20250621_153829University Central Library in Lund (June 2025)

Besides visiting Denmark, my partner and I also spent a brief afternoon in Sweden, specifically the city of Lund. Given that Copenhagen is just a bridge ride away from Sweden, it was easy to hop over and spend a few hours exploring another country. It was my partner’s first time in Sweden, and despite the unideal circumstances (i.e. visiting during Midsommar), we made the best of our visit.

From Helsingør, we continued with the guided tour towards Sweden. As mentioned in the previous post, we were not enjoying the tour and on the 15-minute ferry ride, then 45-minute drive to Lund, we decided to leave the tour to explore Lund on our own and return to Copenhagen on our own. We broke the news to our tour guide, who was a bit surprised, but let us go– at last, we were free!

Due to unfortunate timing, we were visiting Sweden on Midsommar– it’s the country’s national holiday, which meant that 90% of shops, restaurants, and cafés were closed. Thankfully, my partner and I had purchased food at a food hall back in Helsingør and ate it during our ferry ride over, so we were able to pass by the long queue at the only sandwich shop that was open in Lund and got to visiting the city right away.

We started at Lund Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral that dates all the way back to 1123 CE and is one of the oldest stone buildings still in use in Sweden. It was built in the Romanesque style, and it houses some notable, historic items, including the 1425 astronomical clock and stone-carved statues of “the giant Finn and his wife” of Scandinavia folklore. While not as lavishly-decorated as cathedrals in France or Spain, Lund Cathedral was still impressive to visit.

20250621_145018Lund Cathedral


20250621_143827Inside the cathedral

Next was an idle jaunt through Lund University, one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. Established in 1666, it houses nine faculties throughout its generously-sized campus, and many of its alumna have gone on to become prime ministers and Nobel Prize winners. The campus itself is gorgeous, and we passed by the elegant Main Building and the University Central Library, covered in lush green that was in full summer bloom.

20250621_152403Lund University Main Building


20250621_153829University Central Library

We also strolled Lund city itself, which was really quiet due to Midsommar. Aside from a few other tourists, the streets were empty as the Swedes were at home enjoying the day off. It was also quite warm that day at 75°F/24°C, and we stopped by a random souvenir shop that was still open, where the shop owner was kind to fill up our water bottles. Apparently, we were visiting on the hottest day of the year!

20250621_152655Colorful red house with red bicycle

Lund had some picturesque streets, lined with flowers bursting with color (red, yellow, white, etc). We wandered Adelgatan and Hjortgatan, two of the cobblestone streets, which made for a beautiful walk around town.

20250621_160315Adelgatan


20250621_160630Hjortgatan

Afterwards, we decided to head back to Copenhagen early. We purchased train tickets and caught the next train at 16h15. It was a quick, 45-minute ride back, and we got to cross the Øresund Bridge, connecting Denmark and Sweden over the eponymous strait. Originally, our guided tour was also to visit Malmö, another city in Sweden, but given that practically nothing was open in Lund for Midsommar, we opted not to visit Malmö, and instead returned to Copenhagen by 17h00.

20250621_170207Crossing the Øresund Bridge

That concluded our time in Sweden, as well as in Denmark– we would only have the morning the following day for breakfast before we had to pack up and head to the airport to take our afternoon flight back to Los Angeles. It was a shame our guided tour was a bust, but the tour just wasn’t for us. Nothing personal, but it was too fast-paced (even for me), the tour guide was essentially a glorified bus driver, barely giving commentary, and it was impossible to have time for meals, let alone the bathroom. Visiting on Midsommar wasn’t best timing, but even then, the tour itinerary was just unrealistic. It was the first time I ever ditched a tour halfway, but really, it turned out for the best.

Our visit to Denmark (and Sweden) was a short, but fun one. It was our first trip together overseas, and it was a milestone one, as we got engaged! Certainly a memorable one for the books, and it would be our last big trip together before we got married the following summer. From there, we would take holidays together as a married couple!

Thanks for reading our Northern Europe series, and I promise more travel posts are coming very soon! Take care 🙂

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

45 thoughts on “Destination: Lund, Sweden”

    1. You’ve visited a lot more of Sweden than I have! Lund is smaller than those other cities, but just as charming and gorgeous! Hope you can head over there some day, Marion 😊

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  2. I spent three weeks in Sweden last year (not enough time). I took a day trip to Lund from Malmö. It’s beautiful. I loved Lund and regretted not spending more time there (and the rest of Sweden). Thanks for the post and the memories.

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    1. You’re welcome! Lund is such a gorgeous little city in Sweden. Unfortunately, we did not make it over to Malmö, but I hope we can in a future visit! Glad this post brought back fond memories for you 😊

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  3. I love how charming Lund is with those cobbled streets and pastel-colored houses, dear Rebecca. I can only imagine how beautiful the university library must be in autumn when the ivy vines covering the historic brick facade turn a brilliant, fiery red and deep orange. I am sorry to hear that the guided tour turned out to be a letdown and you had to break away from the group to explore on your own terms. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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    1. It was a shame that we had to ditch the tour and waste money on that, but in the end, it was worth it for a peace of mind; I’m sure we were able to return to Copenhagen earlier than if we’d stayed on the tour! Lund was a pleasant little visit, as we didn’t feel rushed in our exploration. Thanks for following along this summer series, Aiva, and more travels to come soon! 😊

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  4. Copenhagen really is a good base from which to visit parts of neighbouring Norway. I realised this whilst waiting for the train at Copenhagen Airport to take me into the city centre, as I watched trains passing by bound for Norway or Berlin. So many travel dreams passing by.

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    1. Yes, Copenhagen is conveniently-located to get to other parts of Scandinavia! It was so easy to get to-and-from Sweden in this matter. Love that Europe is so interconnected in its geography and public transport!

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      1. I love it too, and I try to make the most of it. By comparison, Canada has gone back to square one when it comes to passenger rail travel, even though it was once part of its history.

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    1. Europe has the advantage of being a relatively-small continent that makes it so convenient to travel from country to country, even in a day! Lund was a pleasant little visit, to get a small taste of Sweden 🙂

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  7. Ditching a guided tour halfway takes real nerve — ‘at last, we were free!’ made me grin, because some of our best family travel days have come from tossing the itinerary and just wandering. An empty, sun-drenched Lund on the hottest Midsommar with a shop owner kindly refilling your water bottles sounds oddly magical for a day when everything was shut. And getting engaged on that trip? What a keeper. Congratulations!

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    1. Sometimes, it really does help to forgo a planned itinerary and just go with the flow. Thankfully, my partner and I could remove ourselves from the tour and explore Lund on our own. Despite the city being so empty on a national holiday, it was quite magical visiting without any crowds. Made it as if we had the whole place to ourselves!

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  8. Those cobbled streets look lovely and their quietness some compensation for visiting on a holiday when so much was closed. I love the red house with red bicycle 🙂 And sometimes ditching a tour is the best thing to do – you may feel you’ve wasted some money but at least you haven’t wasted all your time which is arguably worth more!

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    1. Time is more important than money, that’s for sure! Even though we were in Lund on Midsommar, it was quite nice exploring without any crowds and having the place to ourselves! Really, it turned out well in the end 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Tricia! It was a good decision to forgo the rest of the tour and visit Lund on our own. We were able to take our time and even return to Copenhagen earlier than otherwise!

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  14. 75 degrees was the hottest day of the year? That’s it. I’m moving to Sweden.
    Thanks for showing me Lund, I town I that was within striking distance, but I simply didn’t have the time. In exchange, I will show you Malmo. Please hold… 😉

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    1. Haha, 75⁰F might sound pleasant, but it was still quite warm, as the sun was really strong! Looks like we did different cities in Sweden, as we didn’t make it to Malmö…I hope you can head to Lund some day!

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  15. What a beautiful place – the University campus is really stunning! And all the little colourful houses with flowers everywhere are so quaint and charming 🙂 I also like the simplicity of the cathedral interior.

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    1. Sweden is truly beautiful in the summer! Flowers are in full bloom, and the sun is bright to shine upon the colorfully-painted homes. Lund was a lovely little visit 🙂

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    1. Yes! When traveling, it can be hard to know when your next meal can be. So when we saw the food hall back in Helsingør, we took the chance to grab some food. It saved us a lot of time for Lund, as we hit the ground running to start exploring!

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  17. An afternoon in Sweden! That’s another country on the list. I love the name Lund, it has an elegance that your photos do much to back up. Somehow it is everything I imagined it might be: cobblestone streets, brick houses, tiled roofs, splendorous architecture and handsome churches. Escaping the tour sounded very wise.

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    1. Thanks, Leighton! Lund was certainly an elegant little city, absolutely teeming with flowers in the summer. Very charming, and I’m glad we’d ditched the tour to take our time and explore it for ourselves 😊

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    1. I agree that visiting Lund during the summer offers the best weather. However, we should’ve accounted for visiting on a national holiday, as it did limit our options of things to see and do in town. All the same, a lovely afternoon spent!

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  19. I like your photos of the University Central Library and Lund Cathedral, especially its interior. Your post reminded me of a penpal I had when I was around 10-11 (she lived in a city near Malmö). I told her I lived in California, but she stopped writing when she learned I didn’t live in the same city as Disneyland! Too bad, not having Mickey Mouse as my next-door neighbor was a dealbreaker for her. Thanks for sharing your memorable and meaningful experience visiting Denmark and Sweden with your now-wife!

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    1. What a story! That’s both funny and sad…California is such a huge state that not everyone lives near Disneyland! Any case, Lund is a picturesque little city in Sweden; we were bummed that we didn’t make it to Malmö, but perhaps another time! Thanks for following along, Darlene 🙂

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  20. Lund looks lovely! I think you made the right decision to visit this Swedish city despite your timing. I particularly adore the University Central Library with its lush green cover. The cathedral — although not as ornate as those found in southern European cities — still look pretty. I love that shot of its exterior in the bright Swedish sun.

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    1. Very true! While it wasn’t ideal to visit on Midsommar, i.e. nothing was open, it was still nice to wander around town and see the sites from outside. Summer is the perfect time to visit Sweden, and it’s well-worth checking out!

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  22. Lund looks so pretty, especially the university buildings. Time is the one thing that you’ll never get back, so it sounds like you made the right call to ditch the tour when you did and make the most of the rest of your day. Look forward to reading about your next adventure 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Rosie! Lund was a beautiful little city, and it was great to forgo the rest of the tour to explore it on our own. Although my Scandinavian series is over (for now), I still have a couple of trips to recap– more domestically, that is! Stay tuned 😊

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