Picture lingering midsummer evenings, snowy winters warmed with glögg, historic cities where everything runs like clockwork, and the kind of food you’ve probably consumed at IKEA – and there you have the pristine Scandinavian country of Sweden.
Tours of Sweden offer city discovery, archipelago adventure and snowy fun
Tours of Sweden begin and end in either Stockholm, where travellers will join knowledgeable guides for tours of the magnificent capital, or Kiruna, with midnight sun hikes in Sweden’s most northerly town. In Stockholm travellers enjoy visits to the unique Vasa Museum, free time to explore the city’s striking archipelago, and authentic Smörgåsbord Swedish buffet dinners.
One of the most significant benefits of tours of Sweden is the discounted rates, as the Scandinavian country is one of the most expensive to travel through independently – though there are also bonus unique experiences like cruise ship tours and arctic expeditions, Arctic Circle rail tours, dog sledding, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and visits to Sami villages and reindeer farms.
Optional excursions under tour comparison Sweden include fishing, boat trips, daytrips to Uppsala, the Abba Museum, tours of Stockholm’s Town Hall and the Nobel Prize Banquet Room, and drinks at the Ice Bar.
Venturing outside of Sweden, there are options for combinations with other parts of Scandinavia, Russia and highlights of Europe.
Itching to plan your trip? Take a look at our tour comparison Sweden and find the right itinerary for you.
Want a taste of that insider Sweden tourism knowledge we mentioned before? We have collected the best facts from real life tour guides. Impress them on tour with how much you already know.
- The arty, stylish capital of Stockholm is home to a majestic old town, great nightlife and some fascinating museums including the Vasa Museum – an almost fully intact 17th century ship that sank on its maiden voyage yet was successfully salvaged 300 years later.
- The Stockholm Archipelago is comprised of a whopping 30,000 islands, which are popular destinations during summer when swimming and other water sports are enjoyed.
- Some of Sweden’s most celebrated natural sights include the Skanderna Mountains, the Klarälven River, and the panoramic Stora Sjöfallet National Park.
- Stockholm is by far the best-known Swedish city, but there are plenty of others worth your time like the UNESCO church town of Gammelstad, medieval, cobbled-stoned Visby, and the university town of Uppsala.
- The Inlandsbanan train route runs for 1,288 km from Kristinehamn to Gällivare, offering a scenic tour of the Swedish countryside.
- Norrland – literally ‘northland’ – is Sweden’s most northerly area, accounting for 59% of the country’s total landmass yet only 12% of the population live here, mainly around the coast.
- The town of Kiruna in Lappland serves as a gateway to the famously freezing province, which covers approximately a quarter of Sweden.
- The Arctic Circle passes through Sweden, which means you can cross it here and pause for a token picture – if you can handle the cold!
- Sweden is the birthplace of many globally recognisable companies, brands and applications, such as IKEA, Volvo and SAAB cars, Orrefors, Kosta and Boda glassworks, H&M clothing, Ericsson Telecom, Metro newspaper, Electrolux household appliances, Hasselblad cameras, pharmaceutical AstraZeneca, Skype, Spotify and The Pirate Bay.
- Some of Sweden’s most important cultural contributions include author Stieg Larsson, who wrote the Millennium Trilogy including “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, and artists August Strindberg and Anders Zorn.
- UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and politician Hans Blix – who is known for many positions including his role as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which made him the first to assess the damage caused by the Chernobyl disaster – are both Swedish.
- Sweden’s current monarch is King Carl XVI Gustaf, who ascended the throne in 1973.
- Actors Alexander Skarsgård, Dolph Lundgren, Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman, directors Ingmar Bergman and Lasse Hallström, TV’s Ulrika Johnson and children’s character Pippi Longstocking are all Swedish.
- Sweden have produced some of the world’s most famous musicians and bands, such as ABBA, Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, Eric Prydz, Roxette, Ace of Base and The Cardigans, along with one-hit wonders like The Final Countdown and Cotton Eye Joe.
- Swedish sports figures include football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, football players Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Larrson and Fredrik Ljungberg, hockey’s Peter Forsberg, and tennis star Björn Borg.
- Yet more famous Swedes include model Victoria Silvstedt, The Muppet’s ‘Swedish Chef’, and activist Raoul Wallenberg.
- Swedes brought us dynamite, the Celsius temperature scale, Tetra-Pak, the three-point seatbelt and the zipper.
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
