Sweden Guide
The southeast
Although a less obvious target than the coastal cities and resorts of the southwest, Sweden's southeast certainly repays a visit. Impressive castles, lakeside sites and numerous glass-making factories hidden amongst forests are some of the mainland attractions, while off the east coast, Sweden's largest islands offer beautifully preserved medieval towns and fairytale landscapes. Train transport, especially between Stockholm and the towns close to the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, is good; you can even visit some places as day-trips from the capital.
Småland county in the south encompasses a varied geography and some strikingly varied towns. The glorious historic fortress town of Kalmar is an essential stop, and is also the jumping-off point for the island of Öland. By the mid-nineteenth century, agricultural reforms and a series of bad harvests in Småland saw mass emigration to America, and in Växjö, the largest town in the south, the art of glass-making and the history of Swedish emigration are the subjects of two superb museums. At the northern edge of the county,
The idyllic pastoral landscape of Östergotland stretches from the shores of the lake east to the Baltic. Popular with domestic tourists, the small lakeside town of Vadstena is one of the highlights, its medieval streets dwarfed by a Renaissance castle and an imposing abbey. Just to the north, bustling Norrköping grew up around the textile industry, a background that's preserved in a collection of handsome red-brick and stuccoed factories.
Gotland is one of Sweden's highlights, with its medieval Hanseatic capital, Visby, a stunning backdrop to the carnival atmosphere that pervades the town in summer, when ferry-loads of young Swedes come here to sunbathe and party. The rest of the island, however, is little visited by tourists, and all the more worthwhile for that.