Sweden – Malmo

Malmo, Sweden

The best way to get to Malmo is via Copenhagen, on a short train journey directly from the airport station to the city centre. This way you get to go over the spectacular sea bridge and under-water tunnel system connecting Denmark to Sweden, a tourist experience in itself! A small town that keeps itself well maintained and is totally walkable in a day or less. Interesting historical buildings to see, in a variety of settings, a moated castle, classical spired churches, a mediaeval town square and the tallest building in Scandinavia. As a day trip from Copenhagen it is ideal and you get to savour Swedish cuisine at one of the many Summer open-air restaurants.

How to get to Malmo from Copenhagen.

I visited Malmo as part of my trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. The trip across the water was really easy and you simply buy a ticket for the next train between the two cities from the appropriate train station. In my case I was staying at Copenhagen Airport and the train stops there on the way so it was so easy catch it. The ticket machines at the ticket area above the platforms are clearly marked and you can buy your ticket by card or cash.

Remember though it works out cheaper to buy eg two tickets together for eg two people rather than as two separate transactions – they discount the more you buy and there are family tickets available too that works out even cheaper per person, if you are taking kids. Get the return tickets as you will have to use a different currency in Sweden (Swedish krona) otherwise.

Take your passport as ID it is asked for but this can vary depending on the political climate. For instance my passport was checked on the way out (by a kid working for the railway who merely glanced at it on the platform as I went to board the train) but not on the way back. I have heard this is usual but also that at certain times passports are checked both ways.

Amazing sea views on train journey.

The journey by train is amazing – you travel across a bridge that is a combined road and rail structure across the Oresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. At 12 kms long the bridge is the longest road/rail bridge in Europe and travels a third of the journey underwater from Copenhagen. It then surfaces onto an artificial island in the Strait to continue as a bridge to the Swedish mainland.

It is an engineering marvel and one of the reasons I wanted to go to Malmo was to do this journey.

On the train make sure you get off at Central station in Malmo. It often makes a couple of stops before here and we thought we had arrived judging by the buildings we could see through the windows but luckily after asking a passenger, we were told to stay on until Central.

The station is quite modern with a few eateries if you need a snack before heading out to town and the city can easily be walked and visited in a few hours or a day if you want to see more and do some shopping and eating.

Walk in Malmo.

When you leave the station head for Centralplan where the city buses stop on a large open air terminus area. Straight ahead of you is the wide moat that circles most of the Old Town area and where the tourist sites will be found. The buildings across the moat are a mixture of modern and old heavy blocks type so cross the Petribon bridge and head for Bruksgatan street.

Two blocks down you will find St Peter’s Church a 14/15 Century Lutheran church with a high steeple and brick built walls. Go inside and look over the stark white interior, ornate altar, decorative wall tomb plaques, high vaulted ceiling and wooden panelled pews area. A lovely church as the first thing to visit here. It was under renovation after I visited, for a long time, but I hear it has now opened so check ahead to ensure you’re not disappointed.

Take Kyrkogatan street when you leave and head straight for the Town Hall square that it leads to, a few minutes away. On your left as you enter is the Town Hall,

Town Hall square.

In the centre of the square is the statue of Karl X Gustav high up on a plinth and nearby an interesting fountain of an abstract design.

Surrounding the square are buildings old and newer and this area is often used for concerts and open air events.

It was here that we stopped off in the Kramer Hotel that faces the square. A lovely hotel with a indoor and outdoor conservatory styled café facing the area with lovely views to people watch and have a coffee.

Lila Torg.

In the south corner of the square, on the other side from the hotel, is a small street that opens on to an adjoining small square, Lilla Torg. It is here that you see several big restaurants, Spanish, Japanese, Steakhouses etc and lots of tables and chairs in an open-air style and covered from the elements .

Take a seat here and people watch or grab something to eat or drink again and catch the sun (if you are here in Summer). This square just shows the affluence of the city as most of the customers here were Swedish and, as always, all the waiters speak perfect English!

Most of the buildings here are 1 or 2 storeys high and so gives the feeling of it being a more ancient square. The steep long roofs, old buildings and coloured walls lend a very Scandinavian feel to the area.

You will know you are there because you will come across this lovely old building that was once the High Court and now converted into a conference centre.

Cross the bridge and you will now have views across this section of the moat, to a big new build area directly in front of the Old Town – just the moat separates them.

It is interesting that Malmo is a working city and while they have gone to great lengths to preserve the old centre they still need modern buildings for commerce. They have ingeniously managed to keep them in separate parts of the city.

It’s called the Turning Torso Building and is actually the tallest building in Scandinavia. When built it was the first “twisted” design skyscraper ever built and has won numerous international awards, having been opened in 2005. It is a mainly residential tower but floor 49 of the 54 storey building has an observation deck

Malmo Castle.

Ok, back to the castle and you should have seen the big circle turret that forms one of the protective towers of the castle across the moat. The original line of the outer moat/river has been semi lost over time but the castle will be in front with its twin satellite turrets.

Ahead is the bridge that leads into the Castle itself which although dates from 1434 is a mainly 16th century building now. The interior courtyard is huge as it is basically a big hollow square with the buildings running around the outside. The rooms are well renovated and feel heavy with thick walls and there is a small Museum inside.

Walk by the park.

From here, it is a walk back to the bridge by the High Court Conference building and a walk down Slottsgatan, admiring the majestic buildings along this avenue. They are tall, imposing, wealthy looking and overlook the beautiful park opposite. The styles were varied from French chateau, art nouvea, heavy Scandic, Alpine, pretty Dutch gabled buildings, modern and even painted Victorian – such was the diversity of styles.

A walk into the park revealed lovely walkways, shady trees for picnics and several little statues, including a delightful one of deer prancing and running as a herd through the grasses and rocks

City Library, Malmo.

At the end of this park was the City Library. I’m not one for libraries but this was famous as the building is so picturesque. It is across the moat in a lovely setting. It looks like a cathedral entrance from one side , a turreted castle from the other and a stately home from the other, set in ornate gardens. It is locally called “The Castle” from its design. Attached to it is a huge modern extension.

Cemetery Park, Malmo.

Back across the moat and you walk into the cemetery……. yes, a cemetery in the centre of a city! It has tombstones and graves of many famous and wealthy past citizens but is set out more like a national memorial park with statues and modern abstract designs, benches and even has wild rabbits running around. It was well cared for and actually very peaceful and attractive and you forget it is actually a graveyard due to the mixed layout and the moat running round it.

This marked the end of my visit to Malmo and very glad I was to have made the short trip across the Strait to see it all. From here where I finished my walk, the station is just a 15 minute walk away through the shopping area of the city.

May 2016.

Below are some related posts on nearby places to visit. Click on the pic to view.