During the summer of 2020, when we were all encouraged to take a vacation at home (Hemester; Hem = Home, Semester = Vacation) - I visited the five largest cities in Sweden.

The five cities are in order of population: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala, and Västerås. Officially, Västerås is only the sixth-largest but that's because two suburbs to Stockholm in the most recent years have been counted as a separate city even though they are fully connected to Stockholm with continuous urban development. The suburbs are Sollentuna and Upplands-Väsby, which alltogether are slightly larger than Västerås. However, I have ignored that in comparison. I've been in both of those areas too during the summer of 2020, but they're no different from any other suburbs to Stockholm, and they're not cities on their own. The population figures are as follows: Stockholm (2 383 000), Gothenburg (1 025 000), Malmö (728 000), Uppsala (210 000), Västerås (154 000). That is the metro population of the cities, which I think is the fairest way to measure the sizes of cities since suburbs nowadays are an integral feature of the urban fabric of our cities. They might not add anything to see for a tourist, but they add life and services to the city centers that, by all means, improve how we as visitors feel about them.

Three of these cities are located within 1½ hours drive from one and another in the Eastern parts of the Svealand region, also known as Mälardalen (Lake Mälaren Valley). Those cities are Stockholm, Uppsala, and Västerås. Stockholm and Uppsala are connected with commuter rail departing every 15 minutes in both directions. Malmö is located at the south-western tip of Sweden in the Scania region. The city is essentially a part of Copenhagen and those two cities are connected with the Öresund Bridge. You can travel by car or by train and it takes about 30 to 40 minutes from one city center to the other. Gothenburg is a port city on the western coast of Sweden. It's located fairly close to the Norwegian border.

Sights

Stockholm is the capital and a city with a rich history that once was one of the most important cities in Europe (during the heights of the Swedish Empire, 1611–1721). The city has lots of sights and is an international destination of high caliber, so it will obviously be above the rest in that regard. Sights include the Old Town, Kungsträdgården, Södermalm, Skansen, and many more.

Malmö has several interesting sights with Turning Torso, the tallest building in Scandinavia and the Nordic Countries, as one of the main sights. Malmö is well worth a visit if you're in Copenhagen and there's enough to see to fill a full day with ease. Gothenburg on the other hand is lacking in this regard, especially considering its size. The area of Haga is quite interesting, but that was pretty much it. Uppsala has the tallest cathedral in the Nordic Countries and several buildings worth visiting that are connected to the University. I personally enjoy sightseeing in Uppsala and find the city to be interesting. Västerås as a former industrial city doesn't have that many sights from a touristic standpoint even though there are of course a few things to look at such as the Turbine, an old industrial turbine house in Svartån in the city center, or the old wooden houses along the same river.

Västerås

Architecture

Both Malmö and Stockholm did something almost criminal in the mid-1900 and demolished large parts of the older quarters in the center. Malmö removed much of the Caroli area, while Stockholm took the, still to this day, very controversial decision to tear down the Klara Quarters and let it go through an extensive urban renewal process. The result in both cases is two centrally located areas with severely underwhelming architecture. Thankfully, both cities still have parts with older and historic features. The Old Town of Stockholm is still one of the best-preserved in Europe because Sweden was never involved in the destruction of the two World Wars.

Gothenburg is a relatively new city, in European terms. It was only founded in 1621 when the Swedish Crown decided that they wanted to have a major city on the West Coast with easier access to the Atlantic Ocean. It did then take a few hundred years until the city grew to become the second-largest in Sweden. Most of the buildings in Gothenburg are from the late-1800's or newer. The area of Haga, near the center, is the only part of Gothenburg with a great architectural value. It consists of wooden buildings in traditional Swedish architecture.

Stockholm

Main Street

Gothenburg is the only of the cities where the main street is a main feature of the city and something high on the list for visitors. The name of the street is Kungsportsavenyn (locally just known as "Avenyn / The Avenue" and it is 840 meters long. The design of "Avenyn" was inspired by Champs-Élysées in Paris. At the Southern end of the street, you'll find Götaplatsen, with a famous statue of Poseidon as well as the Gothenburg Museum of Art. "Avenyn" is known for being a bar street. Many of the best restaurants and bars in Gothenburg are located there.

For Stockholm the main street is Drottninggatan, at least that's the street you'll find as your main street as a visitor. It goes from Old Town and quite far up into Norrmalm. The main shopping street of Uppsala is Svartbäcksgatan. It's quite small and not that long, but it fills the purpose for a city of Uppsala's size. Malmö is not a city built around the main street, it's more a city built around two squares. However, contrary to most of the other streets in the comparison that's left, the main street in Malmö is not a modern, architecturally lifeless street. The name of the street is Södergatan, and it connects Stortorget (The Large Square) with Gustav Adolfs Torg (Gustavus Adolphus Square).

Gothenburg

Natural Beauty

When it comes to natural beauty, I feel that Stockholm is above the rest of the cities in this comparison. Stockholm is one of the most scenic cities in Europe with the water and islands. It's a city built on islands, and it's also a city with big differences in height, so there are plenty of viewing points, especially in the southern part of the city. From Södermalm, you can get stunning views of the landscape, water, and city at Skinnarviksberget or Monteliusvägen.

I don't feel that the other four cities have the same natural beauty. Västerås and Uppsala are both built along a river, but rather small rivers. Malmö has the Öresund, and you can even see all the way to Copenhagen on a clear day. But it's not weaved into the city fabric as closely as it is in Stockholm.

Gothenburg, just like Stockholm, is built along the water. But for the most part, you barely notice it when you're in the city center. The city is built away from the water, rather than in the water as is the case of Stockholm. I think they could have done a better job at integrating the natural location into their urban planning.

Stockholm

Getting Around

Only Stockholm has an underground metro. The Stockholm Metro is one of the oldest in the world and it is also known for having some very beautiful stations. Both Stockholm and Gothenburg have a tram system. The tram system in Gothenburg is extensive and well-organized. Both these cities have excellent public transport!

Malmö does not have any internal rail-based public transport. However, Malmö Central Station is connected to the network of Copenhagen through suburban rail and you can get to Copenhagen Central Station in just 40 minutes across the Öresund Bridge. The city of Malmö is in a lot of ways more or less a suburb of Copenhagen. There are talks about extending the Copenhagen Underground Metro to Malmö.

Neither Uppsala nor Västerås have any rail-based public transport. You will have to rely on buses in those cities. They are not so big so in most cases, you will be able to walk wherever you want to go as a tourist. Uppsala is connected to Stockholm through suburban rail. Departures between the cities are up to every 15 minutes with a travel time of about 30 minutes.

Walking is, in general, the preferred method of transport in all five cities!

Malmö

Parking & Road Infrastructure

I've personally driven in Stockholm, Uppsala, and Västerås. I've been in Malmö with a car, but I did not drive the car myself. Even if I haven't driven in Gothenburg I could still see that the situation was pretty much what could be expected of a city of that size. Traffic in Stockholm is terrible and avoid taking the car downtown if you can! Stockholm and Gothenburg both have automated tolls. If you do drive: Keep an eye out for toll stations at which you will have to manually log in and pay online afterward to avoid heavy late fees.

Uppsala has several parking lots near the city center. They are both easy to get to and easy to find parking spots in. I personally always try to use Österplan. It is centrally located, usually has free spaces, and is reasonably priced. Uppsala is in my opinion an easy city to drive in. Västerås is also not a hassle to use a car in. These two are also the smallest cities in the comparison.

Uppsala

Events, Entertainment & Nightlife

Gothenburg has seen a lot more and larger concerts and events than a city of its size should have. Gothenburg is also the location of the largest youth football tournament in the world. Gothia Cup is played annually with teams from all over the world.

I am not a person who enjoys going out and visiting bars and clubs. I do however know that Uppsala has a better range of bars and restaurants than a city of its size should have due to that it being a University city. This also means that summers can be rather dull in Uppsala when the students are back in their hometowns. When it comes to entertainment and events, Malmö is at a disadvantage due to its proximity to Copenhagen. On the other hand, that proximity also means that the residents of Malmö have access to much more entertainment options than they would have had normally, with just a short train ride over the sound.

Gothenburg

Summary

During my visits, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Malmö and the city are much more interesting and safer than the reputation. On the other end of the scale, I was disappointed with my visit to Gothenburg. It was not a city that caught my interest. I've been to both those cities before when I was much younger, but it's about 15 years since then for both cities and from my memories, Gothenburg was a more interesting city than I felt that it was now. However, at that time, I hadn't visited as many cities around the globe to make a good comparison. Stockholm is my beloved hometown and I find it to stand high in comparison with much larger cities in Europe and the world. Uppsala and Malmö are however both well worth a visit too. While Västerås can be worth a stop if you are passing by; I wouldn't recommend anyone to go out of the way to visit it.