A Day Trip To Malmö, Is It Worth It?

So you're spending a few days in Copenhagen and you're thinking about going to Malmö across the sound? You're thinking if it's a fun option for a day trip or if you'd rather spend the time exploring the Danish capital some more. If it's worth it or not will essentially depend on how much time you have. Because Malmö is a fine city with some interesting sights, but so is Copenhagen (even more so).

A lot of people like to do this day trip to check off another country on the list. That's a reason as valid as any other, just don't use it to avoid going to Stockholm at a later time. Malmö has more to offer than just becoming a statistic in your travel book. However, if that's the detail that decides it for you then it's great and you won't be disappointed with your choice of going.

The amount of time required to see the sights of Malmö is only a day though, there's no need to set aside more time than so. The sights worth seeing in Malmö are all within walking distance of each other.

Getting There

Since the Øresund (Danish) / Öresund (Swedish) Bridge was inaugurated in the year 2000 it's easy to travel between the cities. The easiest way is to take the train ( Øresundstog / Öresundståg ) which will take you from Central Station to Central Station in 40 minutes (actually 39 minutes) and with departures every 20 minutes for most parts of the day you don't have to worry about finding a departure. The train is available between 0500 and 2100, and during the other times of the day, there are buses available.

Just make sure to bring your passport! Since 2015 there have been internal document controls on all traffic between Copenhagen and Malmö and if you do not have your passport or other documents that state your nationality (most European driver's licenses do not!) you will be sent back in the direction you arrived from.

Both Denmark and Sweden are part of the Schengen Area and you can travel between the two countries without document controls, except for if you travel over the Øresund/Öresund Bridge. Your documents won't get stamped, these controls are to check that you have the right to remain in the Schengen Area.

Sights in Malmö

Central Malmö is a dense city with a mix of old and new buildings. The city can be said to be centered around three squares. Stortorget (Large Square), Lilla Torg (Small Square), and Gustav Adolfs Torg, which is named after the Swedish king Gustav IV Adolf (1778 - 1837). Lilla Torg is the most interesting out of these. It's a small and cozy square lined with restaurants and outdoor dining options.

On the square, there's also an old, small fountain and an old telephone box. On Stortorget there's a statue of Swedish king Charles X Gustav (1622 - 1660), known for leading a successful war campaign against Denmark which saw Scania and Malmö becoming Swedish in 1658 through the Treaty of Roskilde. Located on Stortorget is Malmö Town Hall which is one of the best architectural examples of the city.

Västra Hamnen is a new area of the city that's being built North/West of the Central Train Station and in this area, you will find the Turning Torso. This was the tallest building in the Nordics from its construction in 2005 until September 2022 when the Karla Tower in Gothenburg surpassed it. The name comes from the unique design where the body of the building is turning as the building gets taller. Västra Hamnen is mostly residential and apart from Turning Torso and the nearby waterfront area, there's not much to see or do there.

Visit if you have time to spare after seeing the sights in central Malmö, but don't rush through the other parts of the city to fit Västra Hamnen in your schedule. Turning Torso can be seen from Old Town and as the case often is with tall buildings, it looks better from a distance than when you're standing next to it. There's no observation deck open for the public in the building.

Other sights in Malmö include Malmö Castle (Swedish: Malmöhus Slott), a 16th-century fortress and museum that was once an important defense structure for Denmark. The brick gothic-styled St. Peter's Church and Caroli Church are two churches of good architectural value in the city center. The Caroli Quarter, in which Caroli Church stands, was once part of Old Town, but most old buildings were demolished in the 1960s to make way for more modern, and arguably less aesthetically pleasing, architecture.

The Bad Reputation

Malmö has a very bad reputation, which you either knew beforehand, or it's something you will quickly find as soon as you start searching for information in preparation for a trip there. Crime is indeed high and the reputation isn't uncalled for. However, as a tourist, you will not see any of it! There's a huge problem with organized crime in Malmö, even though it was more prominent a few years ago the problem is still ongoing.

These problems mostly exist in the outskirts of the city and you should steer clear of areas such as Möllevången and Rosengård. But if you look at a map you will find that those areas are pretty far from the city center. If you visit Malmö from Copenhagen you will arrive at the Central Station and from there it's only a few minutes walk to most tourist attractions, which are all far from the areas where crime is a problem.

Central Malmö is very safe and even during the late evening, you shouldn't encounter any problems if you take the normal precautions that you always should, which includes Copenhagen and any other major or secondary city in Europe.

Conclusion

As you've seen there's a lot to do and see in Malmö and a day trip is a very good option to experience the city. It's easy to travel between the two cities and you don't need more than a day in Malmö. The most important thing to look up before going will be that you make sure you have enough time to truly explore Copenhagen. Don't go to Malmö if you feel that you won't be able to do everything you want to do in Copenhagen by doing so.

Generally, I'd say if you're in Copenhagen for a long weekend (for example: Friday morning to Sunday evening, or Thursday to Sunday) you will most likely have a great opportunity to also visit Malmö. If you however only visit for a short weekend (for example: Saturday to Sunday only, or if you're arriving late on the Friday/leaving early on Sunday) then you should probably spend the time experiencing as much as you can in Copenhagen alone.