The most beautiful places 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.

Uppsala

Sweden’s first great power centre was around Uppsala. Today Uppsala’s cathedral remains the home of the Swedish church and Uppsala was where Sweden’s first university was founded.

Uppsala has never lost its prestige and retains the ambience of a graceful university city. Its 17th century Gustavianum building, Carolina Rediviva library, Linneanum orangery, castle and cathedral give it gravitas and character.

But outside the city centre is the place where it all began, an extraordinary burial site dominated by three great mounds that was described in medieval times as the pagan worship centre of Sweden.