Sweden 5 Day Itinerary
Sweden is almost entirely cashless. You can spend a week here without touching a single banknote, and most Swedes will look mildly puzzled if you try to pay for a coffee in coins. Have a contactless card set up before you land.
Visa: EU/EEA citizens need only an ID card. Citizens of most other Western countries get 90 days visa-free under the Schengen agreement. Confirm on the Swedish Migration Agency website if you are unsure.
Best time to visit: June through August gives long daylight hours (Stockholm gets about 18 hours of daylight in midsummer) and warm enough weather for the coast and archipelagos. September is a good alternative: fewer crowds, lower hotel prices, and the forests start to colour. Winter is for dedicated travellers who want Christmas markets and northern lights up north.
Day 1: Stockholm
Getting from Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) into the city: the Arlanda Express train takes 18 minutes and costs around 340 SEK, departing every 10-15 minutes. If you want to save money and have luggage you can manage, the pendeltåg commuter rail (line 40) costs around 190 SEK (43 SEK base fare plus a 147 SEK airport surcharge) and takes about 40 minutes to Stockholm Central. Flygbussarna coaches cost from around 129 SEK and take 40-50 minutes, a solid middle ground.
Start with the Vasa Museum on Djurgården island. The main exhibit is a complete 17th-century warship that sank in Stockholm harbour 1,300 metres into its maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised intact in 1961. It is one of the most genuinely impressive museum objects in Europe, and the admission (adults approximately 190 SEK) is well earned. Arrive early; it fills up by late morning.
After the Vasa, walk into Gamla Stan (Old Town). The pastel-painted buildings and cobblestone lanes are photogenic but also genuinely old: the alleyways date to the 13th century, and the Royal Palace on the northern tip is the largest palace in the world still used as an official royal residence (540 rooms). Take a fika break at one of the cafés on Stortorget, the main square. A proper fika involves coffee and something with cardamom or cinnamon; a kanelbulle (cinnamon roll) for around 40-50 SEK is the right call.
Skip Skansen on Day 1; it deserves more time than a tired end-of-travel-day visit allows.
Day 2: Drottningholm and Djurgården
Drottningholm Palace sits on the island of Lovön, about 45 minutes from central Stockholm by ferry from Stadshuskajen or by metro and bus. The ferry (seasonal, roughly 130 SEK round trip) is the scenic option. It is the private residence of the Swedish Royal Family, but large parts of the gardens and the palace interior are open to visitors; admission to the apartments is around 180 SEK. The adjacent Baroque theatre, built in 1766, still stages opera performances with original 18th-century stage machinery. Worth a detour if any evening performances line up with your dates.
Back in the city, spend the afternoon at Skansen, the world’s oldest open-air museum (opened 1891), where around 160 historical buildings from across Sweden have been relocated to a hillside on Djurgården. In summer it also functions as a zoo with Nordic wildlife including brown bears and wolves. Admission around 220 SEK in summer. The views over the city from the hilltop sections are among the best free aspects of a paid ticket.
Evening: walk along the Djurgårdsbrunnsviken waterway back toward the city centre and eat at one of the restaurants along Strandvägen, where outdoor tables face the water from late April through September.
Day 3: Train to Gothenburg
SJ trains run Stockholm to Gothenburg roughly every hour and take about three hours. Fares start from around 250 SEK booked in advance online; SJ uses airline-style dynamic pricing so early booking makes a real difference. A last-minute walk-up ticket on a popular departure can cost 700-900 SEK. Seat reservation is included in the ticket and compulsory on most services.
Gothenburg (Göteborg) is Sweden’s second city and, many argue, the better one for food. The Saluhallen covered market near Kungstorget, open since 1888, has the best selection of Swedish produce, cured meats, and seafood in the city. Walk through it even if you are not hungry; buy something from the cheese counter.
The Haga district, a 15-minute walk from the city centre, has the oldest surviving wooden-house streetscapes in the city. The main commercial street, Haga Nygata, is lined with independent cafés and small design shops. It gets crowded on weekends but has a genuinely neighbourhood feel on weekday afternoons. Haga is also known for the largest kanelbulle in Sweden: some cafés here serve them the size of your face, for around 65-80 SEK.
For dinner, the Linnéstaden and Majorna neighbourhoods (west of the city centre, reachable by tram) have concentrated stretches of independent restaurants at lower prices than the tourist-facing central streets. The gastronomic reputation of Gothenburg extends to serious Michelin-starred restaurants, but the mid-range places in these areas offer Swedish and international food at reasonable prices.
Day 4: Gothenburg Archipelago
The southern Gothenburg archipelago contains car-free islands accessible by public ferry from Saltholmen terminal (reachable from central Gothenburg by tram line 11, about 35 minutes). The Styrsöbolaget ferry is part of the regular public transit system; the fare is the same zone ticket you use on the city trams, around 36-40 SEK single or covered by a day pass.
Vrångö is the outermost island and the most rewarding for a half-day walk: the rocks and heathland are open to walk freely, there are almost no cars (they are banned), and the ferry takes about 75 minutes from Saltholmen. Take a picnic from the city rather than relying on the one small café. Styrsö is closer (about 40 minutes) and has a fishing-village atmosphere with a small café if you prefer a shorter journey. Either island works for a morning start and an afternoon return.
Ferries run roughly hourly to the larger islands; check the Västtrafik app for current timetables as services run more frequently in summer. Return to Gothenburg by late afternoon and walk the canalside streets near Järntorget before dinner.
Day 5: Malmö
The train from Gothenburg to Malmö takes about 2.5-3 hours; fares from around 200 SEK in advance. The line crosses the Öresund Bridge into Denmark and back, though Malmö itself is firmly in Sweden. Alternatively, if returning to Stockholm to fly, Malmö is a roughly three-hour journey from Stockholm Central.
Malmö Castle (Malmöhus Slott) is the oldest surviving Renaissance castle in Scandinavia, dating from the 1530s. Admission covers the castle museum, aquarium, and art museum, at around 90 SEK; it is calm and uncrowded compared to Stockholm’s major sites. The adjacent park and mill pond are pleasant on a dry day.
The Turning Torso tower (2005, designed by Santiago Calatrava) is visible from most of the city; you cannot enter it as a tourist but the walk to the Western Harbour neighbourhood around it is worth the time. This was the first large-scale redevelopment of a former industrial waterfront in Scandinavia, and it now has a genuinely pleasant seafront walking area with a very different feel from the historic centre.
For lunch, Malmö’s food market Saluhall Briggen in the Västra Hamnen (Western Harbour) area has a range of independent food stalls in a converted warehouse. The city’s substantial immigrant population has produced a notably diverse restaurant scene; the area around Möllevångstorget square is the centre of it, with Middle Eastern and North African restaurants that are among the best-value food in the city.
Practical note for the whole trip: Sweden’s public transport is reliable but expensive if you do not plan ahead. Buy SJ train tickets online weeks in advance for the lowest fares. Within Stockholm and Gothenburg, the respective transit apps (SL for Stockholm, Västtrafik for Gothenburg and beyond) allow ticket purchase by phone and show real-time departures. Paper timetables are rare and most information assumes you have a smartphone.