Malmö by Badlands

“Illustration: Fredrika Ottosson for Malmö Turism and Destinationssamverkan Malmö”

Before you go! Good to know: Malmö changes with the season, and Malmö has 2 seasons; One is the late spring/summer, when Malmö can be a lovely, warm and at times an even ideal place. Life is easy, birds are singing. And then we have the other season, which I call the Grey Blanket, which lasts from around September until April. Enough said, now you know.

for eating

I’m a relatively poor girl with a big appetite, so when I treat myself I prefer either the rustic kind of places, or genuine fast food. Here’s a few:
Comida rapida & take out: Saras (falafels), Ganesha (Indian)
Good prices, great food: Green Mango (Thai), Spoonery (stews)
Classics: Restaurang Möllan (meat, laid back atmosphere), Grand (awesome staff, moules frites & Sunday brunch)

for drinking

Tempo is nice in the winter. Far i hatten & Kiez are super nice spots in the summer. Great for food too!

for coffee

Tons of good places! Kaffebaren at the corner of Möllevångstorget is nice for all seasons. Around S:t Knuts there’s a good bunch too – Café #6 has a neat outdoor serving in the summer. If you’re downtown, pick up your take out in Coffee Maniac at Davidshallsgatan.

for dancing

I’d say there are great clubs in Babel, Moriskan and the underground places at Norra Grängesbergsgatan. But I rarely get to dance in Malmö these days, unfortunately. I’m still stuck with dubstep & italo, when it comes to dancing I mean. I’m the freak, I know.

for music

Grand – where I’ll be having my album launch on April 23rd wink wink, Babel, Inkonst, KB & Moriskan. Haven’t had time to check out the new Malmö Live venue yet. Altho there’s a bit of profiling going on, Malmö is still too small to have super customized venues. So if you don’t wanna miss out – do check all line-ups.

for escaping

Kallbadhuset (the cold bathing house) is a great escape, at the beach Ribban, just a 20 min walk from downtown. Get naked, have a sauna and jump into the ice cold water!

for record shopping

For vinyls check out Rundgång at Kristianstadgatan, Skivesset at Nobelvägen & Seriemagasinet at Lilla Torg.

for clothes shopping

I’m not a big clothes shopper myself, but when friends from abroad visit, they go nuts for Weekday & Monki. They have great sales too. For 2nd hand check out Emmaus, Myrorna & Humana.

for first date

Beer + activity always works. Like beer and pin ball, or beer and darts. Go for the less hip’n fugly pubs like Ölcafeet, Tröls and REX. If things turn out good, cycle down to the sea for a nightswim.

for inspiration

I really like dance performances. Check out the Skånes Dansteater program! The lovely little cinema Spegeln has this “Salong Bar Deco” too, where you can eat and drink whilst watching top movies.

for walking

You do nothing but walking in Malmö. It’s not always pretty, but Pildammsparken is a classic. Or walking through town, pass the library and cross through Kungsparken down to the sea. For the proper walks you need to get out of town – the beech forest in Torup is a recreational area about a 15min drive out of Malmö. Other beautiful and more distinct nature you can find around Dalby & Genarp (about 30min drive), with good walking lanes and what not. There is loads of pretty nature further out in Skåne aswell, but that’s another Q&A.

for sleeping

If I was visiting Malmö I’d totally go for AirBnB.

for the best view

Malmö is no place with levels, but it does have the sea. Bring some picnic and find a nice spot at the boardwalks down in Västra Hamnen to watch the sunset.

your favorite local place

Folkets park! Great for all kinds of things, for all ages. Barbeque, meet’n great, drink folköl on the grass, eat ice cream, play boule, let the kids loose in the fountain, continue the evening in one of the nearby restaurants or bars. In the summer there’s usually a lot of stuff going on, like music events, mini festivals and flea markets. In the winter there’s ice skating. All for free.