Childhood summer holidays often spark enduring love affairs with the places where we spent them, tinting disparate corners of coast and countryside with that fuzzy filter of nostalgia and innocence. For generations of stylish Stockholmers, that sentimental sanctuary has been Gotland — Sweden’s largest island, a short flight or scenic ferry ride south of the capital. While its medieval town, Visby, is the island’s most populous spot with climbing roses, fairy lights and cobblestones, the real trick is to hit the road. It only takes two and a half hours to drive the island’s length, bouncing from giant sea stacks to pine forests peppered with falu-red cabins, and tiny townships dealing in crafty wares. A glove box stuffed with lösgodis (Swedish pick-and-mix) is optional, but advised.
Best of all, you’re touring under a near-guarantee of blue skies. Gotland, long dubbed the “sunshine island,” banks circa 2,100 hours of sunshine a year (on par with the northern Mediterranean and blowing London clean out of the water). Last month, Ikea installed two massive stone chairs onto the exact square metre of Swedish soil that receives the most sun, as a permanent monument to their nation’s collective obsession with chasing it. The spot is marked on Google Maps — Sveriges soligaste m² — by the town of Burgsvik, on Gotland’s southern tip.
Which brings us to our final point. While many tourists stick to the north — only leaving Visby’s winding streets for the beachy climes of Fårö, a cinematic islet at Gotland’s northernmost peak — the southlands, or Sudret, are not to be missed. Down here, stripped of the usual tourist filler, you’re forced to connect with the shifting light and wide-open spaces: a wind-scoured world of grazing sheep and coast-hugging seals, blankets of blåeld and rare orchids shooting through the alvar earth. You’ll do little more than swim in wild waters, fish for trout and wander abandoned windmills, fuelled by produce picked from the farms you’ve not long cycled past. And because Sweden’s Allemansrätten principle grants you the absolute right to roam — even on private land, provided you leave no trace — the whole peninsula is rendered a wild, summertime playground to map as you please.
Where to stay
Just like Gotland, Sibbjäns (from £248) — a working farm with 22 artfully designed rooms — rewards the kind of slow, intentional travel that prizes all things home-grown. Barely through its first official season, it’s already the talk of aesthetes the world over, which speaks to another facet of Gotland lore: that it’s chock-full of Stockholm’s creative elite. The foursome behind the new property — husband-and-wife talent agents Sanna and Pontus Rönn, alongside their friends, writer Kina Zeidler and partner, entrepreneur Johannes Nordlander — run in these affluently artsy circles, which means guests of Sibbjäns get to, however briefly, run in them, too.
Given this is a working farm, there’s barely anything served at the hotel that doesn’t come from the property. The nine farmhouse rooms are all named after women connected to the property and head toward a lily-pad-strewn natural pool, glass-fronted sauna and yoga barn, with more social spaces currently in the works. If you’re looking to stay in Visby, Kalk Hotel (from £110) is one of the prettiest (and best) among the town’s boutique stays. Over on the east coast, Liste Gård (from £62) — another quaint farm stay — has a dedicated flower field where guests can pick their own bouquets. Beach fans will fancy Surflogiet (from £276), which sees you glamp on a pristine stretch of Baltic shore, while Djupvik Hotel (from £140) does the same with an added, picture-perfect pool. Saving the most dramatic for last: brutalist Fabriken Furillen (from £289) — conceived by Swedish fashion photographer Jonas Hellström in the late 1990s — remains the island’s most isolated, provocative stay.
Where to eat
Visby packs quite a culinary punch. Pull up a chair at Lilla Huset, located just off the main square, for the rack of island lamb or crunchy-skinned pork, served alongside mashed potato (topped with crispy potatoes, no less) and charred hispi cabbage, before ending the night at Glassmagasinet for the island’s signature ice cream flavour: saffron and honey.
Lilla Bjers Krog, just outside Visby, has one of the highest organic certifications in Sweden, while Krakas Krog, in Kräklingbo, pairs seasonal produce with five guest rooms upstairs. Guldkaggen, a harbourside restaurant in Burgsvik is the place for salty-fresh seafood. For that most Swedish of experiences, fika ought to be enjoyed at Leva Kungslador or
Rute Stenugnsbageri; while, for something tremendously un-Swedish, Bad Wolf BBQ serves some of the best slow-cooked brisket outside Texas.
Where and what to shop
If there is one must-have souvenir from Gotland, it’s a grey, tightly curled sheepskin throw — find your favourite at Suderverket or from breeders at Gullans Gård or Gotlamm.
Seek out Fide Fajans for a studio full of tactile bowls and petite espresso cups, or head north to BK Form for beautifully minimalist pottery. Wannabe glass-blowers should head to Big Pink, where a garden café serves drinks in the vessels made on-site. Round out your haul by swinging into Chokladstallet for the island’s best artisan chocolates, before grazing your way through farm shops — Prima Gård and Ala Gård are two of the best.
Where to unwind
Dive in for a wild swim at the Blue Lagoon (Blå Lagunen) — a deep, turquoise-clear limestone quarry in the far north — or go for a paddle in the shallows of Folhammar, where a dramatic field of raukar, wind-whipped limestone towers, watches on like ancient lifeguards. Thanks to well-placed barbecues, it’s a perfect sunset spot, too. If you fancy something close to a boozy night out, a flight of craft pours at Snausarve microbrewery, fresh, fruity rosé from Långmyre vineyard or a trip to Lindgården’s dedicated “gin garden” should do the trick.
Where to get your wellness hit
To experience “Viking wellness”, a dip among the water lilies in Sibbjäns’ cold, natural pool is to be interrupted only by stints in the adjacent sauna, complete with adorable woollen sauna hats. The team will also hook you up with a massage. Surflogiet has yoga, meditation classes and saunas, except the latter has you rushing into the sea for your cool-down dip. There’s a community-run sauna on the Burgsviks marina, and one operated just outside Visby’s storied walls, Havsspa’s floating sauna — all self-regulated slices of local culture.
How to get there
Gotland is reached via a 45-minute flight from Stockholm or a three-hour ferry. Scandinavian Airlines (flysas.com) and Norwegian (norwegian.com) operate domestic flights from Stockholm to Visby, while Destination Gotland (destinationgotland.se) operates the high-speed passenger ferries from Nynäshamn (an hour south of Stockholm via commuter train) directly into Visby harbour. Scandinavian Airlines operates frequent flights from London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda. Alternatively, lower-cost options to Stockholm include Ryanair (ryanair.com) out of London Stansted or Norwegian from London Gatwick.
