Lifestyle

By mid-November, central Gothenburg transforms into the Christmas City, mixing a warm sense of tradition with contemporary Swedish design. This winter is Gothenburg’s 16th Christmas city event, full of beautiful Christmas lights and modern, as well as traditional, Christmas markets. The city has many fun things to do in the running up to Christmas.

Sweden’s capital comes alive in summer, with its archipelago of stunning islands perfect for boat trips and swimming, not to mention a buzzing food scene

Who comes to Malmö on holiday instead of Copenhagen? Nobody, ever.” Niklas Najvik, of the Astrum electronic music collective, is marvelling at how well his home town fits my plan to explore “underrated” cities. “Malmö is the most overlooked city there is,” he says, while the rest of his collective nod in agreement.

Many Swedes like to celebrate. On some occasions they just meet somewhere outdoors and party in a relaxed way.  On other occasions they dress up and celebrate in quite a formal way – just think of the Nobel Banquet that is held every year on December 10 and broadcast live on TV. Here are some highlights in the Swedish calendar.