Malmö is the third biggest city in Sweden after Stockholm and Gothenburg. It’s also the regional capital of the southern county of Skåne, so it has a lot to offer for any visitor.
I (Janna) moved there with my mum when I was thirteen years old. I lived there for eight years in total.
I always joke that the best thing about Malmö was that it’s only a short train ride to Copenhagen, one of my favourite cities in Europe. Although I didn’t like living in Malmö as a teenager, I have to admit that my opinion about this city has changed since Jon and I recently visited there to visit my mum.
So let us share a local’s inside knowledge on everything you need to know about the city of Malmö and the best things to do while you’re there!
How to get to Malmö
Malmö is located in the southernmost region of Sweden. It’s actually closer to Copenhagen than Stockholm.
You can take a train from Copenhagen Airport and be in central Malmo in just over twenty minutes. You can also go by car in about half an hour.
If you’re already in Sweden, it takes nearly five hours by train from Stockholm. If you’re going by car, it takes over seven hours from Stockholm. If you’re visiting the city of Gothenburg, it takes about three hours by train or car to reach Malmo.
When to visit Malmö
We recommend any time but winter, as the winter days there are really short and cold, yet they almost never have snow. It’s just rainy, windy and dark.
Late spring can be very pleasant. The month of May sometimes has warmer days than in summer.
If you visit Sweden in summer, you will enjoy really long days. Although summer is quite short and you may still need a jacket some days.
During summer, make sure you stay there until Midsommar at the end of June. It’s probably Sweden’s biggest celebration after Christmas.
Autumn is also beautiful as you will witness the change of seasons with orange and yellow trees. The water in the sea is still relatively warm (for the Baltic Sea), so you can even swim some days.
There is also the Malmö City festival at the end of August, a celebration of street food and music throughout the whole week. The most traditional food would be rakor, like a small lobster boiled with dill and served cold with beer. But you will also find many plant-based food options.
How long to stay in Malmö
If you’re staying just to visit the city of Malmö, you could probably fit everything in during three days. However, if you’re using Malmö as a base to explore the nearby area, it would be a good idea to stay for up to a week. If you’re going to make trips to Copenhagen from Malmö, you may want to stay even longer.
Sustainability in Malmo
Malmö is a great sustainable travel destination. It’s very bicycle friendly with tracks throughout the city and great public transportation. There are also some amazing plant-based dining options.
The city has also done a great job of re-generating its former industrial areas. They are now sustainable low-carbon districts for people to live in.
To top it off, they have one of the best recycling programs and most varied sources of renewable energy in Europe. 43% of all their energy now comes from renewable sources and they’re working towards 100% for the whole city by 2030.
The best things to do in Malmö
As mentioned above, I (Janna) grew up in Malmö and Jon and I recently visited there for a couple of months. Here are the best things that we recommend you should do when you visit Malmo.
1. Explore Malmö by bike
This is by far our favourite activity in Malmö. Just get yourself a bicycle from one of the rental companies or at your hotel.
We used my mum’s bicycles (yes, she had two for us to borrow!), but we recommend this option if you need to rent one. You can see the whole city in just over an hour by cycling. Visit the old town, Pildams Park, and take your bike along the coast.
2. Enjoy Swedish summer like a local at Malmö’s beaches
Although the summer in Sweden is short, locals love spending every sunny day by the coast. The best way to explore them is by cycling on a seaside bike line to check out some of the coolest parts of the city.
Ribersborg, also known as Ribban, is where you find all the locals during summer. It offers a long stretch of beach with shallow water and a few piers that take you into deeper water. At the end of Ribban at Brygga (Pier) 10 you will find a nude-friendly beach. It has a great grassy area to lay on. There are toilets and shower facilities too.
If you continue cycling for another kilometre, you will reach the neighbourhood of Sibbarp, which has a great family beach with a skate park and cold bath. It’s really close to Öresund Bridge, the famous bridge crossing the strait between Sweden and Denmark, so you get a nice vibe there.
Nearby you can find yourself in Limhamn, once a small and smelly fishing village now it’s one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Malmö. It has a cozy vibe with its colorful fishing huts and cute houses in the old part of town.
If you cycle in the opposite direction, you can also explore the relatively new modern district of Västra Hamnen (Western harbour). It’s the world’s first carbon-neutral neighbourhood with sustainable architectural projects, including schools and student housing. When you visit there, you can understand what sustainable urbanism is all about.
It’s here that you can also see the tall spiral-shaped building Turning Torso, one of the most famous landmarks in Malmö. It’s a 190-meter-high residential building designed by the world-famous architect Santiago Calatrava.
Västra Hamnen is a nice area to walk around and even go for a dive in the sea. The water there is deeper, so you can dive in from a pier and then sun bake on the wooden platform. As a bonus, it offers the best sunset location where you get a view over the Öresund Bridge and the sea.
3. Join locals for a cold bath and sauna
Not Far from Ribersborg, you can find another pier with a T-shaped building at the end. This houses Ribersborgs Kallbadhus (open-air bath house), also known as Kallis to the Malmö residents.
Both locals and tourists love this place because you can dip yourself in the cold water even during the winter months. It has a no bathers policy, so during summer locals love sunbathing there because it makes them feel free and natural.
We have a guide that has everything you need to know about visiting this bath house.
4. Learn some history of the city by visiting Malmöhus Slott (Malmö Castle)
Make sure to visit Scandinavia’s oldest surviving medieval castle. It was built between 1526 and 1539 and has a fascinating history to uncover. It’s now part of the Malmö Museum.
This museum is bigger than it seems, so make sure you have enough time. It’s divided into a few sections:
- Climate education. Definitely recommend it, even though you might feel like you’re back in high school!
- Taxidermy section. They have preserved dead animals for display and study. There are ethical ways to do it when they just use the bodies of already dead animals. But you never know and the displays don’t tell you, so we skipped that part. I loved it when I was a kid, but now it felt kind of creepy.
- Contemporary art exhibitions. There were different photography, film, fashion, and visual displays when we went. There’s probably at least one thing that you’ll find interesting there!
- The castle and Malmö’s history. Definitely our favourite part. Make sure you leave enough time for this as it comes after the other sections!
5. See how it feels onboard a submarine at Teknikens Och Sjöfartens Hus (Museum of Technology)
If you love cars, planes, and history, this is your kind of place. It’s located just a few minutes walk down the road from Malmöhus Slott.
The standout was having the opportunity to see and actually board a real mini submarine (or u boat). Watch your head when boarding! It was a cool experience and makes you realise how claustrophobic it must be to serve on them.
Tip: If you’re planning to visit both museums, which we really recommend, get a combo ticket for only 100 kr (8 EUR).
6. Take a stroll and discover Malmö’s parks
Malmö has various parks and gardens located right in the heart of the city easily accessible on foot or by bike. They are all in the same area and separated by canals.
Next to Malmöhus Slott is Mölleplatsen, an open park used for outdoor events especially during summer. It’s worth visiting at anytime though for the Slottsmöllan (Castle Mill). The Dutch-style windmill was built in 1851 and stopped milling in 1945.
It’s a very picturesque site. If you visit in summer, take a blanket with you to have a picnic while admiring the views.
It also has a miller’s house and gardens on the grounds. These provide glimpses of what life was like for the families who used to live there.
Nearby you can also explore the Slottsträdgården (Castle Gardens). They have a variety of different flowers and plants in themed sections to admire.
While there, we recommend grabbing a coffee and traditional Swedish smörgås (open sandwich) at the Slottsträdgården Kafe. They have outside tables surrounded by gardens. Last time we checked, they had both vegetarian and vegan smörgås.
Keep exploring by heading south to Slottsparken (Castle Park), opened to the public in 1900. It has many grassy areas and beautiful trees and flowers. It also has Stora Dammen (Big Pond), home to many local birds including ducks, swans, and herons.
North of the canal is Kungsparken (King Park), which was part of Slottsparken until 1881. This obviously causes confusion and even locals tend to still call it Slottsparken. Since they essentially form one continuous park, it’s not a big deal.
We especially love visiting the parks to witness the change of seasons. They are very picturesque parks all year with the canals and different flora and fauna.
7. Read a book or more at Malmö Stadsbibliotek (Malmö City Library)
The library is located in the bottom-right corner of Slottsparken. It elegantly combines three different buildings with old and modern architecture.
One building was originally built in 1946 and based on Scandinavian renaissance castles. A new building named “The Calendar of Light” was built in 1997 and joined to the original building by another entrance and administration building in the middle. Finally, the original castle building was refurbished in 1999.
It’s remarkable from the outside, but looks even more impressive from the inside. The new building lives up to its name and is a really light and airy space with many places to sit around its tall walls of windows.
From these vantage points, you can enjoy spectacular views over Slottsparken. We have spent many hours working there and enjoying the atmosphere.
It’s also a very practical place when travelling. If you need to print anything or use a computer, this is your place to go to.
8. Visit the bustling market at Möllevångstorget
Möllevånstorget, also known as Möllevången, is a square in the middle of Malmö surrounded by buildings from the early 1900s. It has a statue honouring the labour movement.
It’s most famous though for the open-air produce market that is set up there. It’s an epicentre for international food shopping at Malmö, mostly with Asiatic and Middle Eastern influences.
There are small shops and restaurants in the area and a few pubs to have a beer. But if you have a kitchen at home or want to get fresh food for a picnic, head to Möllevånstorget for the best fruits and veggies that are also plastic free.
They have the best prices too. Feel free to bargain if you buy a lot! The sellers are happy to take off a few krona or give you something extra for free.
Don’t forget your reusable bags when shopping there! The sellers tend to give you plastic bags for everything, so make sure to use your own bags instead.
9. Explore Gamla Staden (Malmö’s old town)
You may want to take advantage of this self-guided interactive tour of Gamla Staden. Or just admire the historical buildings and monuments on your own.
Start in Storetorget, the largest and oldest square in Malmö created in 1540. A statue of King Karl X Gustav sitting on his horse dominates the centre of the square. Its surrounded by many historical buildings, including a former palace and provincial headquarters of the government.
Then make your way to nearby Lilla Torg, a small and beautiful cobblestone square founded in 1590. It’s surrounded by small shops, bars, and restaurants which give it a lively atmosphere.
There are also some really cute and colourful streets behind Lilla Torg worth having a look. Please be respectful as many of the buildings are still residential.
If you keep going south, another public square you may want to have a look at is Gustav Aldofs Torg. It’s a large park-like square which houses some historic buildings.
You can keep walking south from Gustav Aldofs Torg along more historical streets and scenery until you reach Triangeln. You can end your day at the modern face of Malmö, a relatively new shopping centre in the heart of the city.
10. Grab a drink at one of the many bars in Malmö
During the summer months, all the restaurants and bars extend their spaces with outside tables. The Swedish love sitting outside and enjoying the sunshine while sipping on a beer or some wine.
You can pick any place that grabs your attention at Lilla Torg. Or try one one of our favourite wine bars.
There is L’Enoteca, the classic wine bar with an intimate and dark atmosphere. Julie Vinbar is great in good weather with their cute outdoor garden area. Freja is a cafe and wine bar boasting a seasonal menu, although unfortunately not with many vegan options.
11. Explore multinational cuisine at Malmö’s restaurants
Malmö is the most diverse city in Sweden, which makes their culinary scene very rich. Below we’ve listed our favourite places to eat.
Manto is a plant-based Afghan and Asian-fusion restaurant. The menu is designed to share dishes, with Japanese, Korean and Indian influences alongside traditional Afghan dishes. Manto is literally the tastiest restaurant we’ve ever tried in Malmo, either vegan or non-vegan.
The pakora was one of the highlights of the night. The mushrooms were battered perfectly and came crusted with corn flakes, so the crunch was so good and they also gave us nostalgic memories of childhood.
We also had Afghan-style homemade flatbread filled with potato and leek. It came with a super tasty spicy green tomato chutney. Apparently it’s a classic street food in Afghanistan and was another one of our favourite dishes!
Of course we also had to try the restaurant’s namesake manto, Afghan-style steamed dumplings on a minty yoghurt sauce topped with dal (chickpeas).
Basta Falafel, which means ‘The best falafel’, lives up to their name. The falafel is the most common street food in Malmö, so we tried quite a few but our favourite remained Basta Falafel.
It’s a little bit off the beaten track and out of the city centre, but if you have a bicycle it’s only 15 minutes from the city centre of Malmö. They also offer a plant-based kebab, but we never had it because we loved their falafel too much.
Another place that is a must visit for any burger lover is The Vegan Bar. I think they had the best burgers that we have ever tried in Europe.
It’s really that delicious. We went there at least twice during our stay and all the burgers were absolutely delicious. The sweet potato chips were really good too.
If you are looking for a quick and cheap lunch, look no further than Tamnack Thai. This place has been famous among students as long as I can remember.
Of course with inflation the prices have risen, but it still remains one of the most affordable places to have lunch. They are famous for their flavourful Thai curries. Although they aren’t 100% vegan, you can choose from chicken or tofu.
Malmö also boasts a few plant-based cafes. Among them are Flax, Farm2Table, and Jord.
12. Take a day trip to the world-famous town of Lund
Once you have explored Malmö, you can take your journey a bit further by visiting other places in the region. One of our favourites is Lund, the closest town to Malmö.
Lund’s world-famous university was founded during the 17th century. Lund Cathedral is in the centre of town, a dramatic Lutheran church built in the 12th century.
Lund’s beautiful old town is covered by cobblestone streets and historical architecture. If you want to experience how people lived from the Middle Ages to the 1930s, visit their open-air museum Kulturen.
Lund’s botanical gardens are also a very beautiful place for an afternoon stroll. This is especially true during the spring and autumn months.
You will find lots of unique shops in Lund, including secondhand ones. This uniqueness is due to a large population of artists and musicians living there throughout its history.
