Top Sweden hotels
Language Stockholm
20 Reviews One of the things Swedes really don't like is someone coming to Sweden speaking any other language than Swedish or English. The way we see it is that we have made an effort to learn the international...
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Etiquette Malmö
4 Reviews At most places with customer service (e.g. Post Office, Tourist Information, Money Exchange) you have to take a number from a machine. Then you have to wait for your number to be called or to be shown...
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Museums Stockholm
39 Reviews This museum is called "Nordiska Museet" (Nordic Museum).You can develop a good understanding of Nordic culture and folklore history since 16th centuryupon visiting this museum. You can see exhibitions...
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Seaside & canals Malmö
4 Reviews On any sunny day, Malmö's citizens gather in Västra Hamnen to walk along the seafront promenade, have a coffee or Italian ice cream in a cafe and just people watch. See the second picture just to see...
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Alcohol Stockholm
5 Reviews If you want to buy alcohol in Sweden then you must go to Systembolaget. They are the only ones who is alowed to sell alcohol. You must be over 21 years to buy alcohol in Systembolaget. This shopps...
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Winter bathing Malmö
1 Review Some Malmö people have a habit of swimming in the Öresund Strait not only in summer but also in freezing winter. This picture is from Sibbarp's Cold Water Bath and NO, those minus signs are NOT a...
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People Stockholm
13 Reviews If wandering around Stockholm museums and sightseeing points, you will probably come across the name Bellman. He was an 18th century poet and trubadour whose songs and melodies are much loved today,...
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Open Swedes Malmö
2 Reviews I know that many people tell that Swedes are cold and sometimes unfriendly, but I have had chance ! I only stayed at a bar 5 minutes alone, and some guys asked me if I was enjoying my hollidays,...
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Festivals Stockholm
7 Reviews Between June and August 2004 about 100 colorful fibreglass cows were placed on many streets, squares and in buildings of Stockholm. This cow parade has already been to New York, London, Dublin and...
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Music Malmö
1 Review Swedes are a music loving people. It is easy to find music festivals in the streets of every town and city in the country, or simply people performing dances or coreographies, like theses girls in...
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Meals Stockholm
10 Reviews In Sweden it is a custom during Easter to fill colourful paper Easter eggs with chocolate and give to your children and loved ones. Since we were travelling in Stockholm around Easter the shops were...
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Tourist info Malmö
3 Reviews This is the place to obtain advice abd information on Malmý. There are maps, postcards, souvenirs, books and others found in the shop. Opening hours October - April: Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sat 10...
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Tipping Stockholm
4 Reviews When I have visited Stockholm I have been told that tourist guides and waitresses/waiters, bellboys are not to be tipped. The last time that I visited Stockholm I had the god luck of being able to...
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Swedish signs Malmö
1 Review Gatan is the Swedish for street :) However you can definitely get by on English in Malmo, helped no doubt by the fact that English is a compulsory language subject in school. But a few phrases from...
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Customs in the Home Stockholm
9 Reviews As most of you may know, the Scandinavian tribes are descendants of the Vikings, whose first recorded attack, in England, was in a.d. 793. The remains of several hundred Viking Age boats have been...
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Festival Malmö
2 Reviews Takes place during the second or third week in August every year and means the city is full of people enjoying concerts, crayfish, world food, street life and childrens event in a mix. OK, it's not...
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Crafts and Souvenirs Stockholm
3 Reviews The Dala Horse is a symbol of Sweden. These colorful horses date back to the 18th century. In the best of Swedish folk tradition, hand-carved and painted wooden horses from Dalarna. They are real...
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Bikes Malmö
1 Review This is the bicycle parking (platform) close to the Railway station in Malmö. I would say people love to use bicycles here! It's quite easy to move around the town since there are numerous bicycle...
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Royal Family Stockholm
7 Reviews Walking around Gamla Stan, it is possible to observe a solemn changing of the guard at the western court yard of the Royal palace (Monday-Friday 12.00, Saturday-sunday 13.00). www.hogvakten.mil.se
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Holidays Stockholm
16 Reviews Do what the locals do and enjoy a cruise. The most popular ones are to Finland, where Helsinki, Turku (Åbo in Swedish) and the Åland Islands are the most popular destinations but Tallinn and now Riga...
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Facts and Figures Stockholm
2 Reviews Although Sweden is a member of the the European Union (EU) since 1995, they don't have the Euro as currency. Sweden's currency is the Swedish Crown. 1 Swedish Crown is worth 100 Öre. You can get your...
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Queues Stockholm
5 Reviews Stockholm people are often in a hurry, trying to be efficient with their time. This is why you find everyone standing to the right in escalators, leaving the left side to those who want to WALK up....
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As said in the Valpurgis tip, it doesn't matter how cold it is, spring is spring to a Swede, and one way you know spring has sprung in our minds is to follow when the white anemones bloom along our roadsides and in forests. People go for long walks just to enjoy this sure spring sign and there is even a childrens' song about the anemone.
It was not until I had lived in Germany for quite some time that I realized that in many Swedish homes; a rather odd habit exists - smoking under the kitchen fan... Even if there are smokers in the house, it is common that they restrict themselves to only smoke under the fan. If you are a guest in a Swedish home, and want to smoke, it is likely that you'll be "invited" to smoke under the kitchen fan. After all, Sweden is a country with a cold climate and the Swedes, polite as we are, do not want to -literally- send our smoking guests out in the cold. Sometimes at parties, it can get quite hilarious when a big group of people crowds in front of the fan, all trying to blow their smoke in the right direction. This is also why so many Swedish parties take place in the kitchen!Smoking is already prohibited in most public buildings (schools, hospitals, train stations etc), and as from the 1st...
Yes it has to be mentioned to any traveller to Sweden that it, along with Finland and Norway, has a state monopoly on alcohol. This means that you can only buy alcohol in certain outlets called 'Systembolaget' found in anything from municipalities to cities. Otherwise you have to drink in restaurants. Many foreigners wonder how we can stand this system but we have a sort of love-hate relationship to it! We hate the fact that it isn't open late in the evenings and on Sundays and we hate that in small towns everyone can keep track of each others' consumption but one thing we love is the amount of things you find in the shops! Because Systembolaget buys alcohol for nearly nine million people, it is the largest purchaser in Europe and as such it gets a great variety. It also gets expensive wine cheap since it can buy in bulk - I have seen Italians buy luxury Italian wines in Sweden as it is...
After eating your Christmasdinner and when you're completly full, they serve you thick rice porridge! It's a sweet rice porridge with a sweet red sauce and milk. Tradition is to hide an almond in the porridge. The one whom finds it, has to keep it a secret untill the end of dinner and then gets a small present.
Holidays & celebrations of SwedenSt.Lucia (part 2)On St.Lucia I went to the little church of Sundby, close to my home. It's a small and old church and lovely for a service like this. It wasn't a normal church service as there was only singing. I don't know much Swedish yet, but I recognized the songs, and that made me quite emotional. It felt 'home' while being so far away from home and to me this was a memorable start of Christmas. The church was lit up with real candles, which looked so lovely. And then the choir came in: walking through the alley to the front of the church. St.Lucia was up front with the choir behind here, she walking carefully as she had the traditional dress and the candles on her head. If you are in Sweden during St.Lucia I can recommend finding a little local church and join in the service. You might see some unique Swedish tradition and get into the Christmas...
Holidays & celebrations of SwedenSt.LuciaToday is December 13th 2003, Lucia Day. This was my first St.Lucia and I really enjoyed it! St.Lucia is an important day in Sweden; I think everyone celebrates it in some way. Although the name might suggest it, the Swedish St.Lucia tradition has nothing to do with the St.Lucia from Italy. The history of the Swedish Lucia is very complicated, so I won't bore you with that, lol. The only thing taken from the Saint Lucia in Italy is the name, the rest is a mix of several very old traditions, which over the years evolved in the St.Lucia that is now celebrated in Sweden. In the photo you can see St.Lucia, a beautiful young girl, wearing a white dress and having candles on her head. Yes, they are real candles! The real candles look wonderful, although I was amazed to see it. The photo you see here is a picture taken while I was watching the Lucia...
Being on time is important in Sweden. If for instance an invitation says 6 o'clock, it means 6 o'clock. Not 15 minutes before and not 15 minutes after. It is polite to stick to the mentioned time and Swedes always do so. Hahaha, I have to say I have been stressed many times by now trying to make it on time when visiting friends. But so far I've succeeded :-)) And I am slowly adjusting to this idea of being on time. I was so used to being about 15 minutes late when visiting friends. In The Netherlands that is not considered impolite to be a bit late, it is even expected.Don't be too early either! You can often see people taking a walk around the block when they are 5 minutes early, so that they arrive at the appropriate time. Hahaha, I've done so myself as well ;-)I guess it's only a tiny bit of adjusting trying to be on time. So try to do so if you are in Sweden, it will be greatly...
When you go shopping in Sweden and you go to the cash register, please don't forget to put the products with the barcode turned in the right direction! It's a kind of courtesy in Sweden, so it would be great if you would try to do it. Hahaha, hard to except such an advice from me though, as I think I am one of the worst customers they have; I keep forgetting it all the time, lol. I have never done this before in any country that I visited, hahaha, so no wonder that I keep forgetting to do so :-) Even after going shopping for over a dozen of times in Sweden, I fail to remember until the last minute, lol. There is often a little note close to the cashier saying that you should turn the products in the right direction, and even in what direction that should be. This makes the scanning of the products much easier for the cashier, so it's quite logical when you think about it. Hahaha, but I...
How a few simple words can lead to a totally difference in definition: The use of yes, no and perhaps is different than how I am custom to use them. And of course this can lead to strange misunderstandings. The Swedes have a great passion for the truth. And when it comes to promising something, they are extremely careful to avoid unfilled expectations. To promise something by saying yes, and not being able to make it, is considered lying. And that is something you can never do in Sweden. So if a Swede is not a 100% sure, the answer won't be yes. But when a Swede says 'yes', (= "ja" in Swedish) you can be a 100% sure that it will happen. Hahaha, and that is sometimes very reassuring! I am used to getting a yes in other countries, that doesn't always mean yes, but more like a maybe. So a 'yes' in Sweden is a solid yes, with no traces of a doubt. No weather condition or unforeseen situation...
In these local custom tips I want to share some of the things I picked up while living in Sweden. And I want to start with the most important word in the Swedish language Tack. Luckily this is also one of the easiest words to pronounce in the Swedish language! Hahaha, at least that's what I think. The sounds of the Swedish language are so different than I am used to, that I am having a hard time pronouncing all the words. But tack is the easy one... phew, lucky me! :-)When you are in Sweden this is a word you must know and use a lot. It means 'thank you' and can also be used as 'please'. You'll be surprised how often you will hear this word, because Swedes say thank you for everything. For me it was hard to get used to in the beginning, but I think I am getting the hang of it now. Hahaha, I think it is best to overdo it, saying tack as often as you can, instead of not saying it often...
Sheraton Stockholm
18 Reviews and 1103 Opinions The Stockholm Sheraton, considered one of the best hotels in all of Sweden. I found the place to be...
Hotel Gothia Towers Göteborg
5 Reviews and 438 Opinions This is probably the best hotel for business, either at the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Center...
Clarion Bolinder Munktell Eskilstuna
1 Review and 28 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Sweden attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Sweden sightseeing.
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Q: Looking to put our rental car on a ferry from germany near sassnitz into sweden , trelleborg. Do ferry operators have problems...
A: No
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