A day in Lund
While we stayed in Scania (Skåne) for the summer, we decided to go on a day trip to the charming city of Lund.
We visited Lund together many years ago and had fond memories of it. To our delight, we liked the city even better this time around.
Lund is a very friendly place to be. It’s relaxed, the food is good and the architecture is beautiful. Strolling around in the afternoon sun amidst autumn colours and old houses was dreamy.
We hope this short travel guide to Lund will help you have a magical experience of the city, too.
Where to stay in Lund
- Budget: Winstrup Hostel.
- Value for money: Hotel Finn.
- Luxury: Grand Hotel Lund.
Search for the best value accommodation in Lund here.
Table of contents
Map
Lund is a university city in Scania, Southern Sweden with about 90,000 inhabitants – many of which attend the city’s university.
Malmö is located about 15 kilometres to the south-west of Lund, while Helsingborg is around 55 kilometres to the north. Copenhagen, Denmark is just on the opposite side of the Öresund Strait.
What to do in Lund
There’s so much to see and do in this beautiful old city. Here are our 6 favourite things to do in Lund:
1. Visit Lund Cathedral
You can’t miss Lund Cathedral while visiting Lund.
The huge church is from the late 11th century and is thus one of the oldest stone buildings in Sweden that are still in use.
We were highly impressed by this dominating marvel.
Going inside is free and can be recommended.
Lund Cathedral has been called “the most powerful representative of Romanesque architecture in the Nordic countries” (Wikipedia).
2. Soak up knowledge at Lund University
You don’t have to go back to school to visit Lund University, one of northern Europe’s oldest universities.
Simply walk around campus and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
3. Smell the flowers at Lund Botanical Garden
Visiting Lund Botanical Garden (Botaniska trädgården) is a must if you enjoy plants and flowers.
4. Go back in time at Kulturen
Kulturen in Lund is the second oldest dedicated open-air museum in the world and the largest open-air museum of Scania.
It’s home to more than 30 buildings dating from the Middle Ages to the 1930s along with lots of exhibitions.
Read about opening hours and prices on the official website here.
5. Stroll around town
Central Lund is very pedestrian-friendly with lots of walking streets and cobble-stoned alleys.
We especially loved walking around the area between Lund Cathedral and the Botanical Garden.
6. Eat delicious food
For being such a small city, Lund is packed with great places to eat.
Especially if you’re into vegan, vegetarian and/or gluten-free food that’s cheap and full of flavour.
Spotting a falafel stand shortly after we arrived near the central station, we couldn’t resist biting into a roll (or two).
Later on, we enjoyed kladdkaka (the Swedish take on a heavy brownie) and some coffee aka fika at Ebba’s Pantry (Ebbas Skafferi), which is a fully vegan café in the middle of town.
We liked the place so much that we decided to return for dinner as well. Something we didn’t regret.
Update: Unfortunately, it seems like Ebba’s has been closed permanently since our visit.
Here’s an updated list of all the vegan and vegetarian restaurants and cafés in Lund from HappyCow.
Where to stay in Lund
Lund is a really small city and very walkable. Staying at any of these hotels will get you in walking distance to all of the best and most popular things to do in Lund.
- Budget: Winstrup Hostel.
- Value for money: Hotel Finn.
- Luxury: Grand Hotel Lund.
Search for the best value accommodation in Lund here.
How to get to Lund
By car
Driving to Lund is easy.
We parked our car at the outdoor parking area right next to the central train station for the day and paid 95 SEK (~ 9 EUR / 11 USD) for 24 hours of parking.
By train
Trains and busses go to and from Lund multiple times per hour, year-round and the city is well connected to other big cities in Sweden and to Copenhagen in Denmark as well.
If you want to visit Lund on a day trip from Copenhagen, you can travel from Copenhagen Central Station to Lund Central Station in about one hour.
From Malmö Central Station, it’s just 15 minutes by train.
Train tickets can be bought at the train stations and they are approximately 12 EUR / 14 USD each way per person.
When to visit Lund
The weather is roughly the same in nearby Malmö as it is in Lund. And the weather in Malmö is about the same as in Copenhagen.
That generally means short but very pleasant (and busy) summers, colourful autumns, not-too-cold but dark winters and lovely but kinda hit-and-miss springs.
The sun almost doesn’t set in June, and the tourist season hasn’t really started yet, so that’s a great month for visiting Lund. May is also great but a bit colder.
We visited the city in early September. We had nice and sunny weather. In the sun, shorts and a t-shirt was just fine. But in the late afternoon, a sweater was needed in the shade.
Tip: Bring a raincoat and a sweater whenever you’re visiting Scandinavia, no matter the season!
Our best tips for visiting Lund
- Go thrift shopping. Lund is full of delightful second-hand shops.
- Drink tap water. The water quality in Lund is excellent.
- Walk around. Lund is a tiny city and walking from one place to another is often if not always the best option.
- Explore the parks. The parks in Lund are great places to relax.
- Eat falafel. While Malmö is more famous for their falafels, they’re also great in Lund.
- Don’t forget fika. Having a cup of coffee and something sweet is a great way to spend the afternoon whenever you’re in Sweden.
Thanks for reading
Thanks for getting all the way to the end of this short travel guide to Lund in Sweden! We hope it has been useful.
What do you think about Lund?
If you’ve been there, it would be awesome to hear your best tips in the comments.
If you haven’t been yet, please don’t hesitate to ask us anything! We’re only glad to help.
Our favourite travel resources:
- Booking.com for cheap hotels.
- Momondo for the best flight deals.
- SafetyWing for travel insurance. We also like World Nomads and True Traveller. All three compared here.
Our camera gear:
- Panasonic GH5. Used for all of our photos and videos.
- DJI Mavic 2 Pro. Best drone out there!
- Sirui Tripod. Lightweight and strong.
- See all of our camera gear here.
Ebba’s is permanently closed, sadly.
Oh no, that really is sad! Thanks a lot for letting us know.
I had been in Lund for 3 months last decade and I like to stay there. It’s pretty and pleasant environment old town.
It’s definitely a pleasant town! Glad to hear you enjoyed it there.