I recommend a tour of the city hall, it’s a fascinating building.

    If you have the time a tour in the archipelago with the old ferries of Waxholmsbolaget is also nice. (There are other companies with older ships as well, but I don’t know them very well)

  40. There is a somewhat hidden gem along the E:4 road that you are planning on taking. In the south in a town called Markaryd there is a place called Smålandet Älgsafari, which is an elk or moose safari.

    You can ride a train through the park. The ride is one hour and it is guided. You get some plants to feed the elks and you can even pet them from the train. They also have some american bison to see and feed. It’s not expensive and it is really just a fantastic experience!

    After the ride, you can go to the restaurant and grab some classic Swedish food, such as a delicious meal of Swedish meatballs made from elk, served with mashed potatoes and lingonberries.

    They also have goats and chickens that you can pet, as well as a really nice gift-shop and a café. It is really cozy and you can enjoy your stay for up to 3 or 4 hours depending on what you want to do, but you can also stay for just one hour and only ride the train.

  42. You should give Gotland 1-2 days. I can help you with stuff to do / visit if you do.

  44. It’s tradition for our family to stop at Gränna polkagrisfabrik and buy some polkagrisar (sorry don’t know the english word but it’s a type of candy factory right at the lake vättern).

    Vaxholm north of Stockholm is a beautiful city with a famous ice cream place and the city is built around a harbour. So if the weather is good when you get there it’s worth a visit imo, but maybe not when it’s raining because there will be no life there.

    Grängesberg is quite a long bit off from e4 (about 3 hours there and back, but they have an abandoned city if you feel like doing some urbex)

    Also dragon’s gate in Älvkarleby right by the freeway is a giant chinese temple that was built by a chinese businessman and is a big mystery, don’t know if it is open right now but it’s just off the freeway exit so barely a detour.

    Hope you have a good trip and Wälkom to Sveden!

    Edit: Forgot to add sigtuna to the list, close to the highway and the oldest city and the old capital of sweden. A small summer city with a bit of viking and medieval remains.

  45. I’ve heard Borås is pretty popular to visit. One of the best all around cities in Sweden

  46. I would recommend you to visit [Grävlingsberget](https://g.co/kgs/51Nsoqx) outside of the village of Virsbo. They have built a very nice lookout tower where the forest fire was in 2014. The road is a bit tricky to drive but it’s worth it. They have placed a lot of signs with the history and future of the forest with both English and Swedish text and they have nice pictures and illustrations.

  47. Lots of nice restaurants in Umeå if you go up north. Göteborg check out public park Slottskogen and city central. Stockholm try to go to Skärsgården, castles museums. Halland and Motala is good summer cities.

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