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The flavour of Småland

Everyone in Sweden knows Småland as the nation’s culinary centre. The region’s cuisine goes above and beyond the famous meatballs: a Michelin-star restaurant serves innovative Swedish haute cuisine, coffee is elevated to an art, and you can visit a lovely castle and pretend to be Lord or Lady of the manor. Here are three suggestions for typically Swedish restaurants in the city of Växjö.

Culinary

Innovative dining at PM & Vänner

Michelin star: PM & Vänner

PM & Vänner is a familiar name throughout Sweden, a real culinary empire with 74 hotel rooms, a Michelin-star restaurant, a bistro, a bar and a bakery. Forest, water and meadows are the foundations of the menu. Choose from a 5-course or 9-course meal and sample dishes such as scampi with black salsify, mushrooms with truffle, and elk meat with penny bun (a type of mushroom). The restaurant only serves dinner, but the bistro has earlier opening hours and offers a traditional husmanskost (homemade meal) with a modern twist.

Broqvist Konditori in 1920

Fika: coffee time Swedish style

There is nothing more Swedish than fika. In Växjö people take their coffee break seriously. Twice a day the workday grinds to a halt when people sit down for coffee, accompanied by sandwiches, cookies, cake and cinnamon buns. Scientists state that it is this communal coffee break that allows Swedes to be more creative and productive, and live a stress-free life. Coffee breaks are usually taken at work, at the kitchen table or in the garden. Visitors can also indulge in this tradition, for example at Sweden’s oldest bakery: Broqvist Konditori.

Aristocratic dining at Teleborg Castle

Dine like a Lord or Lady

Despite its medieval appearance, Teleborg Castle wasn’t actually built until 1900, a wedding present from an eccentric count to his bride. The fairy-tale castle, located just outside of the city centre on the shores of Lake Trummen, is now a luxury boutique hotel with 29 rooms. Book a table in the antique furnished dining room and savour classic Swedish dishes, such as a Jerusalem artichoke soup, salmon tartar and meat stew. (Timely reservations are highly recommended.) In summer, you can sit outside in the castle garden at the romantic Café Brygghuset, overlooking the lake.

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Arts & Culture

Nightlife

Beach

Water sports

Nature

Active & Outdoor

Arts & Culture

Houston and Dallas may be bigger and more famous, but Austin is in fact the capital of Texas. It’s also the least Texan city in Texas. And the weirdest city in the country. This is something its residents take pride in, as evidenced by the Austin motto of Keep Austin Weird! Have a peek inside weird houses or admire a cathedral of junk in a city where there is even a museum devoted entirely to the weird and strange.

Nightlife

When it comes to music, you might be inclined to think New Orleans (jazz), Memphis (rock ‘n’ roll), Chicago (blues) or Nashville (country), but Austin is actually the music capital of the US. The city boasts over 250 music venues, more than any other American city. You can choose from countless live performances and a fantastic music festival every month, such as SXSW. Austin lives and breathes music.

Beach, Water sports, Nature

The airport in Liberia is the gateway to the Province of Guanacaste, the sunniest part of Costa Rica. Thanks to its large number of snow-white buildings and tree-lined streets made of white gravel, the city itself is also referred to as ‘la ciudad blanca’. But, let’s be honest, most visitors who arrive here are primarily interested in white sand. Only a half hour by car from the airport is the fantastic Pacific coast with beaches that are postcard perfect.

Nature

In the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, you can hike, swim in natural hot springs, picnic and camp. The park features a variety of ecosystems around nine craters and 32 rivers with spectacular waterfalls during the rainy season. The diversity of flora and fauna is amazing: look up and chances are you’ll see toucans, sloths and monkeys in the treetops.

Active & Outdoor

Old towns, stunning constructions and wonderful nature: admire all of this and more in THIS IS HOLLAND, a brand-new 5D movie attraction by the producers of De Nieuwe Wildernis (The New Wilderness). It is the perfect introduction to Holland for first-time visitors, but also an interesting surprise for Dutchies who think they know their country inside out. This is a magical 5D experience with smells, colours, images, sounds, rain and shine.

Arts & Culture

Älmhult is the birthplace of renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus and children’s books author Astrid Lindgren, however its most famous ‘offspring’ is IKEA. Life in this southern Swedish town evolves around the blue-and-yellow furniture giant: from the IKEA Hotel and IKEA Museum to the IKEA Bar and IKEA Spa. Welcome to the one and only IKEA Småland – meatballs and ball pit included.