How to spend 1 day in Malmo?

1 day in Malmo

Have you ever searched for cheap flights to Sweden? I’m almost sure you have found Malmo somehow! However, when I was traveling a few times on this route, I came to the conclusion that most passengers don’t fly there for tourist purposes, but rather for work. That’s a big pitty, because Malmo and its neighborhood  is really beautiful. I know what I say, because I spent 5 months in nearby Lund as an Erasmus student! I was lucky to visit Malmo many times. Now it’s time for you. Change your mind on this city and it’s closest area. Sweden is not only about Stockholm and idyllic landscapes. Come, I will show you Malmo! 🙂

How to get to Malmo?

Luckily, Malmo has its own airport full of cheap flights. I was flying with Wizzair from Katowice many times and I didn’t spend much money. An alternative might be Ryanair. You can also fly to Copenhagen and take a train or a bus to Malmo. That’s definitely more expensive way but it’s good to know about it. 🙂

What you should know about Malmo?

It is the third in terms of population, after Stockholm and Göteborg, a city in Sweden. About 301 706 thousand people live here and as for the Swedish conditions it is a very big city. Malmo, like all of Skåne, is in a temperate zone.

Malmo is one of the main economic and commercial centers of Sweden. For a long time in the city dominated the manufacturing industry, mainly electromechanical. The textile, building materials and food industries were also developed. One of the most important industries in the town’s economic history was the shipbuilding industry, with the Kockums shipyard operating since the nineteenth century. The crisis in 1995 and the highest unemployment rate in Sweden forced the city to transform itself into a center of modern technology.

What to look for?

Usually industrial cities aren’t popular among tourists. Everyone knows that their tourist offer is much poorer than average cities. Malmo is an exception here. Maybe it’s not as beautiful as Stockholm and we will not find as many classic Swedish houses as in Karlskrona, but while in Skåne you can’t miss it. The whole part of the city, worthy of your attention, is walkable. First of all, you should focus on 4 areas: Stortorget / Lilla Torg, Port, Slottspark (park castle) and Scania Park or Ribersborgs.

Stortorget / Lilla Torg

Stortorget is the main market in the city. It is also the oldest part of the city that existed in the 16th century. If you come to the city by train, you only have to cross the street and you will almost be in the historic center of town. The 16th-century town hall is a great treasure of Stortorget. Originally built in stepped gable style. This is a kind of stepped construction, tapering upwards, which results in the triangular shape of the building. In the nineteenth century the Town Hall was rebuilt, this time in neoclassical style with elements of decoration typical of the Danish Renaissance. It’s one of the most interesting buildings in Malmo!

Nearby, there is also a monument of Gustav Adolf, who was the king of Sweden at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. He died young, having only 38 years old during the Thirty Years’ War.

Quite interesting are the sculptures of musicians who seem to „walk” on a nearby street. 😉

Roght next to the Stortorget is located the more intimate Lilla Torg (a small market). If you were wondering where all the people in Malmö disappeared, look at the little market. There are lots of pubs and restaurants where everyone hangs out.

From the sacred objects I recommend the church of St. Peter. The Lutheran-Evangelical church dates back to the 14th century, although its predecessor (the Romanesque church) was there already in the thirteenth century. The distinctive sign is the tall tower, which can be seen in many places in Malmö.

When walking around the old town, it is worth to enter the Apoteket Lejonet (Lion’s Pharmacy). The pharmacy is located in a historic building in almost the center of the old town. It is characterized by an amazing interior, which is made of carved wood! I haven’t visited yet, but next time I will check it out! 🙂

Port

Malmö is primarily a port city. Access to the sea has allowed the city to develop rapidly and establish a new strong center in Skåne. Once Lund was the center of the economy, but quite a distance from the sea hampered the development of the city.

Walking around the port, you should pay close attention to the nearby buildings. This is a classic industrial (brick) architecture with a touch of modernity. Passing through the harbor, my eyes always headed towards the massive bank building. If there were any bombing in Malmö, I would certainly hide somewhere in the basement of this bank. 😀

I would also compare this place to such a industrial Venice. 😀 There are many different canals with bridges, from which we can admire for e. g. the lighthouse at sunset – it looks great! Alternatively, we can come across colorful sculptures where every hipster should take a photo. 😉

Slottsparken

This is quite a sizeable park in the city center. In addition to the beautifully landscaped grounds where we find a lovely windmill and a large pond, we can also admire the oldest renaissance castle in Scandinavia. Malmöhus Castle was built in the middle of the 16th century as the seat of the Danish rulers. Nowadays it’s a museum, that I haven’t visited. I also have to admit that as a fan of castles I am sad to say that it is the ugliest castle I have seen so far. Of course, I’m glad to saw it, and I would also recommend to see it on your own eyes, because that’s only my subjective opinion! 🙂 But I definitely preferred to admire the views of the Park, than the castle. 😀 😛

Scania Park / Ribersborgs

But where is the sea? Well, it is not good to miss such an attraction, especially if someone on a daily basis doesn’t have access to the sea! 😛 Especially, since we can admire the famous Turning Torso and the Oresund Bridge over the Sea.

From the city center to the beach isn’t so close, but if the weather is favorable to you then it is worth to walk. It will take you about 40 minutes. You have two options: Scania Park or Ribersborg. I picked up Ribersborg, because here is a sandy beach.

Unfortunately I don’t have good news for you, because Malmo beaches aren’t the most beautiful. If you are dreaming on a nice beach go to nearby Lomma or Bjarred!

• Oresund Bridge

Well, the best place to admire the Oresund Bridge is Malmo beach. 😉 The Oresund Bridge was opened in 2000 and is the first land bridge between Sweden and Denmark. Formerly, the ferry sailed in this place, but quite a long time passed caused the construction of the longest European bridge in this place. A similar project is planned between Helsinborg and Helsingor. But here the bridge will be a bit shorter, because the distance in this place is much narrower. Meanwhile, the Oresund Bridge is considered to be a real attraction. Part of the bridge is under the surface of the water, which from the bird’s eye looks really amazing. Of course, it is a must to pay for such trips on it. All information can be found here.

• Turning Torso

From the beach in Malmo or from Scania Park we will also admire another famous Swedish building – Turning Torso. The skyscraper is financed by HSB in Malmo and designed and built by architect Santiaga Calatrava. The building was built between 2001 and 2005.  Counting the inter-floor building has 54 floors. The entire building twists up every 10 degrees, which means that the building turn from the base to the top is 90 degrees. Turning Torso is 190 meters high and it’s the tallest building in Sweden.

Unfortunately, the building doesn’t have a viewing terrace for tourists. Beautiful views of the nearby Oresund, is reserved only for the conference participants. 🙁

Emporia Shopping Mall

Do you like shopping? Or are you fans of modern architecture? If you answered yes to any of these questions, take the bus and see the largest shopping mall in Scandinavia – Emporia Shopping Mall. Emporia was opened in 2012 and designed by Gert Wingårdh. On the area of 93,000 m2, there are over 200 stores which attracts over 25,000 visitors every day! If you have a little more time, it is worth to come here – even for a Fika! 🙂

That’s all! Thank you for staying with me till the end. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed my content. Don’t hesitate to ask me questions.

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