Malmo is Sweden's third largest municipality with a population of about 271,000. It is a port city located on the southern tip of the country.
Malmö, along with the southern parts of Sweden, belonged to Denmark until 1658. In many ways more Danish than Swedish, many inhabitants feel more longing towards Denmark than their home-country. The city is also very much like Copenhagen in its mentality and architecture.
Malmö has a large part of its inhabitants born abroad, thus contributing to a rich cultural life and many exotic and fine food opportunities. The ship building Kockums company used to be the city's biggest employer, but today the industrial city of old has been replaced by something more middle class.
PLACE TO VISIT
At the heart of Malmö lie three squares, called Gustav Adolf's Square (Gustav Adolfs torg), the Big Square (Stortorget) and the Little Square (Lilla torg). Stortorget and Lilla Torg are directly connected at one corner, and a pedestrians only shopping street connects them with Gustav Adolfs torg.
At the center of the Big Square is a statue of King Karl X Gustav of Sweden, who took the city from Danish dominion. The ornate Malmö City Hall (built in 1546) is on the east side, and in the northwest corner is Kockska Huset, the house of Jörgen Kock, a German immigrant who became mayor of the city and achieved wealth simply and directly: by taking control of the city mint. In the winter the square becomes a skating rink.
The Little Square is the place for socializing and dining, with the edges taken up by various restaurants' outdoor tables.
Gustav Adolfs torg is surrounded on three sides by buildings containing shops and a McDonalds. At the center of the square is a bus platform. A cemetery lies at the south side of the square, through which one can reach Slottsparken, a beautiful park that surrounds Malmöhus.
Malmöhus Castle, located west of the old city core, was built in 1437 by Erik of Pomerania, inhabited by the kings of Denmark in the 1500s, and used as a prison until 1914. Currently it houses a history museum, art museum, aquarium, and terrarium. Sharing the castle grounds are the Kommendant huset (Commandant's House) used for various exhibitions throughout the year. Fiskehoddorna - a small, traditional fish market - lies nearby.
Tekniska o Sjofarts Museet (Technology and Maritime Museum), located west of the castle. The largest section of the museum is devoted to transport, in particular aviation, and there are lots of cut-away models, including the entire front end and cockpit of a Vickers Viscount. Visitors can walk (crawl, actually in places) through a 1943 Swedish U3 submarine. Unfortunately the displays are only labelled in Swedish, but is well worth a visit, nonetheless. Adult entrance fee is 40SEK.
Slottstradgarden, (Castle Garden) located south of the castle, within Kungsparken (King's Park). This is one of the city's newest amenities and is an organic community garden, open throughout the year. There are eight themed gardens and a potager. Freshly picked flowers and vegetables are available for purchase in the summer months. There is also a small cafe, run entirely by volunteers.
Turning Torso, completed in 2005, is at 190 m the tallest building in Scandinavia. Mostly apartments with some offices, it's located in a new zone near the waterfront and has no observation tower or other sightseeing facilities, so it's probably best to admire it from afar (visible from almost anywhere in the city). If you are visiting in the summer there is a nice waterfront promenade and a open-sea bath nearby the Turning Torso. There is also a state of the art skateboarding park in the area.
Möllevångstorget square, south of the city center, has a bustling open-air market on weekends. The surrounding neighborhood is full of inexpensive Asian and Middle Eastern shops, restaurants and grocery stores catering to the alternative side of the city, the immigrant population and people who are tired of mainstream commerce.
Gamla Väster, between Lilla Torget and Malmöhus, is a quiet and sophisticated part of town with lots of galleries, design shops and restaurants.
Davidshallstorg is a square with design shops, clothes stores and restaurants. The atmosphere here is posh, so the vibe is very different from Möllevångstorget's. There are similar shops on the nearby parts of Davidshallsgatan.
S:t Petri kyrka is the city's oldest church (from the 14th century), while S:t Johannes kyrka probably is the largest.
Browsing the shelves of Malmö Stadsbibliotek (Malmö's public library, Kung Oscars väg) and admiring the building itself is a must for all architecture buffs and intellectuals. They will also want to go to Malmö Konsthall (Malmö Art Hall, S:t Johannesgatan 7, free entrance).
WHAT TO DO
Visit the Folkets park (People's Park, free entrance) . Try the different rides on the amusement park (mostly for smaller kids, as the attractions aren't scary enough for teenagers). See the terrarium. Ride a pony. Sunbathe. Eat and drink.
Go to the Pildammsparken (with gardens, buildings from the Baltic exhibition in 1914 and a theater) and Kungsparken / Slottsparken (behind the castle). Sunbathe or have a picnic.
Don't miss Malmöfestivalen - a free festival that takes place for eight days every year, with lots of cultural and culinary experiences.
Swim and sunbathe on the two-kilometre sandy beach Ribersborgsstranden. In the winter you can enjoy ice swimming, ideally combined with kallbadhuset's sauna with panoramic view of Öresund.
Experience the multicultural area around "Möllevångstorget". Here you can find exotic shops selling asian and middle eastern food stuffs and a wide selection of pubs and bars. In the mornings there is also an open market where you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
The flat landscape of Skåne is ideal for golf. Around Malmö there are quite a few good courses and a new 36 holes PGA standard course being built.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Both Malmö Airport (Sturup) and Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup) serve Malmö. If you get to the Malmö Airport you'll then have to take the bus shuttle service to downtown Malmö, but first check the schedules at Flygbussarna's homepage because on Saturday afternoons they don't have many buses. From Copenhagen Airport you can either take the train or the bus, bus being the cheapest option.
By train - Trains from Copenhagen cross the bridge in 35 minutes from København H (Copenhagen Central Station). They leave all day from Elsinore (Helsingør), traversing the east coast of Sjælland, before crossing CPH centre and cross the bridge to Malmö, also connecting Kastrup airport to the city. Extra trains leave in peak hours from København H (Copenhagen Central Station) to Malmö Svågertorp, on the southern fringes of the city with bus connection to the centre, making it 6 trains an hour. Expect to pay 190 SEK for a return ticket to Kastrup airport or Copenhagen Central.
By car - If you don't take the train across the bridge (and tunnel), you can drive for yourself. It is a pay bridge, where you pay to enter Sweden (250 DKK in 2008), after you go through the tunnel and across the bridge, and then it costs the same to come back. The view is much less obstructed if you choose to go by car as compared to train.
By bus - Gråhundbus , Swebus Express , and Säfflebussen have routes to Copenhagen and other places. To Copenhagen the buses take longer but are cheaper than the train, especially for daytrips.
By boat - There is a ferry link from Travemünde, Germany to Malmö by Finnlines
