The most beautiful cities in Sweden

Sweden is a country of rare beauty, even amid its starkest northern landscapes. Its cities and towns testify to 1000 years of urban life, but there are precious places offering glimpses into even older traditions of human settlement.

Food & drink

In Sweden, don’t expect one of the world’s great cuisines. The country’s traditional dishes can be embraced fondly by lovers of the country and have been developed with style by some upmarket restaurants. But most travellers won’t go wild over Swedish food and probably opt for Western standard dishes.

It is not uncommon for small bars, cafes and restaurants to close over peak summer weeks to give staff a break and the chance to enjoy the best weather. In a country where darkness and cold can envelop the population for many months, the sun is much awaited and in Swedish culture service industries such as hospitality value their human resources. Travellers who find a locked door have to try the next eatery or seek out some fast food.

The saluhall or city market hall survives in many cities but often is repurposed as a culinary venue with multiple offers operating as separate food bars. Part of the thinking is that diners can choose from a variety of eating styles but still sit together, making many menus available.

The custom of fika – both the noun and the verb for a short pause to drink coffee, snack on baked goods and chat, has outlasted many other Swedish cultural phenomena. It’s an opportunity for communication in workplaces and social settings that is considered both a communal adhesive and lubricant. Popular traditional kaffebröd are cinnamon rolls (kanelbullar), pastries and small buns, but the sweet treats can extend to several types of cake and sweet biscuits such as pepparkakor (ginger snaps).

When it comes to milk (mjölk) varieties, Sweden has more than most countries, with a wide variety of fat contents to suit tastes and diets and variations of filmjölk, a yoghurt-thick fermented or soured milk popular on cereals. Fat content in fil can vary from 3% to 0.4% in lättfil.

In supermarkets, ICA is the biggest operator with about half the market. Other large brands are Hemköp and Coop, but the Willy:S (about 200 stores) and German Lidl brands are regarded as usually cheaper for shoppers.

Smörgåsbord

This famous buffet lunch table usually mixes hot and cold dishes such as salads, but the common denominators are bread and butter (smörgås means sandwich, traditionally an open-face sandwich).

Husmanskost & national dishes

The Swedish term husmanskost is applied to a range of traditional dishes, the name having the cultural connotation of home cooking of rustic origin. It uses basic ingredients such as potatoes and farm meats and is usually inexpensive. The use of potatoes, ham or minced pork and dishes of smoked or cured fish, especially using salmon and herring, are characteristic of the tradition.

Husmanskost is today often sold as fast food but might also get upmarket restaurant treatment. Some standard dishes are below.

Köttbullar: This dish, often called Swedish meatballs by English speakers, is often served as a choice of four, eight or 12 meatballs, served with gravy, mashed potato, sweetened lingon (berries from the same family as cranberries and bilberries) and gurka (pickled cucumber).

Pytt i panna: This simple, high-carb hash-style dish (sometimes pyttipanna) seems to have had its origins in leftovers. It consists of pan-fried chopped meat such as ham, beef or sausage (korv), potatoes, eggs and sometimes onions and pickled beetroot. Lingon or pickled cucumber is often added.

Kroppkakor: Mashed boiled potato is rolled into a ball, hollowed out and filled with minced meat, sometimes wheat flour and onion, similar to a dumpling. Variants of the dish are especially associated with the provinces Öland, Småland, Blekinge and Gotland. Kroppkakor are tastiest when eaten with butter, lingon sauce or both.

Palt: This northern Swedish dish is similar to kroppkakor but the dumpling is made from raw potato and flour (one variant mixes in reindeer blood) and scraps of reindeer meat or pork are popular traditional fillings. The dumpling is then boiled.

Ärtsoppa: This thick salted pea soup, usually with pork pieces, is traditionally associated with Thursday lunch.

Gravlax: This style of serving salmon involves curing with salt, sugar and dill.

Knäckebröd: Swedish crispbread is widely enjoyed and available in every supermarket or convenience store.