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BEACHES

Five beaches you won’t believe are in Sweden

Few people connect Sweden with a beach holiday, but there are plenty of fabulous seaside spots to enjoy in summer.

Published: 7 July 2015 16:39 CEST
Updated: 4 July 2017 12:17 CEST
Five beaches you won't believe are in Sweden
Tanto Beach in Stockholm. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

1. Ribersborg, Malmö

Wooden piers jut out into shallow waters at city beach Ribersborg in downtown Malmö, which has everything a visitor could ask for: restaurants, showers, green areas and barbecues. It also caters for nudists and dogs who can each enjoy their own separate stretches of sand.

Admire the impressive skyline of Sweden's third biggest city, gaze at Copenhagen across the Öresund strait and casually stroll past the property that used to belong to Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic less than five minutes away while doing your best not to look too starstruck.

Don't forget to impress your southern Swedish friends by calling it by its local nickname, 'Ribban'. Top it off by suggesting you go back in winter when the beach centre offers bathing opportunities complete with sauna facilities.


Ribersborg with the Öresund bridge in the background. Photo: Johan Nilsson/SCANPIX

2. Tanto Beach, Stockholm

If you're looking for a Stockholmer on a hot summer's day, chances are you'll find them here. 

This is the perfect place to savour those long, Swedish summer nights. Prepare to be blown away by the facts that 1) it's nearly midnight, 2) the sun has yet to set, and 3) you're going for a swim in the city centre of a European capital.

Tanto Beach does not have any barbecue facilities, but some of Södermalm district's trendiest eateries and takeaways are readily available within walking distance. Why not round off the evening with a drink at one of Stockholm's hottest outdoor bars or restaurants?


Tanto Beach in Stockholm. Yes, that's a palm tree in the background. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

3. Fårö, Gotland

Fårö is an island off an island. Located some 200 kilometres south of Stockholm, it is reached by ferry from Gotland, which in turn can be reached by ferry or plane from mainland Sweden.

Sudersand is Fårö's – and Gotland's – most beautiful and popular beach. It has a little bit of everything for everyone, from the backpacker seeking unspoiled sands to the young family looking for leisure activities to the Russian soldier looking for a good spot from which to launch a seaborne invasion (just kidding!). 

With pedal boats for hire, a mini golf course, restaurants, cafés, kiosks and ice cream bars on the beach, visitors have plenty to keep them busy should they tire of the long, wide stretches of soft sand. But why should they?


There are plenty of activities to enjoy on Fårö. Photo: Michael Jonsson/Folio/imagebank.sweden.se

4. Lysekil, Bohuslän

The Bohuslän region in south-western Sweden is known for its abundance of gorgeous beaches with majestic rock formations sloping down to the sea.

The old fishing town of Lysekil alone has a total of 12 beach spots. We tried to pick just one of them, honestly, but it was impossible. Oh well, this summer's as good a time as any to start planning that beach hopping holiday – who knew Sweden would be just the place?

Several glaciation periods during the ice age created the rock faces' polished look, unique to this area. A fun fact to drop into the conversation at parties is that some of Bohuslän's oldest rock species were created 1.8 billion years ago. Get that.


A beach hut near Lysekil. Photo: Andreas Nordström/imagebank.sweden.se

5. Norrfällsviken, Höga Kusten

Bet you never thought you could go for a summer swim north of the 60th parallel? In fact, you will find few places better. Norrfällsviken on Sweden's High Coast (Höga Kusten) is not as crowded as many of the other beaches and, because it's located in northern Sweden, the sun barely sets in summer. Perfect for a midnight skinny dip, in other words.

And when you're lying outstretched on its golden swathes of sandy beach, enjoying the sunny (most of the time) blue skies and gazing at the green mountains across the water, you can almost fool yourself you're in the Mediterranean.

When you're done, read freelance writer Danny Chapman's guide to some of the other gems Sweden's High Coast has to offer.


The Mediterranean, the Caribbean… or Norrfällsviken in Sweden? Photo: Danny Chapman

TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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