13 January 2019

Top 10 things to do in Linköping



Top 10 things to do in Linköping


1. The cathedral of Linköping, Linköpings domkyrka, is one of the main attractions in Linköping. It is situated in the middle of the town and easy to access. At the time of the writing of this blog post the opening hours are all days 9-18. But you better check the link below before you visit so it is open. It is located next to the castle of Linköping.
https://www.kyrktorget.se/domkyrkan.linkopinghttps://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link%C3%B6pings_domkyrka

2. Fika. Fika is a popular thing to do in Sweden. We meet with family or friends, drink coffee and eat cookies and the traditional kanelbulle (bun). You can find the best fika in town at:
  • Babettes bakery and cafe. This is a very popular cafe for fika or lunch in Linköping close to the Trädgårdstorget square. It is a nice place to meet a friend for a coffee or lunch, read a book or study. They serve locally produced food and focus on quality. Try the vegetarian burger. It is really nice. http://babettes.se/
  • Simons rosteri cafe this is also a popular cafe for fika or lunch in the city centre. They focus on making wonderful coffee and home made bread and cookies. It is located on Storgatan pass by the Folke Filbyter statue and walk towards the castle. Simons is on the right side of the street.  http://simonsrosteribageri.se/

3. Gamla Linköping is the old town of Linköping. This is situated a couple of kilometers from the city square. When Linköping was modernized some of the old houses in the city center were moved to this part of Linköping. This i now an open air museum with old shops, cafe, waffle cafe, chocolate shop etc. A nice place to visit with kids, especially the science centre Fenomen museum. No entrance fee. It only takes a few minutes by bus from the city square Stora torget or the train station.
Fenomen museum science center for kids
Not far from the old town is Lill-Valla, a large new playground for kids. There is also a mini-zoo with some animals like rabbits to look at. It is within walking distance from Gamla Linköping. No entrance fee.
Website about The playground 

4. After work in Linköping. If you are going for an afterwork in Linköping. You should check out the bars and restaurants on the main square Stora torget in the summer. In the winter restaurant Brasseriet and the Gallo wine bar are very popular places. If you like rock the Mörners bar is the place to visit. And for sports you probably will enjoy the Legends sports bar. If you like beer and smörrebröd (small sandwich) try the beer cafe Backen. All these place are in the city centre and close to the main square Stora torget.  

5. Rent a Kayak, in the summer. You can paddle through Linköping on the Stångån, Kinda kanal, river. Or in one of the lakes close to the town. Contact the Kayak company for more details. There are also a lovely area for walking around Stångån in the middle of town, in the Tinnerö area Östgötaleden and along Kinda kanal in the country side. In Tinnerö you also find places to barbeque. 

6. Enjoy music. There are several concerts every week in Linköping. The symphony orchestra plays classical music and there are also local bands or national artists visiting to perform in Linköping.
The churches offer a lot of concerts without entrance fee:
Music concert program in the Sankt Lars church, in the city centre, same street as the Forex office
Music concert program in the Domkyrkan, cathedral of Linköping in the city centre.
http://kammarorkestern.linkopingsdomkyrka.se/
https://www.facebook.com/pg/linkopingsdomkyrka/events/?ref=page_internal
https://www.kyrktorget.se/domkyrkoforsamlingen.linkoping
http://domkyrkokoren.linkopingsdomkyrka.se/

7. The farmers market. In the weekends after the summer there are a local farmers market, Bondens marknad, in the city centre. They sell locally produced vegetables, honey, food, cheese, flowers etc. A wonderful place to visit. It is on the square in front on Linköping castle. Close to Domkyrkan. 
If you have a car you can also visit the small producers around Linköping to taste and buy their products. On the west side of Sweden you can make a nice tour by car to visit: Löts mejeri makes cheese, Brunneby musteri makes juices, non-alkoholic cider, marmelads, jam etc and Boställets bageri bakery and cafe in an old stable in the countryside, 

8. Enjoy food. You can enjoy very nice food at:
The best burger is served at Flott restaurant. Close to the main square Stora torget in Linköping.
The best Italian food is served at Le Borgate. A 10-15 of minutes walk from Stora torget. It is located in Övre vasastaden. 

9. Culture. There some museums in Linköping. The Gamla Linköping old town open air museum, The Östergötland museum, Linköping castle museum Linköping slottsmuseeum and the Flygvapenmuseum the air force museum are the most popular ones. In the city centre is the lovely Passagen Art Museum (free entrance). 
There are also many castles in and around Linköping which are nice to visit for a guided tour. The closest by are Ekenäs slott, Bjärka säby slott, Linköping castle. On the way to Bjärka säby slott you can stop for an local produced ice cream at the Stavsätter ice cream production. There is a lake by Bjärka säby where you can swim in the summer and ice skate in the winter.
There is a local theatre Östgötateatern and also music concerts in the music hall which is called Linköping konsert och kongress.
On Storgatan 41 there is a shop called Hemslöjden where you can see and buy local traditional craft. 

10. Wine tasting. There nice wine tastings at some of the restaurants in Linköping. The large wine shop Systembolaget in Linköping also arrange wine tastings every month with special themes. 


Things to do in Linköping with kids or teenagers


If you are visiting Linköping with young kids I also recommend:
  • swimming in Linköping simhall in the city centre (entrance fee)
  • visit the large playground in the park Trädgårdsföreningen in the city centre (no entrance fee)
  • Busfabriken indoors playground or Leos lekland (entrance fee)
  • Flygvapenmuseum, outside the city centre, museum with aircraft (entrance fee)
  • The kids corner at Östergötlands museum, in the city centre, (entrance fee)
  • Bowling at Strandgatan (entrance fee)
  • The old town Gamla Linköping (no entrance fee)
  • The Lill valla playground (no entrance fee)

If you are looking for activities for older kids and teenagers I can recommend:
  • Outdoor go cart (25 minutes from the city centre by car)
  • Indoor the Prison island adventure (20 minutes from the city centre by car or 30 by bus), 
  • Indoor Laserdome 10-15 minutes walk from Stora torget
  • Indoor gocart (15 minutes from the city centre by car or 30 by bus)
  • Indoor Escape house (in the middle of the city centre by the square Trädgårdstorget) 
  • Outdoor Höghöjdsbanan (20 minutes from the city centre by car or 30 by bus).