What's New

Now that it's linked by the Øresund Bridge with Denmark, Sweden is becoming more closely allied with the Continent. It's a trend that began when it entered the European Union and one that has continued aggressively post-millennium. Stockholm in particular no longer seems isolated in the remote north -- it's become a cosmopolitan city in its own right.

Immigrants are also changing the face of Sweden. Interspersed among all those light-skinned blond and blonde locals are newly arrived visitors from places like Turkey and Eastern Europe, and even arrivals from the Sahara. Immigrants are spreading out and settling not just in Stockholm and Gothenburg, but in some of the country's smaller villages and towns.

As it moves deeper into the millennium, Sweden still clings to its krona as a mode of currency, although more and more commercial concerns are lobbying for Sweden to fall under the euro umbrella. Who knows what results will be revealed whenever the currency issue is put to a vote again?

Like America, Sweden even changed its political alignment in 2006. After 12 years of a center-left rule under the Social Democrats, voters opted for a more conservative government, which pledged to put a break on the burgeoning welfare state. At present some top wage earners are paying 60% of their annual incomes in federal taxes.

Here are some other new developments that could affect your stay in Sweden.

Stockholm

Hotels -- Set across the street from one another, Hellsten and Rex Hotels, Luntmakargatan 68 and 73 (tel. 08/661-86-00 and 08/16-00-40), were both developed by a music entrepreneur in the increasingly fashionable district of Vasastaden. The best of the lot is the government-rated Hellsten, though you can stay less expensively at the three-star Rex. The Hellsten was turned into a hotel from an 1898 red-brick textile mill, and retains many traces of its original decor.

Restaurants -- One of the members of ABBA has opened the chic Bistro Rival in the Hotel Rival, Mariatorget 3 (tel. 08/545-789-00). It's now the hippest dining spot in town, offering a market-fresh and tantalizing cuisine along with its see-and-be-seen clientele. The food, like the customers, is international.

One of the most gracious places for lunch or a pot of tea is Grace Tea House, Beridarebanan 1 (tel. 08/56-84-88-98), which opened in 2006. In addition to its inspired Chinese menu, the restaurant boasts the best selections of tea in Stockholm. Naturally, staff members are experts at brewing it.

In 2006, celebrities and beautiful people adopted the Kungsholmen Restaurant, Norr Mälarstrand Kajplats 464 (tel. 08/505-244-50), and its finely tuned international cuisine. The restaurant features seven different "food stations" and promotes dining as theater.

Attractions -- The greatest botanical gardens in Sweden have opened here at Rosendals, Trädgård Rosendalsterrassen 12 (tel. 08/545-812-70). Although gardens have existed on this site for years, they went big-time only recently -- today, they attract thousands of visitors. Greenhouses, a cafe serving organic food, and views of some of the best landscaping in Sweden help make this one of Stockholm's best attractions.

The Moderna Museet (Museum of Modern Art), Skeppsholmen (tel. 08/519-552-00), has reopened after a major restoration. New artworks have been added, and the permanent exhibition is more user-friendly. Musical concerts are also now presented here, and the children's workshops have been improved so much that they're now the best in Stockholm. Admission is even free, not only here but at a number of other leading Stockholm museums -- all part of a 2005 tourism initiative.

It doesn't even have a home in Stockholm as of yet, but sometime in 2008, organizers plan to open an ABBA Museum dedicated to Sweden's most famous and successful pop group. On display will be costumes worn by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, as well as instruments used by the group, plus awards, handwritten song lyrics, and other memorabilia. The museum will even feature a studio where visitors can record their own ABBA songs. The group has not performed since 1982, but still sells three million records a year. The museum is expected to draw half a million visitors annually.

Shopping -- Counterculture shoppers are heading for the Hornstullstrand Street Market, Hornstulls Strand 4 (tel. 08/658-63-60), installed at the waterfront on the rapidly gentrifying island of Södermalm. In fair weather, the market spills outside, but it retreats to an abandoned parking garage in the winter. All of Stockholm's "Secondhand Roses" show up here for their clothing. Bargains galore, and even an eco-sensitive restaurant, can be found.

After Dark -- The trendiest counterculture club in Stockholm has become AG925, Kronobergsgatan 37 (tel. 08/410-681-00), a sprawling, serpentine, and much battered labyrinth of rooms where the denizens of the night gather, often to listen to punk rock bands.

Gothenburg

In Sweden's second city, the hotel scene has remained relatively sleepy, but there's been an explosion of restaurants. Though far from rivaling Stockholm in terms of grand restaurants, Gothenburg is increasingly attracting discerning foodies. Among the new openings is Thörnströms Kök at Teknologatan 3 (tel. 031/16-20-66), now one of the most fashionable restaurants in the city, delivering a haute international cuisine. The chefs are shaking up traditional recipes without losing the natural flavors of their market-fresh produce. One of the most hip and appealing drinking and dining spots is Bliss Resto, Magasinsgatan 3 (tel. 031/13-85-55), also serving an international cuisine with tables set outside in fair weather. The menu is an ambitious mix of tapas and other tasty offerings. Dispensing a French and Swedish cuisine, Cyrano's, Prinsgatan 7 (tel. 031/14-31-10), is one of the city's justifiably popular new bistros, featuring, among other selections, some of the most savory pizzas in town. The setting evokes Provence in the south of France.

Named after a district in New York, Soho, Östra Larmgatan 16 (tel. 031/13-33-26), is a cozy place for dining on international specialties. Don't miss the exceptional wine bar with 40 reds and 40 whites sold by the glass. Finally, Wasa Allé & Wasa Källare, Vasagatan 24 (tel. 031/31-31-91), roams the planet for inspiration -- French, Brazilian, and Asian influences are all present. Once a former pharmacy, now converted into a fashionable rendezvous spot, the restaurant serves some of the best cuisine in the city. It also contains an inexpensive cellar cafe.

Malmö

Sweden's third city is exploding with new developments in the wake of a spectacular bridge spanning the Öresund, linking southern Sweden with Denmark. Copenhagen is only a short drive away. Nothing is more dazzling on the Malmö skyline than the avant-garde "Turning Torso," Sweden's tallest building, an apartment house rising 190m (624 ft.), a total of 54 floors with a 90-degree twist from the base to the top. You can't miss it from almost anywhere you stand in Malmö.

In terms of hotels, Scandic Hotel Kramer, Stortorget 7 (tel. 040/693-54-00) was growing a bit stale until a top-to-bottom refurbishment once again made it one of the finest addresses in Malmö. Even though it was built in 1875, it is now one of the most up-to-date hotels in the city.

As for the restaurant scene, Malmö is undergoing a revolution. Now that it's linked to the Continent, more and more restaurants are selling exotic cuisine, even from as far away as Thailand. One of the best of these is Lemongrass, Grunbodgatan 9 (tel. 040/30-69-79), which brings an often spicy cuisine to Malmö. It also offers Japanese specialties like sushi and Chinese dishes.

Opening onto a panoramic view of Öresund, Salt & Brygga, Sundspromenade 7 (tel. 040/611-59-40), has gained fame as a trendy restaurant, one which weds the cuisine of Swedish and Mediterranean kitchens. It prides itself on the use of mostly organic ingredients, and its shellfish-studded casseroles are among the best in town.

Lund

In one of Scandinavia's greatest university centers, the ancient city of Lund, Hotel Lundia, Knut den Stores Gata 2 (tel. 046/280-65-00), has emerged as a choice address for overnight stays. This long-established hotel near the railway station has been given a new lease on life through renovations that draw upon the tradition of Swedish modernism and elegant Japanese simplicity. Much of the hotel's original character has been retained, including the white-marble sheathing, but everything has been given a fresh "blonde look," with the use of curved birchwood furnishings and other natural raw materials.

The preferred address for dining in town is now The Living Room, Knut den Stores Gata 2 (tel. 046/280-65-00), installed in the Hotel Lundia. A finely tuned Swedish and international cuisine, using market-fresh ingredients, attracts serious foodies to the restaurant.

Since opening in 2006, Slagthuset, Köcksgatan 7A (tel. 040/10-99-31), has become the city's hippest and most appealing dance club. The setting is a former 19th-century slaughterhouse for cattle and hogs, lying directly behind the railway station. It's not only the largest dance club in Scandinavia, but the most high-energy one.

Kalmar

This sleepy port city on the eastern coast of Sweden has a new place to dine. It's Bistro 5 on the lobby level of the Kalmarsund Hotell, Fiskaregatan 5 (tel. 0480/181-00). In a town not noted for its restaurants, the bistro is winning favor among both locals and foreign visitors with its take on international cuisine. The grilled fish -- the most recommendable main course -- often comes from the Baltic Sea.

Visby (Gotland)

In the medieval walled city of Visby on this touristy island, the Clarion chain has taken over the local landmark hotel. Expect changes and improvements come 2007 or 2008 in the renamed Clarion Hotel Visby, Streandgatan 6 (tel. 0498/25-75-00). Even now it is the best and most glamorous hotel on the island, and hopefully things will get even better.

Värmland

Selma Lagerlöf is Sweden's most famous novelist, and many of her worldwide fans journey to Värmland to see her home and the settings for many of her novels, including The Saga of Gösta Berling. Regrettably, one of the major attractions in the province, Rottneros Herrgårde at Rottneros (tel. 0565/602-95), has shut down with no reopening date announced. Fortunately, Mårbacka Minnesgård, her former home (tel. 0565/310-27), remains open; it's a 58km (36-mile) trip north of Karlstad.

Dalarna

In the summer of 2006, more and more visitors discovered the restored Munthes Hildasholm at Klockaregatan 5, Kyrekudden (tel. 0247/100-62), outside the lakeside resort of Leksand -- the setting for the famous Swedish autobiography The Story of San Michele, first published in 1929. Along with his wife, Hilda, Axel Munthe lived in this stone-built summer home on Lake Siljan. The house and its furnishings remain today very much as they were when he died in 1949. The gardens, laid out by Mrs. Munthe, can also be visited.

Kiruna

In Swedish Lapland, Kiruna is the largest city in the world in terms of geography -- not in buildings -- covering 4,848 sq. km (1,872 sq. miles), but you'd better get there before it moves. In an astonishing move, the Swedish government has announced that the city will have to relocate. It's in danger of sliding down a vast crater left by the iron-ore mines underneath the city. In the years to come, many buildings will be loaded onto large trailers and transported to a safer location -- talk about a "city on the move."

Kukkolaforsen

Along the Swedish border with Finland, sauna-loving Swedes have opened a global sauna village and museum on the bank of the Torne River just below the Polar Circle, at the hamlet of Kukkolaforsen. Kukkolaforsen Turist & Konferens, Kukkolaforsen 184 (tel. 922/310-00), offers different types of saunas, including a replica of a "sweat lodge" used by the Maya Indians thousands of yeas ago. Accommodations are available on-site in cabins or tents, with larger hotels found in the far north town of Haparanda, 14.5km (9 miles) away.