Top tips for Malmö, Sweden

[Advertisement – this post is based on press trips, but all words and opinions are my own]

After a week pootling around the beautiful Skåne countryside, Emma and I dropped off our hire car and spent 24 hours exploring Malmö. This was my second visit to Sweden’s third-largest city, as I’d already been there on a separate press trip back in 2017, and I was very much looking forward to returning.

Once a thriving port and ship-building centre, Malmö has reinvented itself as an edgy, cosmopolitan place with a wonderful mix of cultures. It’s home to a pretty old town with half-timbered buildings and cobbled squares, a diverse array of restaurants and bars, and a redeveloped waterfront that was Europe’s first carbon-neutral neighbourhood. But the main attraction for me is its vibrant design scene, which has been fuelled by cheap rents, a supportive atmosphere that lures start-ups, and a collaborative approach that often sees studios team up to showcase local talent.

Malmö is connected to Denmark by the famous Øresund Bridge and you could easily visit on a day trip from Copenhagen, but I reckon it deserves a longer stay as there’s plenty to see and do. What’s more, its compact size makes it easy to get around on foot or by bike – ideal for a slow-paced, relaxing break.

This visit gave me the chance to take in the sights I’d missed the first time around and to try out some new places that have opened up in the last couple of years. So, I’ve combined my top tips from both stays into one updated guide on where to sleep, eat, drink, shop and explore in this vibrant city…

Stay at:

Story Hotel, Tyfongatan 1, 211 19 Malmö

Story Hotel occupies a tall grey building on the waterfront, just a short walk from the city centre. It’s very convenient and brilliantly designed, with opulent velvet curtains and sleek Scandinavian lamps against exposed pipework and concrete walls. What’s more, the rooms have lots of little touches that make them a joy to stay in – laptop trays for easy working, USB points by the bed, towel rails with handy shelves, good-sized toiletries, Apple TV, and cushioned benches by floor-to-ceiling windows. Mine was on the 13th floor and I loved wallowing in the super-comfy bed, watching ships heading out to sea far below.

I was also impressed with the hotel’s 14th-floor restaurant and bar, which serves up Asian-Swedish fusion food and excellent G&Ts. I tucked into Japanese gyoza, grilled halloumi with a trio of spicy dips, and salted caramel and chocolate ice cream – all delicious. There’s also a panoramic roof terrace where you can dine in summer.

Other places which I haven’t stayed at myself but which come highly recommended are Hotel Duxiana and Ohboy Hotel.

Explore:

Gamla Staden

Fanning out from Stortorget (‘Big Square’) and the restaurant-lined Lilla Torget (‘Little Square’) is Malmö’s old town, Gamla Staden. It’s a small but very pretty cluster of cobbled streets, ochre- and pastel-coloured houses and slightly wild-looking vegetation, and it makes a wonderful place to get pleasantly lost for an hour or two.

Form/Design Center, Lilla Torg 9, 203 14 Malmö

Occupying a traditional timber-framed building and an adjacent brick warehouse in the heart of Gamla Staden, the Form/Design Center is a hub for the city’s creative scene. There are several floors of free-to-enter exhibition space, plus a shop selling homewares, clothing and jewellery from local designers (I spied ceramics from Camilla Engdahl, among other temptations). It’s well worth a browse, followed by fika in the ground-floor café.

Kungsparken and Slottsträdgården

These two neighbouring parks form a vast green oasis in the middle of Malmö – ideal for picnics, walks or just lazing on the grass with a book. There are tree-lined avenues, lakes and canals, an outdoor café, flowerbeds brimming with a huge variety of blooms and, during our May visit, swathes of cow parsley dancing gently in the breeze. There’s even a quaint wooden windmill, constructed in 1851 to serve the nearby castle.

Moderna Museet, Ola Billgrens Plats 2-4, 211 29 Malmö

Malmö’s modern art museum opened its doors in 2009 and is well worth a visit. It’s housed in an old power station that was transformed by Stockholm-based Tham & Videgård Arkitekter, who added a hard-to-miss orange latticework façade and an airy lobby with a café and shop. As well as a rotating selection of permanent artworks, there’s a programme of temporary installations – we caught an excellent exhibition exploring Andy Warhol’s first solo museum show, held in Stockholm in 1968, and another featuring local embroidery artist Majlis Agbeck.

Västra Hamnen

Once a gritty industrial area, the regenerated Western Harbour (a 20-minute walk or 10-minute cycle from the city centre) is a lovely place for some sea air. There are striking contemporary apartment blocks, waterfront cafés overlooking the Øresund Bridge, and a marina crammed with bobbing yachts. It’s also home to the ‘Turning Torso’, Scandinavia’s tallest skyscraper, which was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to resemble a human figure twisting to gaze out over the coast.

Eat & drink at:

Atrium, Skvadronsgatan 13, 217 49 Malmö

This airy café is a bit of a walk from the city centre, but it’s worth the detour. The décor is beautiful – marble tables, Ay Illuminate pendant lights, pot plants aplenty – and the atmosphere effortlessly stylish. The menu covers everything from coffee and cakes to tasty brunches and lunches – I opted for spiced avocado and eggs on toast, washed down with an excellent flat white. If you want to sit outside, there are tables on a leafy courtyard strung with fairylights.

Mineral, Sankt Knuts Väg 13, 211 57 Malmö

Also worth a 20-minute walk from the city centre is stylish yet welcoming vegan restaurant Mineral. Outside is a pretty tree-shaded terrace adorned with fairylights; inside, it’s cosy and cocooning, with grey lime-washed walls, simple wooden tables, bench seats piled with cushions, and plants and candles everywhere. I challenge even the most ardent carnivore not to like the food, which uses plant-based ingredients in innovative ways. We ordered the ‘chef’s special’ – a few plates to share, followed by dessert – and enjoyed every morsel, from the potato dumplings with oyster mushrooms to the rich chocolate ganache. There’s also a great selection of natural wines, all sourced from small vineyards.

Jord, Falsterbogatan 1, 211 58 Malmö 

Another vegan-yet-will-please-everyone option is light-filled café Jord. I loved the interior design, which pairs thick grey curtains with pale wooden tables, white tiles and hanging plants; there’s even a vintage sofa in the corner where you can sit back and flick through piles of magazines. The menu is varied, covering breakfast, lunch, drinks and fika, and the atmosphere is relaxed – it’s the kind of place where you could happily linger for hours. There’s also a little boutique stocked with homeware, locally made ceramics, toiletries and chocolates.

Saltimporten, Hullkajen, Grimsbygatan 24, 211 20 Malmö

Set in a converted warehouse on the dockside, this buzzing canteen-style restaurant is a great place to go for lunch. It only serves a few options each day (always including a vegetarian one), but everything is locally sourced, seasonal and very tasty. I was very taken by the décor: raw grey walls, bikes hanging upside down from rails, long communal tables, and a wall of windows looking out over the water.

Malmö Saluhall, Gibraltargatan 6, 211 18 Malmö

This bustling food hall occupies a former railway shed near the city centre and you could easily lose a whole day hopping between its many delis and stalls. There’s a butcher, a baker, a chocolatier, an Asian street-food bar, a poké-bowl stall, a fish restaurant, a pizzeria using only local produce and much, much more. I was very impressed by the sensitive restoration of the building, which mixes industrial beams and exposed brick walls with modern metro tiling, contemporary lighting and weathered steel cladding.

Noir Kaffekultur, Engelbrektsgatan 6, 211 33 Malmö

There’s a definite Parisian air to this tiny café on the edge of Gamla Staden. There are a few sheepskin-covered benches in the white-tiled interior, but most of the seating is outside, where bistro-style tables and rattan chairs line the pavement. It’s a great place to sit back and watch the world go by, with a good selection of cakes, coffees, cold drinks, salads and sandwiches to choose from.

Gustavino, Kyrkogatan 3, 211 22 Malmö

Housed in an ochre-coloured townhouse on the corner of Stortoget, Gustavino is a convivial Italian wine bar whose cosy, candlelit interior hums with chatter. The handpicked wine list covers all regions of Italy, and if you’re feeling peckish there are hams and olives waiting behind the counter. We headed there for an aperitivo before dinner, and it made a lovely start to our last evening in Sweden.

Shop at:

AB Småland, Södra Förstadsgatan 26/27, 211 43 Malmö

I could have spent hours browsing this sprawling lifestyle store, which focusses on green living. Its range encompasses everything from sustainable home accessories to plants to ethical fashion, and many of the products are recycled or organic – the textured ceramics, soft grey linens and L:A Bruket skincare instantly caught my eye. It also encompasses workshop spaces, plus a laid-back café where I indulged in a huge cheese, apple and avocado salad.

Grandpa, Södra Förstadsgatan 25, 211 43 Malmö

Located next-door to AB Småland, this tardis-like boutique stocks a fantastic range of fashion and homeware by some of Scandinavia’s best-loved brands. There are lamps and candleholders from HAY and Muuto, minimalist leather bags from Sandqvist, and beautiful photographic prints of Swedish landscapes by Low Key. It’s also a great place to pick up lifestyle books and independent magazines – I came away with a copy of Susanna Vento’s Green Home Book and the latest issue of Kinfolk.

Florista, Kärleksgatan 4, 211 45 Malmö

Painted in a dark, moody blue, this lovely little floristry shop is brimming with wild-looking bunches of locally grown, sustainable flowers, along with potted plants and a few vintage finds. If you’re lucky, you might also get to meet the owner’s gorgeous dog Farfar, who often helps out behind the counter.

Two Malmö design studios to know about:

Stoft Studio

Founded by Jenny Ekdahl, Ola Nystedt and Joel Herslow, this studio is an excellent example of Malmö’s creativity. ‘Stoft’ is a Swedish word for millions of small particles, constantly moving and re-arranging themselves into new and surprising formations, and this very much reflects the trio’s ethos. They often use traditional crafts as a starting point, but break them down and reinvent them in unexpected ways. The resulting pieces include the ‘Minor Flaws’ glass lamp, whose bulging shape was inspired by muffin tops protruding over tight jeans, the ‘Canvas’ chair, which is based on embroidery hoops, and the ‘Whittle Away’ wooden lightshades and cupboards, both reminiscent of peeling bark. There’s also a beautiful range of handmade ceramics in muted pastel shades, produced in collaboration with Vietnamese pottery studio Dong Gia.

Butler/Lingård

This innovative textile studio was set up by Hanna Butler and Karin Olu Lindgård, who both studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The duo work closely together, often sketching on the same pieces of paper to produce joint works. Many of their designs are intended to challenge conventional ideas about beauty and how the female body should be represented, so there are motifs inspired by hairy legs, nipples and more; they’ve also collaborated with Stoft Studio to produce a tactile weave for the ‘Canvas’ chair, which is based on the goose bumps found on ageing skin. My favourite, though, is ‘Traces’ – a series of flowing patterns created by a dancer performing choreographed movements with paint.

Find out more about city breaks in Malmö here.

Many thanks to Visit Skåne and Malmö Town, who covered our accommodation and other expenses.

All photography by Abi Dare