A plan for Uppsala

Uppsala is the capital of Uppsala County, and had a population of 167,000 in the city (2020) and a total population of 241,000 in Uppsala Municipality (2022).

It was once the political and religious centre of Viking-era Sweden, became seat of the Church of Sweden, and is the home of the largest church in the Nordic Countries, the Uppsala Cathedral. Uppsala University was founded in 1477 as the first Nordic university.

Uppsala is 70 km (43 mi) north of Stockholm, on the Fyris River (Fyrisån) that flows south into Lake Mälaren. The name "Uppsala" is derived from the words "Up", as in "upstream", and "Sal", which means "hall", and was archaically spelt Upsala. Historically, Uppsala has been divided between "townies and gownies", with burghers residing on the eastern side of the river, while clergy, academia and royalty have resided on its western shore. To some extent, this division still exists, as the main shopping area is in the eastern part of the city centre, while most university campuses, student nations, and historic landmarks are on its western side.

In 1643, Uppsala adopted its first city plan and got the rectangular street grid it still has. The city limits were set to Kungsgatan, Strandbodgatan, Kyrkogårdsgatan and Skolgatan; it didn't expand past these limits until the latter part of the 19th century. Uppsala's city centre still fairly accurately coincides with this city square; it's rather small relative to the size of Uppsala's population. Due to its regular street patterns and its highly visible landmarks, orientation in Uppsala is rather easy.

The Uppsala area is very flat except for Uppsalaåsen — an esker which stretches across Uppland in a north-south direction. Uppsala Castle is strategically positioned at the top of the esker. Due to the flat terrain Uppsala's silhouette with the characteristic Castle and Cathedral towers can be seen from a great distance. In order to preserve this skyline, most other buildings in Uppsala are quite short.

No fewer than 38 rune stones have been found in Uppsala, and many of them can still be seen . On the lawn just east and south of the Cathedral you can find 7 rune stones, and in the University Park, between the University Hall and Gustavianum, you will find another 9. In general, these were written during the 11th century, showing both pagan and Christian motifs, usually commemorating some deceased relative. A notable exception to this rule is the stone U 1011, today standing in the University Park, reading the inscription "Vigmund had the stone carved for himself, the cleverest of men. God help the soul of Vigmund the ships' captain!"

1 Uppsala Castle (Uppsala Slott), ☏ +46 18-54 48 11. This major Uppsala landmark is stocked with large halls, paintings, and older remnants of the 16th-century castle built by the Vasa dynasty as a royal residence and a military fortification. As the castle was damaged in the 1702 city fire, the current building is smaller than it was in the 17th century, but is nevertheless built in the same style. It is the official residence of the governor of Uppsala county, and houses several museums. Due to its location on the top of Uppsalaåsen the Castle area offer some of the best views of Uppsala. (updated Mar 2018)

Fredens Hus (House of Peace), Entrance A2, ☏ +46 18-50 00 08, info@fredenshus.se. Wed–Fri 15:00–18:00, Sat Sun 12:00–16:00. A museum housing exhibitions concerning peace, conflict and human rights. Has a permanent exhibition about the life of the former secretary-general of the UN, Dag Hammarskjöld, who grew up in the castle. While the permanent exhibition feature information in English, some temporary exhibitions only feature information in Swedish. Free. (updated Oct 2018)

1 Boat-trip (the ships set off from Islandsfallet in Fyris River just south of the city centre). Go on a boat-trip on the river Fyrisån that takes you to the lake Ekoln, a part of Mälaren. Continue to the castle Skokloster or Sigtuna. The main shipping companies are:.

M/S Kung Carl Gustaf, Hamnplan Kajplats 1, ☏ +46 18-18 88 99, kungen@royalshipping.se. Skokloster cruises depart at 11:00 and return to Uppsala at 16:30, weekends in May and September and Thu–Sun Jun–Aug. Evening cruises depart at 18:30 and return at 22:30, Wed–Sat May–Sep. The ship M/S Kung Carl Gustaf was constructed in 1892. M/S Kung Carl Gustaf's Skokloster cruise is 250 kr, including a guided tour, and an evening cruise on Mälaren is 700 kr. (updated Oct 2018)

Strömma, ☏ +46 8-12 00 41 00, bokning@stromma.se. Cruises are held in July and the first half of August. Skokloster cruises depart at 11:30 and Shrimp cruises at 19:00. The ship, M/S Enköping, was constructed in 1868 making her the oldest operating passenger ship in the world, according to Lloyds Register. Strömma's "Mälaren shrimp cruise" is 430 kr, including the buffet, and their Skokloster cruise is 230 kr. (updated Oct 2018)

2 Fyrishov, Idrottsgatan 2 (on the eastern shore of the river 1 km north of the city centre), ☏ +46 18-727 49 50, info@fyrishov.se. Mon–Fri 06:00–21:30; Sat Sun 07:30–21:00. A combined arena and recreational swimming hall-complex. The swimming hall houses both a tropical water park, Olympic-sized indoor pools, child pools, and two outdoor pools. The outdoor pools are open May–Aug. The facilities also include restaurants, relax areas, saunas and a spa & massage area. Aside from bathing Fyrishov also has a bowling alley, mini golf courses and drop in zumba classes. Children 0–3 free, children 4–15 95 kr, adult's 115 kr. (updated May 2019)

3 Lennakatten (Upsala–Lenna Jernväg), Stationsgatan 11, ☏ +46 18-13 05 00, info@lennakatten.se. Weekends Jun–mid Sep, also Wed & Thu Jul–mid Aug. Several trains run on these days. A heritage railway which stretches from Uppsala Central Station and 33 km (21 mi) east into the Uppsala countryside. The price depends on how far you go. 110–200 kr for a two-way ticket. (updated Oct 2018)

Uppsala, being a university town, is not a city that is big on fine dining. There are a number of good restaurants to be found, however, and most of them are not far from the main landmarks in town. Lunch options are generally cheaper than dining options.

If you are interested in something lighter, most cafés mentioned below offer dishes like sandwiches, quiche, lasagna or salad. Likewise, most pubs at least offer simple pub food like burgers, and some of them, like Bierhuis and Bryggeriet Ångkvarn, are full-fledged gastropubs. Many hotels have good restaurants of their own, including the Manhattan-themed Kitchen & Table at Clarion Hotel Gillet, the Asian-Scandinavian restaurant and rooftop bar Miss Voon at Elite Hotel Academia, and the Nordic fine dining restaurant Villa Anna in the hotel with the same name. If you plan to cook for yourself, the market hall 2 Saluhallen (S:t Eriks Torg 8, M–Th 10:00–18:00; F 10:00–19:00; Sa 10:00–16:00) offers various types of expensive, quality ingredients like seafood and cheese.

Most days, at least one of the 13 Nations (see infobox under section Drink) serve simple, yet well-cooked meals. Unbeknownst to most locals, lunches are also open for non-students. If you have a nation guest card, you can also dine at the Nations. To know which nations are open any given day, check the calendar at Nationsguiden. Prices range around 50 kr for lunch and 70 kr for dinner.

Virtually all restaurants in Uppsala have at least one ovo-lacto vegetarian dish on the menu. Uppsala is also a rather vegan-friendly city. Many restaurants have some vegan dish on the menu, and even those which do not can usually serve something vegan if you ask the waiter. Especially good places for plant based food would be the vegetarian restaurant 3 Légume (Drottninggatan 12, +46 18-12 01 60, M–W 11:00–14:00, Th–F 11:00–14:00 & 17:00–21:00, Sa 16:00–22:00).

As in the rest of Sweden, the government-owned chain of liquor stores 1 Systembolaget (Dragarbrunnsgatan 48A, M–F 09:00–19:00, Sa 09:00–15:00) is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol. Additional Systembolaget stores can be found at Vaksalagatan 30 and by major shopping malls in the more peripheral districts of the city.

Uppsala has a long history of brewing, and there are four active breweries in Uppsala. Uppsala Brygghus is the largest in the region, and the one you are most likely to find in stock at Systembolaget; Jackdaw Brewery, specialises in Belgian-style beers; Tempel Brygghus, focusing on sour beer and Bryggeriet Ångkvarn, which was named "best brewery" at Stockholm Beer and Whiskey festival 2017. Punsch is a traditional Swedish arrak-based liqueur, holding a special place in Uppsala's student culture.

Bars and clubs in Uppsala are obliged to close no later than 03:00. Most student nations close at 01:00 unless there is a special event.

Cafés

While coffeehouse chains are not unheard of, cozy traditional independent cafés are abundant in Uppsala. Daytime in the weekends many of the student nations have cafés, which always have prices significantly below those of ordinary cafés. Both students and non-students are welcome. To know which nations are open any given day check the calendar at Nationsguiden. If you are looking for a more high-end kind of fika, you should check out the "afternoon tea" seatings held at the restaurant and hotel Villa Anna, Saturdays at 12.00 and 14.15

Lindvalls kaffe is a local family owned brand of coffee. Blåbärsprinsess is a blueberry sponge cake topped with marzipan which was invented in Uppsala, and Studentska is a local pastry made from shortcrust, chocolate truffle and icing. The name means "female student" since the pastries, just like the female students, are green and innocent on the outside but black as sin on the inside.

Town maps are available from the tourist office "InfoPoints", scattered around town.

By foot

Most tourist sights are within the central area of Uppsala and can easily be reached on foot. A walk across the entire city centre takes no more than 20 minutes. However, to reach points of interest outside of the city centre, such as Gamla Uppsala or Linnés Hammarby, you will need some other means of transportation — or some really good walking shoes.

By bike or scooter

A good way to travel in Uppsala is by bike, especially if you plan on leaving the city centre and visit Uppsala's peripheral districts or Uppsala countryside. As any visitor will notice, there are a lot of cyclists here, enough for the city to earn the nickname "Bike Town." There are paths parallel to nearly every road, and many places to store bikes outside. As the terrain surrounding Uppsala is rather flat, it is easy to bike, even for inexperienced biciclysts.

The cheapest way to rent a bike is via the local bike sharing company EU-Bike. You rent one of their easily recognisable green bikes by acquiring their smartphone app, and scanning the bike's QR-code. The first 10 uses are free, while additional usage costs 5 kr per 30 minutes. In a similar manner, electrical scooters can be rented via the local companies Voi. The scooters cost 1.50 kr per minute, plus a 10 kr starting fee. There are also several conventional bike rental places in Uppsala (listed in the section on Sports). A typical price for a conventional rental bike is 200 kr for the first day and around 100 kr for every additional day.

As a side note, locals have a saying that everyone who lives there has had a bike stolen at some point in their lives. While this is not entirely true (it's more a reflection on the popularity of biking than any level of crime), it's probably a good idea to lock your bike.

Uppsala is generally a safe city. In an emergency, always call 112 for SOS Alarm, for an ambulance, police, fire service, or priest on call. English-speaking operators are available. The national non-emergency number to the police is 114 14. As for other Swedish cities, drunk brawls are one of few risk factors to travellers. Stay extra attentive during weekend nights, especially in the city centre and around the Central Station.

If you venture into the forested countryside, beware of ticks. In Uppsala Municipality, there have been reported cases of both TBE and lyme disease. However, you can vaccinate against TBE, and lyme disease can be avoided by removing the tick within 12 to 24 hours. A simple precaution against ticks is to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers when moving through brushwood.

While there are several pharmacies in Uppsala, most of them close around 19:00–20:00, and none are open at night. The pharmacy with the best opening hours is 4 Lloyds apotek Samariten (Kålsängsgränd 10C, +46 18-580 21 10) which is open from 08:00 to 22:00 every day.

5 University Animal Hospital (Universitetsdjursjukhuset), Ultunaallén 5A (Campus Ultuna, 6 km (3.7 mi) south of Uppsala), ☏ +46 18-67 26 80, smadjur@uds.slu.se. 24 hours daily. Associated with, and located on, the campus of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. They mostly treat small animals, such as cats and dogs, but they also have a horse clinic. Around Uppsala, you can also find several smaller veterinary clinics. (updated Oct 2018)

6 Uppsala County Police (Polismyndigheten Uppsala län), Svartbäcksgatan 49, ☏ 114 14 (non-geographic number)Country code missing. Mon 08:00–19:00, Thu–Fri 08:00–16:00, Closed on weekends. (updated Oct 2018)

7 Uppsala University Hospital (Akademiska sjukhuset), Sjukhusvägen, ☏ +46 18-611 00 00. 24 hours daily. (updated Oct 2018)