Between Gothenburg And Copenhagen Is An Idyllic Coastal Town With Beaches, Tasty Eats, And An Iconic Stone Bridge

The Swedish coast offers an underrated summer getaway. It is a place for taking advantage of a vacation filled with long days on the beach, slow dinners that turn into drinks on a restaurant terrace in the evening light, and realizing it's past your normal bedtime after the sun has finally set. In southwestern Sweden, Falkenberg is just that vibe, with a balance of history, delicious food, and seaside beauty. A symbol of the city is the mid-18th-century Tullbron Bridge, with its sturdy stone arches spanning the River Ätran. On one side, the bridge leads to the Old Town (Gamla Stan), with cobblestoned streets flanked by medieval churches and small plazas, while a lush park sits on the opposite bank.

Dotting the city, cozy cafes serve lattes and cinnamon buns on garden patios, and restaurants offer a medley of cuisines made with the quality ingredients we associate with the Scandinavian nation. Falkenberg is also blessed to sit on some of the sandiest coast in all of Sweden. The beach in town makes it easy to spend long sunny days on the water with nearby restaurants and games, while quieter strips of shoreline are just outside the city.

Falkenberg is a two-hour 20-minute drive from Copenhagen (two and a half hours by train). The easiest way there is to fly to Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport and take a one-hour train from the city center. The Falkenberg station is 2 miles outside the city center, but there's a bus in, and it's free if you have a train ticket. Finding accommodation is also a breeze, with grand hotels in the historic city center, seaside resorts, and campgrounds by the beach.

From the moment it was completed in 1761 until 1914, a toll was charged to cross the Tullbron Bridge and enter Falkenberg. Its name literally means "toll bridge." Today, there's no toll, and walking westward off Tullbron Bridge leads to the Old Town. Architecture enthusiasts can enjoy the narrow streets around St. Laurentius Church, parts of which date back to the 1300s, before admiring the neo-Gothic Falkenberg Church, which was completed in 1892. Falkenbergs Hembygdsmuseum is also in the Old Town, offering a closer look at 18th and 19th-century life in southwest Sweden.

Fika is a delightful Swedish custom that invites visitors to relax over coffee while embracing local culture, and Falkenberg has many cafes where you can spend a slow afternoon doing just that. Along with solid Google Maps ratings, Stålboms Konditori has summer tables on a garden terrace, where you can settle in with warm drinks, pastries, and sandwiches.

Options also abound for a proper sit-down meal. Bistro Grand is a casual yet elevated restaurant with views of the Tullbron Bridge through the large windows. For nearly a century, the location has been serving Swedish cuisine alongside many other quality dishes. The current à la carte menu features gems such as chanterelle toast with Västerbotten cheese, fried soft-shell crab, and venison picanha. The highest-ranked Falkenberg restaurant on Tripadvisor, however, and a place recommended by blogs and Falkenberg.se, is a pizzeria. Lilla Napoli makes classic high-quality pizza Napoletana in a laid-back setting. With a high Google Maps rating and over 4,700 reviews from raving customers, it's a beloved local, and making a reservation is recommended.

Sweden takes access to nature seriously. The concept of "allemansrätt," often called "the freedom to roam," gives people broad access to the countryside, and there are plenty of opportunities in Falkenberg to get into nature and explore the coast. Just east of Tullbron Bridge is Vallarna, a large recreation area with playgrounds, disc golf, and an open-air theatre. For a more peaceful outing, follow Doctors' Promenade (Doktorspromenaden). Named for the mid-19th-century doctor who built it, the lush path runs for 1.2 miles along the River Ätran, offering a peaceful little escape right in town.

Falkenberg boasts more than 8 miles of sandy waterfront, and Skrea Strand is its nearest beach, only 1.5 miles from the city center. It's a long stretch of golden sand with excellent amenities, making it a one-stop summer destination. Klittervägen is the street running parallel to the beach, featuring food stands, restaurants, mini golf, and an outdoor gym. At the north end, Bacchus väg (Bacchus road) has stairs to the water and the Falkenbergs Kallbad public saunas. With the Falkenberg Strandbad resort hotel right behind the beach, it'd be easy to spend the majority of a vacation right at Skrea Strand.

The countryside outside of Falkenberg is dotted with classic farmsteads, thatch-roofed red barns and all. Some of them are having second lives as small museums and hosting summer flea markets. Up the coast to the north, Morups Tånge nature preserve has grazing cows, flower-filled meadows, and a picturesque lighthouse. Continuing north, there's the city of Gothenburg, an underrated Swedish destination and part of overlooked western Sweden, a lesser-visited Scandinavian region with fairytale castles and national parks.