The Best Places To Visit In Sweden In The Winter

There is no better place to visit than Sweden in the winter if you are looking for a winter wonderland experience. With constant snowfall in Northern Sweden spanning half the season, there are so many great ski resorts, cabins for hire, and activities such as dog sledging to make the most of! Chase the northern lights in Abisko National Park, or try tour skiing in Grövelsjön. If you are more of a city traveller, you can visit the Scandinavian Christmas city of Gothenburg for a cosy weekend full of pastries, museums, markets and, of course, coffee.

Here are the best places to visit in Sweden in the winter!

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The Best Places To Visit In Sweden In The Winter

Kiruna and Abisko: Swedish Lapland

Kiruna is a city in Northern Sweden located 145km north of the arctic circle. If you are looking for a great place to visit in the winter where you get to have a real “snowy” experience, Kiruna is the place. Here you can ride a dog sled, drive a snowmobile, go ice fishing or stay in an ice hotel. If you hire a car, you can drive 1 hour to the beautiful Abisko National Park where you can hike through mountains and lakes covered in snow and ice. Alternatively, you can stay in Abisko National Park for the week, exploring the mountains and watching out for the northern lights. Take an aurora spotting tour or head out by yourself.

For more tips, see my complete guide to visiting Abisko in Winter!

abisko national park snowy mountains in february

northern lights looking over abisko snowy winter mountains

Umeå, Northern Sweden

Umeå is probably more of a unique place to visit in Sweden in the winter as it is known more to be a big town rather than a popular tourism destination. I completely disagree with this, especially as in February last year we took a cross-country skiing holiday to Umeå and it was hands down one of the best trips we have done throughout Sweden! If you’re not into cross country skiing, Umeå has snow hiking, lots of great restaurants and cafes, art, culture and history museums, and activities such as husky sledging and snowmobiling!

Interested in Umeå? Read the complete guide to Umeå in winter, or the best places to cross country ski in Umeå.

Gothenburg, Sweden’s Christmas City

I may be a little biased as this has been my home for the last two year, but Gothenburg is one of the best cities in Sweden to visit in the winter. This is true especially around November and December when the city is full of different Christmas markets! Other than Christmas markets, it is a great city for fika, shopping and enjoying being out close to nature. Spend the evening wandering around Liseberg, or visit one of the city’s cosy swedish style spas.

For more details see my Gothenburg itinerary, West Sweden Map, or all Gothenburg guides!

liseberg gothenburg sweden christmas market

Sälen: A winter wonderland

Sälen is one of the smaller skiing areas in Sweden, although when I say small there are still multiple resorts with alpine and cross country skiing slopes for all levels of skier! Skiing in Sälen is personally my favourite destination in Sweden for a few reasons. It is only a 6 hour drive from Gothenburg which makes it a great place for a long weekend away rather than having to spend 12 – 13 hours on a train. It is also a little smaller than that of Åre so you can more easily travel between resorts and try out a few different areas over a few days!

If you want to try out cross-country skiing, a few of my favourite places to ski in Sälen are:

You can read my full guide to skiing in Sälen here!

unique places to visit in sweden in winter

Stockholm, Sweden’s Biggest City

You cannot visit Sweden in the winter and miss Stockholm! Being the capital city there is always something to do here. It is the perfect place to visit for a short weekend away, or you can spend a whole week seeing what it has to discover! Visit some of Stockholms great museums; whether you are interested in natural history, ABBA, vikings, photography, or the mysterious Vasa ship that sunk in the harbour, there is something for everyone! Spend the afternoon exploring Gamla Stan or visit the icy archipelago.

You can see my full Stockholm city guide here!

Best photo spots in gamla stan stockholm

Åre, The Skiing Capital

Åre is one of the biggest and most popular ski resorts in Scandinavia, with 42 ski lifts and 89 slopes! Being quite far north in Sweden, there is usually quite a long snow season with meters of fresh, powdery snow. In the area of Åre there are three main skiing areas – Åre By Ski, Björnen, Duved and Tegefjäll. These areas are mostly made up of slalom slopes, but there is also plenty of opportunity for cross country skiing!

The town of Åre can be quite difficult to navigate by yourself, and unless you have a car you likely will not get to see any of the surrounding landscape! Deep Wild Scandinavia offer different tours such as ice climbing, snowshoeing and a Northern lights tour!

Sweden’s West Coast

Although you might not initially think that the islands along the West Coast are the best place to visit in Sweden the winter, you will be surprised! Although most tourist attractions close for the winter season, the area is full of spas, saunas and great restaurants that you can still enjoy! Don’t miss wandering around the frozen harbours on islands like Marstrand, or spending the night at one of the coast’s beautiful spa hotels; Smögen’s Hafvsbad, Falkenberg Strandbad or Björholmens Marina!

Make sure to check out my West Sweden Map with over 300 tips for beautiful winter destinations!

Grövelsjön

If you want to try ski-touring or snow shoeing in the mountains then look no further than Grövelsjön! With so many trails, wind shelters, and viewpoints around the area its the perfect destination for the outdoor adventurer! Located in Dalarna, there is the chance to visit some close by natural gems such as Fulufjällets nationalpark!