I've already told you about our Scandinavian trip to Skåne, the most southern region of Sweden, also known as ‘Provence of Sweden’. With its beautiful beaches, quaint towns, authentic sites and abundance of beautiful nature and countryside, there's much to see and do, as you could have read in this blog, including video and route with all our favourite stops!
But during our visit we also stayed in several unique hotels, and sampled surprisingly high quality food in good restaurants and foodie hotspots! Therefore I wanted to share this with you in a separate blog! I’m happy to show you our favourites from north-east Skåne, to the south, Lund, Ystad and Malmö.
Where to stay?
1. Wanås Restaurant & Hotel in Knislinge
As mentioned in my previous blog we started our trip with a 2 night stay at this contemporary 18th century farm and castle hotel in Northern Skåne, situated on what used to be the border of Denmark and Sweden.
With a long history of battles, and origins going back to Medieval times with the castle even burnt down and rebuilt in 1556. The Wanås Estate has been in the same family for 8 generations and includes one of the biggest milk farms in Europe, which has been fully organic since 1909 already.
With its unique sustainable mentality Wanås is part of The Long Run, an international network of sustainable destinations.
The Wanås Sculpture Park has been open for 32 years, and because of its increasing popularity the family decided to add a hotel and restaurant since 2017 in 2 of the 18th century barns on the estate.
The hotel is decorated in a contemporary, rustic way, mixing natural materials, vintage furniture sourced from the region, with typical Nordic design, as you can see in this gallery:
This authentic sustainable hotel was covered by many prestigious magazines, like Vogue, Elle, the Telegraph, Travel + Leisure and is also included in Condé Nast’s Hotlist of 2018, need I say more? You can find out more on their own website: Wanasrh.se
2. Karlaby Kro in Tommarp
More to the south of Skåne, near quaint fishermen’s towns like Kivik, beautiful beaches and the dune areas of Simrishamn you will find this historic farm, turned Spa Hotel, amidst the quiet countryside of south Sweden.
The owners converted the old stables house into a poolroom with 12 x 4 meters indoor pool and a sauna, and added a delicious restaurant. Find out more on their own website: KarlabyKro.se, and get an impression of the room here:
3. Hotell Continental du Sud in Ystad
Visiting Ystad is a must, and a stay at the oldest hotel of Sweden should not be missed! Located in the center of town, just across from the central station, this hotel has been visited by many travelers, as well as celebrities for almost 200 years.
Perfectly situated near the quaint colorful streets which make Ystad so unique and just minutes from the main shopping streets. See for yourself and book here: HotellContinental
4. Elite Hotel Savoy in Malmö
This stylish hotel, right across from the central station, located perfectly in Malmö’s city center is highly recommended!
The prestigious 4 star hotel used to be a tavern in the 14th century, and is also said to be one of the oldest and most special hotels in Sweden. With its 117 modernly renovated rooms it offers everything you need for a comfortable stay, with its own gastrobar, grill restaurant, gym and sauna, while still maintaining that old world charm.
For more information and to book directly check: EliteHotelSavoy
And get an impression in this gallery:
Where to eat?
5. Wanås restaurant
Wanås Hotel's restaurant offers lunch and dinner every day, prepared with home-grown, organic seasonal products, which is evident when you taste it!
The food was so pure and delicious that it could only be prepared with the best and most fresh ingredients! The lunch offering is a photogenic selection of daily specials, freshly baked bread and several warm dishes to choose from:
And for dinner a 4 course menu is prepared with products from their own farm, from other favourite local farmers and the forest, varying per season. Served in this historic and rustic restaurant setting, both breakfast, lunch and dinner at Wanås restaurant are a unique experience and highly recommended, see for yourself here:
6. Karlaby Kro’s restaurant
The garden view restaurant at this farm hotel serves a 4 course surprise menu every evening, prepared with organic ingredients picked by the chef. Delicious and highly recommended!
And what about breakfast in this cosy setting?!
7. Fika at Kaffestugan Alunbruket
Chosen as one of the best cafés in Sweden 4 years in a row, and being the oldest coffee cottage in Skåne, obviously makes this place a must, especially for a traditional Swedish Fika!
The concept of 'Fika' was totally new to me, but I found out that it’s actually a great excuse to have an extra break in the afternoon, especially around 3 or 4 pm, in those few hours after lunch when you start getting hungry again:) During this break you should have a coffee and preferably some pastries with friends, to relax and catch up.
This cute ‘Kaffestugan’, situated in a traditional Swedish half-timbered house from the 18th century, surrounded by flowers, is located in the nature reserve of Verkaån, which makes the perfect photogenic setting, as you can see here:
They even have a B&B here, find out more on their own website: Alunbruket.com
8. Olof Viktors in Glemminge
This quaint bakery/café/delicacy shop serves one of the best lunches I had in a while, also in a highly picturesque setting as you can see here:
Their home-made sandwiches are delicious but the pastries are to die for too, so make sure to take some of their delicacies home with you as well. Find out more here: OlofViktors.se
9. Brasserie du Sud Ystad
Although Ystad has many restaurants, the brasserie in the historic Hotell Continental du Sud is perfect for dinner and drinks. The setting on their outdoor terrace at the backside of the hotel is very cosy and they serve a good variety of high quality no-nonsense food and drinks!
10. På Skissernas Lund
Real Scandinavian food made from local produce is a must try for lunch after a visit to the neighboring Skissernas Museum in Lund!
11. Malmö Saluhall - Hedvigsdal Vedugn & Vin
Obviously a buzzing city like Malmö has many great restaurants to choose from, but for casual, organic and high quality food in a hipster setting I can certainly recommend the Saluhall.
This industrial food hall has many hotspots with different types of food and many seating options, both in-and outdoor!
We sampled the pizza’s at Hedvigsdal Vedugn & Vin, prepared in a traditional wood-stone oven, which can be tasted! Honestly their burrata pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had, and I can not recommend this place more!
I hope I inspired you to visit Sweden, and especially the southern region of Skåne through this blog, and my previous one. If you like quaint architecture, colorful towns, unique hotels and high quality organic food, these foodie hotspots, hotels and restaurants are certainly recommended, and I hope you can visit them yourself by following our route.
Find even more unique accommodations throughout Skåne in Southern Sweden, to suit your taste, via this hotel page or region page.
If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to let me know here, or via social media through the buttons at the bottom of this page, always happy to help!
*While this blog was written in collaboration with Tourism in Skåne and Malmötown, it still reflects my honest opinion and own experiences, as always.
