Skip to main content
Your order

Explore the style capitals of Scandinavia

Tiffany Jade

August 13 2024

A woman sitting on a bike in Copenhagen, Denmark

Photo by Liz Sunshine @lizsunshine

With pristine land and seascapes, enduring traditions such as fika, fairytales and Swedish sauna, and a covetable aesthetic the world has come to adore, Scandinavia is a place best experienced as a whole. The best way to experience the region’s depth is 

...

by traveling through its cities, towns and wilderness by train. 

 

Scandinavia’s major metropolitan areas carry a distinct allure with a unifying factor: a richness of design evident across fashion, architecture, food, interiors and art. 

 

Navigating Scandinavia by train is a simple matter of choosing your Eurail Pass, making seat reservations and sitting back to enjoy the striking fjords, wooded landscapes of elm, alder and ash, and snow-blanketed fields peppered with oxblood homes pass by your train window. 

  • Global Pass
  • 4 days within 1 month
  • Pass price from $231
  1. Oslo, Norway 🇳🇴 
  2. Stockholm, Sweden 🇸🇪
  3. Malmö, Sweden 🇸🇪
  4. Copenhagen, Denmark 🇩🇰

Trip details

A woman posing on a street in Oslo, Norway

Photo by Liz Sunshine @lizsunshine

Oslo, Norway

Why it's worth visiting:

Oslo, the capital of Norway, is a pristine city of ordered beauty. Considered by some to be the newest capital of Nordic cool, it embodies an understated charisma. 

What to do:
  • Sommerro House, a meticulously restored Art Deco landmark that now operates as a hotel, provides an inspiring place for locals and tourists alike to gather. 
  • Within walking distance to Sommerro House is the National Museum of Art, Munch Museet (home to Edvard Munch’s The Scream) and the Oslo Opera House, a striking work of contemporary architecture. 
  • An easy tram ride will deliver you to Grünerløkka’s wonderful assortment of vintage stores, where travelers seeking to emulate Norwegian street style can search for treasures. 

 

Suggested route
  • From: Oslo Central Station
  • To: Stockholm Central Station
  • Average travel time: 5h 21m
  • Transfers: 0
  • Seat reservations: Required
tip-image
View train connections and reservation options in the timetable.
A woman posing on a street in Stockholm, Sweden

Photo by Liz Sunshine @lizsunshine

Stockholm, Sweden

Why it's worth visiting:

Arriving in Stockholm by train allows travelers to absorb the full grace of the city’s built environment. This capital city is a place of infinitely layered stories that trace back through a long and colorful history. 

What to do:
  • Svenskt Tenn, a wonderland of textile and interior design, is the perfect place to seek inspiration for infusing your home with Scandinavian style. 
  • Explore the visual and culinary poetics of Ett Hem, a private residence-turned-hotel in Stockholm’s Lärkstaden neighborhood. 
  • Fika, the Swedish practice of taking a break for a coffee and a sweet treat, can be experienced at cafes across the city. 
Suggested route
  • From: Stockholm Central Station
  • To: Malmö Centralstation
  • Average travel time: 4h 25m
  • Transfers: 0
  • Seat reservations: Required
tip-image
View train connections and reservation options in the timetable.
A woman with her back to the camera, holding a bike on a street in Malmo, Sweden

Photo by Liz Sunshine @lizsunshine

Malmö, Sweden

Why it's worth visiting:

Malmö, host of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, sits on Sweden's southern edge, with its urban sprawl holding some of the globe’s most groundbreaking sustainable development.

What to do:
  • When you explore the city by foot, it’s hard to miss the neofuturist Turning Torso, one of the tallest buildings in Scandinavia. 
  • Behind the Turning Torso sits Bo01, an innovative neighborhood dedicated to sustainable urban living. 
  • Ribersborg is a 19th-century open-air bath, where the life-affirming waters of the Baltic, in tandem with the hot, dry sauna, leave no doubt that tradition has its vital place in Malmö’s lifestyle rituals today. 

 

Suggested route
  • From: Malmö Centralstation
  • To: København H
  • Average travel time: 40m
  • Transfers: 0
  • Seat reservations: Not required
tip-image
View train connections and reservation options in the timetable.
A woman with a red hair clip on a street in Copenhagen, Denmark

Photo by Liz Sunshine @lizsunshine

Copenhagen, Denmark

Why it's worth visiting:

Copenhagen is a place where fairytales come to life, with sculptures of fantastical sea beasts rising from the concrete jungle of a sprawling inner-city square — and visitors flocking to Edvard Eriksen’s famed statue of the Little Mermaid. 

What to do:
  • Tivoli Gardens, the grand dame of amusement parks, feels like a dreamscape just across the road from København H, the city’s principal train station. 
  • Vintage shops selling exquisitely maintained, pre-loved Chanel and Christian Lacroix rub shoulders with generational design houses, such as &Tradition, Hay and House of Finn Juhl.
  • Copenhagen hosts many events that elevate Scandinavian aesthetics, such as Copenhagen Fashion Week and the annual 3daysofdesign festival. 
A portrait photo of Tiffany Jade

Meet the writer

Tiffany Jade is an Australia-based storyteller with a passion for architecture, art, design and travel. Her written work spans editorial, narrative, marketing and branding contexts, in which she works to craft richly evocative language that is effortlessly immersive. Tiffany’s work has been featured in publications, diverse branding assets and gallery exhibitions in Sydney, Berlin, London, New York and Dubai.